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Itsy-Bitsy Teenie-Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini [Aaron Hotchner]

Pairings: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Characters: Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, Spencer Reid, Jeniffer "JJ" Jareau, David Rossi, Polly (OC), Jasmine (OC)

Words: 17.9K

Summary: After a new case brings you to Hawaii you didn't think your touristy taste of the big island would come along with pretending to be your boss' wife

Warnings: swears, a little angst, hostage situation, mentions of sex, very heated make-out (no smut but 16+)

A/N: Guys it's finally here! One of my many babies and trust me you're gonna love this one! I've been working on it super hard and I can't believe it's finally a completed piece, so, despite its killer length, I hope you all enjoy it! [The song just inspired the title but it's fun lol]

Itsy-Bitsy Teenie-Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini | Brian Hyland

"My dearest Penelope please tell me that extra coffee is for your most favourite human being on the entire earth?"

"You would be correct, my love," she smiled, handing you the tall cup of coffee, made just to your liking as usual. Penelope really truly was the best.

Just as you took your first sip of the highly caffeinated drink JJ walked by from her office, a stack of files in hand and that look she got on her face when there was a new case.

"Should we have our go-bags ready?" you asked, following her into the main office.

She nodded her head.

"I'm just going to quickly go over the details with Hotch, but he'll call it in to the briefing room pretty soon," she explained.

"Well as long as it's not Florida," you shrugged and threw your bag underneath your desk, flopping onto your office chair.

"Chin up, maybe it's a nice place," Penelope said as you watched JJ enter the Unit Chief's office.

"Maybe you're right, Pen," you sighed. "God, I hope you're right,"

"Come on (N/N), my baby girl's always right," Derek came in, pressing a sweet kiss to Penelope's cheek before ruffling your hair in that annoying, but endearing way he always did.

"He's not wrong," Penelope smiled triumphantly.

Spencer was next to walk in, a not-so-pleasant expression on his face and you knew immediately what had caused it.

"Hey Spence," you called at the younger profiler.

"Yeah?"

You opened the drawer in your desk and took a handful of sugar packets out from there and placed them in his hand.

"Go drink your coffee kid, something tells me you're going to need it,"

He gave you a small smile and with a quick thank you, he went over to the coffee pot and fixed him a cup with the buckets of sugar he normally used.

"Do you just keep sugar in your drawer?" Emily asked, looking over to see the collection of sugar packets you had in there.

"For late nights, I use the rush to help me get through the paperwork," you admitted. "Hey it works and then I crash just in time for bed,"

"Maybe I should try it sometime," she chuckled and you nodded.

Just as JJ had said she and Hotch both exited his office and all he had to do was eye the team, plus Rossi who was just coming into the office to get them to head over to the briefing room.

"Alright, where are we going?" Derek asked, slipping into his regular seat.

"Hawaii," JJ said and your eyes lit up, looking over at Penelope, she really was right. It was time to break out the warm weather go-bag. "Four murders, all bodies dumped this week, no apparent pattern in the M.O. but all the victims have been tourists so far which makes it a federal case," JJ explained.

"Foreign or domestic?' you asked.

"Both," she nodded. "Karston Schmidt is from Germany, Jesse Handler is a Colorado native, Kelly Gibbs is from Alberta, Canada and Holly Tucker is from Tennessee,"

"Looks like they all died from multiple gunshot wounds, lots of overkill," Derek noted. "And the dump sites?"

"In and around town, local PD and the FBI haven't been able to make any sort of connections yet, besides again, being in tourist-heavy places,"

"Do you know what island it's on?" Dave asked, not having opened his case file yet.

"O'ahu, all the murders have been in Honolulu," Hotch said. "By the looks of this unsub and timeline, we don't have much time before the next one. Garcia, I'd like you with us on this one, the time difference would make it difficult for you to stay here. We'll work victimology on the jet, wheels up in twenty,"

Everyone gave the Unit Chief a nod and grabbed their things, standing up and moving out of the briefing room.

"(Y/N) can you stay here for a moment," he asked and you furrowed your brows, confused, but listened to the boss.

"Yeah, what's up Hotch?" you turned around, looking over at him.

"When we get there I want you on top of the profile. Take the lead in delivering it to the police department,"

"Me?" you looked out at the other profilers and then back at your boss. "Hotch I'm not too sure if that's a good idea,"

"(Y/N) it's a skill we all need to develop at some point," he explained. "I understand after the last time why you might be hesitant-,"

"Aaron the last time we lost someone," you said quietly.

"Which wasn't your fault. (Y/N), I need to know that you can do this,"

You sighed and scratched the top of your head.

"Yeah I can do it," you said but you clearly didn't sound convinced.

Hotch knew with time you'd be able to feel more confident with your skills and if he had to help you get to that point so be it.

The experience you had was an unfortunate one for sure, and since then the Unit Chief had let you sit out delivering the profile, but there came a time you needed to step back out of the box you had put yourself in.

You went to turn and grab your go bag so you could get ready for the jet, but his voice stopped you once more.

"(Y/N), we'll be there the entire time," he assured. "It's not going to be like the last time,"

You nodded and walked out, heading towards your desk and grabbing your bag along with the coffee Penelope had bought you.

"What did Hotch want?" JJ asked and you sighed, placing the bag up on the table.

"He wants me to take the lead on the profile on this case. Just when I thought working might actually get better,"

"You know what happened the other time wasn't your fault," Emily insisted.

"It might not be, but it feels like it," you mumbled, sipping your coffee. "It's alright, it was bound to happen at some point, I just didn't expect it to be today,"

"Well we'll all be there this time," JJ said.

"Yeah, Hotch said that too,"

"Come on you guys, jet's waiting," Dave motioned to the door, gathering you all to the vehicles that would take you to the airstrip.

The first step once you got on the plane was to get ready for the weather as usual. Changing your attire was not always necessary but something told you this was going to be a casual wear case and you couldn't be more grateful.

One by one you changed in the washroom, coming back out to discuss victimology.

Hotch was the last one to get changed, coming out in a red polo shirt with khaki shorts.

"Wait, you own shorts?" Derek asked and you tried not to laugh at his comment despite how surprised you were to see him ditch his famous quarter-zip sweater.

"Can we focus on the case please?" he asked, placing some papers in front of everyone so they could focus, but that was not what was on Penelope's mind when she saw you.

"We can," she said. "After we discuss what's going on here," he pointed to your outfit. "Who knew my best friend was smoking hot," she joked, and you knew full well it was just her way of hyping you up.

"I thought I was your best friend!" Derek exclaimed, offended.

"I can have more than one best friend, but look at her!"

"The outfit does suit you (Y/N)," Emily agreed and JJ and Spencer nodded.

"(Y/N) can pull off a lot of things," Dave chuckled and you knew full well he was referring to the time Spencer had very unfortunately gotten seasick and thrown up all over your clothes, forcing you to change in the only thing available, Penelope's bright pink dress with a sizeable bow. It was definitely something you wouldn't find yourself wearing on a regular basis but there you were, and Dave was right, it didn't look all that bad on you although Penelope could pull it off ten times better than you could.

Everyone then turned to Hotch, almost expecting him to say something about your flowy and flowery summer skirt along with your very slightly cropped spaghetti strap tank top.

You assumed that he sensed things wouldn't move on unless he said something, so he spoke up with a nod,

"You look very pretty," he said simply, but with full sincerity that he definitely couldn't fake.

"Thanks," you chuckled nervously, looking at everyone for specifically picking your outfit to zero in on when everyone was in clothing that differed from their norm. Your eyes locked with the Unit Chief's maybe a second longer than they should have before he broke contact and brought the focus back to where it needed to be.

"So, victimology," he started and there were a few knowing glances and smirks passed across the room but you paid them no mind.

"All the victims were tourists staying in and around Honolulu," you started, browsing through the pictures. "And tacky ones by the looks of it,"

"The families actually reported that those clothes weren't the ones the victims were wearing when they went missing," JJ explained.

"So he's mocking them?" Dave asked and Derek gave him a nod.

"It would make sense for an unsub like this, by the looks of it the first few gunshot wounds were in places that would inflict the most pain but not kill which would make him sad*stic, he probably gets off on the torture,"

"And afterwards he mocks them by making them wear tacky tourist clothing," Emily finished.

"When we get there, Prentiss, I want you and Morgan to go to the first two dumpsites, they're close to each other so you should be able to cover them both. Dave, take Reid and go to the third and fourth. (Y/N), JJ, Garcia, you're with me at the precinct," Hotch instructed. "JJ, (Y/N), and I will talk to the families separately and Garcia you can set up and see what you can find for us about our victims,"

"Your wish is my command," Penelope nodded with a smile and everyone seemed to be happy with their tasks.

The flight was long, taking the greater portion of the day despite the speed of the jet and by the time you got there, it was much later than you had expected so Hotch made another decision to head to the hotel for the night and go on with the assignments in the morning.

Keys to rooms were passed out and due to budget cuts and the high volume of travellers this time of year, most of you were doubling up on rooms. Dave and Hotch were lucky enough to snag themselves each a private room, only catch, there was a door connecting the two together from the inside, while you shared with Penelope, JJ and Emily shared another and much to Derek's dismay, he and Spencer were assigned the last one.

They were all on the same floor so there was easy access to each other if there was a need but you doubted that would be the case on the first night.

"So what was that about, on the plane?" you asked Penelope while you removed your light makeup and put some cream on your face.

"You mean the outfit comments?" she asked. "Come on (Y/N) I was just being a friend," she said although her voice carried a tone that was far from innocent.

"No, you know what I think, you guys were all just trying to get Hotch to say something about me even though you know full well that isn't appropriate for the workplace,"

"Since when have you cared what's appropriate for the workplace Miss I don't care it's margarita Monday and I need a margarita," she teased.

"Since it means that all my coworkers are trying to force my boss to hit on me," you said somewhat obviously.

"Trust me (N/N), we're doing you both a favour, now go to sleep, you know Hotch he's an early riser,"

"You mean he doesn't sleep at all,"

"Yeah or that," she nodded with a chuckled and you rolled your eyes at her familiar lovable antics, but heeding her advice and slipping under the covers of your double bed and shutting off the lights, turning to see Penelope in her bed, removing her glasses and resting them on the table before wishing you goodnight and enveloping the room in darkness.

—

The next day, after grabbing breakfast, you, JJ, Penelope, and Hotch all piled into a car and drove down to the station.

The forecast predicted highs of 35°C (95°F), with high humidity. Spencer told you that was about 5°C above their average for the summer so to be safe you had bought everyone some bottled water and reminded them to put on sunblock as they would be outside.

It wasn't rare for you to be a bit of a mother hen at times, but you supposed it just helped you cope a little with the stress.

"Garcia, they've set up space you can use over there," Hotch pointed to a large desk that had been cleared so Penelope could set up her various computers.

Three of the four families had just arrived at the precinct and you took advantage of that to split up and each took one family before the fourth one arrived.

Emily would have been pretty handy to have in this situation seeing as due to the shock and grief of everything that had happened Karston's family had reverted to speaking their native tongue only with bits and pieces of English.

Hotch offered to speak with them, mumbling something about German classes in college finally doing him some good while JJ took on Jesse Handler's family and you were left with the Gibbs'.

You took them to one of the offices and shut the door behind you, offering tissues and condolences.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs I'm so sorry for your loss," you said softly, taking a seat across from them. "I can assure you that my team will do everything in their power to bring whoever did this to justice,"

"Thank you," Mr. Gibbs said. "We're just not sure how it happened," he admitted quietly. "She was right in front of us one minute and the next she was gone,"

"Do you think you could take me through the day she went missing?" you asked and they both nodded, but you had a sense Mr. Gibbs would be doing most of the talking.

"We were spending time at the beach, near our resort," he started. "Kelly stayed by the shore with us for a while, reading, sun tanning, just relaxing. I-It was her first year of college and finals had hit her pretty hard which is why we decided to come here in the first place,"

"We wanted to give her a break," Mrs. Gibbs spoke up. "A reward for doing so well,"

You gave her an understanding and sympathetic nod before allowing Mr. Gibbs to continue.

"Abby and I left for about an hour to go walk down the beach and grab something to eat, when we came back Kelly told us she wanted to go in the water so we sat down with our stuff and let her go,"

"And you saw her in the water?"

"Yes," her mother nodded. "We watched her swim around, there were a lot of people there and she was chatting with some girls her age so we turned our heads just for a...just a few seconds," she faded into a whisper.

"Are you able to describe the women you saw Kelly speaking with?" you asked, pulling out a paper and pen.

"There were two of them, one was tall and blonde," Mr. Gibbs described.

"The other was shorter than the blonde one and she had curly brown hair, with highlights,"

"This is incredibly helpful information Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs, if you can think of anything else that could possibly aid us in the investigation please don't hesitate to call me," you said, digging into your purse and grabbing one of your cards and handing it to them. "And if you'll wait a moment I just need to go have a word with my superior about getting a sketch artist in here,"

The couple nodded and you left the office, heading over to the conference room where Hotch was speaking with the Schmidts.

When you opened the door you heard the familiar tones of the yet unfamiliar language but you were surprised to hear them coming from your boss.

He turned when he saw the door open, and you came a little closer while he prepared himself to make introductions.

"Frau Schmidt, Fraulein, this is one of my agents," he switched to English for you. "If you'll just give me a moment,"

Karston's sister and wife nodded their heads, focusing their attention on the baby in the stroller while Hotch stood up and led you out of the room.

"We should try and get a sketch artist in here," you said. "Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs said they saw Kelly speaking with two girls right before she disappeared. They were around her age, I know we don't have a profile yet but they could be the unsubs or working with the unsub,"

"I'll see what we can do to make that happen," he nodded. "And I'll ask Mrs. Schmidt if she saw anything,"

"The sister flew in?" you asked.

"Yeah, last night from Frankfurt," he nodded. "Go check in with JJ and make sure she asks as well,"

You nodded your head and prepared to turn to leave, but it seemed Hotch had other ideas first. What was it with him and stopping you before you could go and do what you needed to?

"And (Y/N)?"

"Mhmm?" you turned around, white-spotted black skirt twirling around you while you crossed your arms over your chest.

"I like the outfit,"

You were slightly taken aback by the compliment, even going so far as looking down to see your white tank top, the front straps across your chest of your black lace bra just barely peeking through. You kicked out one of your feet, lightly tapping his shin and said,

"Thanks, Hotch," and as you walked away you called back. "And I like your outfit too,"

You could hear him let out a whisper of a chuckle, probably looking down at his navy polo shirt with similar shorts to the ones he wore yesterday before heading back into the conference room.

While you headed over to JJ, your eyes locked with Penelope's at her work station and she smirked triumphantly. If she wanted to be like that, two could play at that game.

—

"Okay, I'm going to grab dinner, what do you guys want?" you asked the rest of the team as they piled over papers and evidence logs.

"We can just call in," Derek suggested. "You don't have to run out,"

"No, I need to clear my head a bit, come back and look at it with fresh eyes. So what are we getting tonight?"

"Not Chinese we got that last time," Emily said.

"What about burgers?" JJ suggested. "That's classic hot weather food,"

"I could go for some meat right now," Rossi agreed and the team nodded aside from Hotch who was on the phone. When he hung up everyone looked over at him.

"You good for hamburgers, Hotch?" Derek asked and the Unit Chief gave you a nod. "Yeah, just could you get it with a lettuce wrap?" he asked because at this point you had all eaten dinner together so many times you could recite each of their orders by heart.

"Oh someone's on a health kick," Penelope chuckled.

"No," he shook his head. "Jack just has to do some elimination diet for allergy testing and we're on gluten now. I promised him I wouldn't have bread until he could,"

You smiled at that,

"Yeah, I'll remember to do that," you nodded. "I'll be back in half an hour give or take,"

You waved with your keys in your hand walking out of the precinct and hopping into one of the company-issue SUVs.

Before you left you got the address to a good restaurant from one of the uniformed officers and an FBI agent who eagerly agreed with him.

As promised you came back half an hour (maybe it was around forty minutes but no one was really counting) later, somehow managing to carry all the food plus drinks by yourself (thank goodness for bottled pop).

When you entered the conference room again things were somewhat quiet and you assumed they had come to the conclusion that no one ever wanted to come to on a case.

They needed another body for more evidence.

"Okay guys, I know you don't want to hear this but I'm calling it, case files away for an hour, we're already working overtime and you guys very clearly need to eat," you instructed, handing out the food you had so kindly gotten them to label with their names.

"Spencer, no tomatoes for you," you gave him a soft smile, handing the package with a burger and fries on the side to the doctor. "And Dave we've got extra tomatoes no mayonnaise,"

"Did you get the-,"

"Two steps ahead of you Prentiss, a salmon burger with a side salad," you said. "And don't give me any crap for that one, you can't be a pescetarian and eat like crap too, you'll die of malnutrition,"

She shook her head with a chuckle and thanked you for looking out for her.

Derek and Penelope's orders were pretty standard, only a very firm no pickles for your best friend.

"And here we go lettuce-wrapped burger for Aaron," you smiled and handed Hotch his food. "They always get confused when I say Hotch figured it was just easier to go with first names," you added knowing that question would come anyways and most likely from Penelope.

"Thanks," he nodded, taking the food from you while JJ snuck in and took her own order away.

Drinks were passed around the table and surprisingly they listened to what you had said, placing the folders in the centre and ignoring them for the time being while they took a break and ate their dinner.

But around halfway through the conversation was dying out and you were struck with an idea. A dangerous idea, but it was better than just waiting around for another body to show up.

"Okay I know I said no case talk," you started and that seemed to get everyone's attention. "But Spence you said you saw a pattern with the geographic locations of the abductions right?"

The young profiler nodded and you signalled at him to continue, wiping your hands on a napkin you stole from Hotch who was seated to your left.

"The unsub's taking his or her victims from popular beaches near resorts and very tourist-heavy areas," he explained. "With the way the abductions have bounced around, it's like a zig-zag over the city,"

"Do you think you can pinpoint what beach will be hit next?"

"(Y/N) where are you going with this?" Emily asked and you braced yourself for impact.

"What if we don't have to wait for another body," you suggested. "What if... What if we give the unsub what they want,"

"You're not suggesting-,"

"If some of us go undercover we could bait the unsub into taking one of us,"

"(N/N) do you have any idea how crazy dangerous that is? Especially this early in an investigation?" Derek asked.

"I know, I know it's just I can't sit and wait here for another innocent person to die, that's not fair, it's not right," you shook your head.

"(Y/N), can I speak with you, outside?" Hotch asked, pushing himself up from his chair.

"Hotch you can just say whatever you have to say in front of the team, you don't have to take me away to reprimand my idea,"

"(Y/N), I'm not sure this is something you want me discussing in front of everyone else,"

You sighed and got up, following the Unit Chief out of the conference room and to a secluded hallway in the precinct.

"Hotch what is it? Why do you keep pulling me away?" you asked, a little frustrated with his closed-off behaviour.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked.

"W-What?"

"Do you think we can catch the unsub this way?" he clarified.

You paused for a minute then nodded,

"If we have people working the case here and people on the inside trying to get the unsub to notice them I think we have a better chance of catching whoever did this before someone gets hurt,"

"And you're not doing this to get out of delivering a profile?"

"Why would you even suggest that?!" you scoffed. "If it's my job to deliver a profile then it's my job. If it's my job to go undercover and attract the attention of a serial killer then it's my job. It was just a suggestion and you didn't even have to take it I was just trying to-,"

"I think it's a good idea," he interrupted you and you stopped in the middle of your sentence. "And I think you and I should be on the ground and the rest of the team should stay here,"

You stopped for a minute, evaluations what he was saying,

"And this isn't some half-assed attempt to keep an eye on me and make sure I'm actually okay?"

Before he could answer you cut him off.

"Answer me honestly, I know your tell," you added.

"No, this isn't a half-assed attempt to keep an eye on you," he confirmed. "I've seen the others in the field in this position and I was simply picking the candidates that would work best in this particular situation,"

"Wouldn't Em be better than me for this?" you asked. "She spent years undercover,"

"Yes, but her doctor called me and said after her last injury she needs to take it easy. If something happens I can't risk putting her in a compromising situation," he explained. "And you've spent time undercover as well, I've seen you and you're cool under pressure and can go with the flow. I'm your boss (Y/N). I don't have to justify this decision to you if I don't want to. But I did because you're my friend and I respect your hesitancies,"

"I understand," you nodded. "And thank you,"

"For what?" he asked.

"For making sure I don't have to wait before it's too late again,"

He gave you a sympathetic look and you walked back to the conference room together. Hotch had the game plan and everyone was all ears.

"Tomorrow we'll get a preliminary profile going then (Y/N) and I will step out and check into one of the resorts close to the beach the unsub will strike next," he explained. "Garcia I need you to set up a secure link where we can communicate and you can deliver us any updates on the case that we might need,"

"Of course sir," she nodded.

"What are you thinking about for your cover?" Spencer asked. "Cause statistically and just looking at the past murders couples have been more prominent, you'd have better luck catching the unsub's eye that way,"

You and Hotch both looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the team. Now it was hard to tell whether this was some sort of scheme they had come up with in the minutes you were out of the room but they unanimously agreed with Spencer.

It looked like you were going to be Mrs. Hotchner for a few days.

"We can figure out the details in the morning," Hotch interrupted. "Let's just get some rest tonight and tackle it then,"

And if you were being honest, at that moment, you couldn't have been happier to have been asked to go to sleep.

—

The next morning came fairly quickly and there hadn't been as much of the usual chatter between you and Penelope. You sensed that although she was happy this was going to force you and Hotch to get up close and personal, what Derek had said had also worried her. So when you went out for a morning coffee before heading in you broke the silence.

"Penelope I'm going to be fine," you assured her.

"I know, I know," she nodded, waving her hands about, but she was still clearly stressed. "But I'm just going to have to sit at my little desk and do my work while you guys are just out there as bait,"

"This isn't the first time you've done this Pen, I know you can do it again," you wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. "Hotch and I will have each other's backs and we'll have communication with you whenever we're in the hotel room,"

"Would you be mad if I hacked the resort's security feed to keep an eye on you guys?" she asked and you gave her a light chuckle.

"If it makes you feel any better go for it,"

"Good, cause I was going to do it even if you said no,"

You rolled your eyes, of course, she would.

When you walked into the precinct the rest of the team was already there discussing some more aspects of the preliminary profile you would deliver before leaving for the resort Spencer had deemed close to the next beach the unsub would strike at.

"So we're going to work under the assumption that there are two unsubs?" Derek asked and Hotch nodded.

"After speaking with the families yesterday, three of the four noticed the victims speaking with two women right before they were abducted," JJ explained. "We got a sketch from Kelly Gibbs' parents,"

"So how do these methods of killing connect with a female unsub? Let alone two," Emily pondered aloud.

"Maybe they're locals," you suggested. "I grew up in a city with a lot of tourists and I can tell you I've met a decent amount of people who I wouldn't put murdering tourists past. Add some psychosis into the mix and you've got a deadly combination,"

"So you think someone's sick of tourism and wants people to leave? They're trying to scare the tourists away?"

"Wouldn't a mass panic be better for that?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, but it's easier to get caught in inciting a mass panic and locals could get hurt as well," you offered. "If the two women really are our unsubs that could explain why there's no pattern in the M.O."

"A dominant personality lets the submissive one experience part of the kill to keep them as a viable accomplice, if they go down then so does the other," Hotch added.

"But the dominant one is smart enough to shake the submissive one loose if it comes down to it and they know that their loyalty is too strong to break," Derek inferred.

"So find the submissive unsub and get them to crack, that's our ticket," Dave concluded.

"Good, (Y/N) can you deliver the profile to local PD with Prentiss and Reid, the rest of us will take care of the federal agents,"

"Yeah sure," you nodded and quickly grabbed Spencer by his sleeve and motioned at Emily with your head while you dragged him out of the room.

"Hey I was coming!" he exclaimed and you only chuckled, pulling him in for a quick side hug.

"Lighten up Spence, I'm just having some fun, plus you guys are gonna miss me when I'm gone," you poked.

"Ehhh," Emily scrunched her nose and tilted her head to the side while you punched her in the arm. You headed to the local police department which was close by and with a lot of deep breaths, a huge sip of iced coffee and some words of encouragement from your colleagues you were finally ready to deliver a profile.

"You've got this (Y/N), come on, trust your gut it'll lead us to the right place," Emily assured you.

"I know, I just-," you cut yourself short taking one more breath in. "Okay, let's do this,"

Spencer got everyone's attention and pretty quickly all eyes were on you.

"Okay so we're going to give you a preliminary profile for these unsubs," you started to explain. "It's a tool that'll help us narrow down the suspects. First off we believe we're looking for two offenders. Both women in their early to mid-twenties,"

"One will have a dominant personality and the other submissive," Emily added.

"Which means the dominant one is calling the shots and will not break under any circ*mstances, our best shot is either catching them in the act, or getting the submissive one to confess which is why Agent Hotchner and I will be heading to the next target so we have a chance of doing the former," you continued.

The officers listened intently, taking notes and preparing themselves to scout the streets and beaches, putting up the sketches and reminding the tourists to stay safe.

"Since we believe the unsubs are both women they probably have a way of charming their victims into coming with them to a secondary location. Even though there were two of them, Karston Schmidt was a police officer in Germany, he probably would have had the capacity to overpower them if they used force,"

"And there were no signs of defensive wounds,"

Delivering the rest of the profile was a lot easier than you expected, unlike the last time you had done this you had a good feeling about what was happening. You sensed you were on the right track and your teammates agreed with you.

As soon as you were finished and the questions had been answered you made your way back to the Honolulu field office where Hotch had already started to pack things, delegating who was in charge on their end for the rest of the case.

"Let me guess, Derek gets to be the big boss,"

"Experience speaks for itself (N/N)," he winked and you rolled your eyes lovingly at him.

"If there's an emergency or you need to inform us of any new information Garcia's set up a secure line that you can speak to us through,"

"Hotch, you should probably go over the details of your cover with (Y/N) before you leave," Dave added.

"We'll do it in the car," he said. "Do you have your bag?"

You nodded your head and went back to where you had placed it by Penelope's desk and showed it to him.

He motioned for you to put it in the suitcase. You had to look the part, and a duffle bag didn't scream couple on vacation.

"We'll be back hopefully in a few days," you assured, looking specifically at Penelope. "Less if you guys are wizards,"

"Stay safe, my loves," Penelope said, pulling you in for a tight hug.

"Look at the bright side Pen, you get the room to yourself for a few days," you chuckled. "We'll be fine,"

"I know, now go kick some unsub butt okay?"

"Promise," you nodded and grabbed the suitcase, looking at Hotch before heading out of the precinct and getting into a rented car that was a little more low-key than a big black SUV. "So the cover?" you asked as soon as you were on the road.

"Right," he said, remembering he still had to brief you. "Couple on vacation, it was too last minute to get Garcia to make some bogus identification so I'll have to use my real name when we check-in," he explained.

"Are we doing a married couple thing?" you asked, something you never thought you would have to say to your boss in your lifetime.

He pulled out something from his pocket and placed it in your hand.

"JJ and Garcia bought them at a pawn shop last night," he said while you examined the rings in your hand. "So I think it would be a safe bet to say yes,"

"Look Hotch if you're uncomfortable with this we don't have to do it," you said. "We can go back and look for the unsubs the same way as the rest of the team,"

"No, I'm fine," he insisted. "We're in the height of summer here, this is our best chance at getting them,"

"Okay," you nodded, taking the simple ring from your hand and sliding it onto your finger, handing Hotch the other one and he placed it quickly on his ring finger.

"You should also call me Aaron," he said. "Pet names are fine if you want to make it more believable, but wives don't tend to refer to husbands by their last name,"

"Aaron, I can work with that,"

You rarely referred to him by his first name, only when you really needed to get your point across and on occasion, it would slip out when you weren't paying that much attention,

It wasn't too much longer when he pulled up to the valet and gave them his keys before taking the suitcases out and lacing his hand with yours, leading you into the hotel. The game was on.

It didn't take much time to get to the front of the line at the check-in and Aaron did most of the talking to start with until you had a brilliant idea.

"I don't suppose you guys happen to have a honeymoon suite available," you said and Aaron tried to keep his face as neutral as possible like he was expecting that to come out of your mouth. "It's just we planned this trip kinda last minute, right honey?" you looked up and Aaron who nodded at the lady on the other side of the desk. "We weren't sure if the office was going to let us have time off so when we got the week we just booked a room and ran from the airport before they could call us back,"

"I'll see if I can find something for you guys, did you recently get married?" she asked and you nodded with a smile, looking up at Aaron with what you hoped were starry eyes.

"Yep, just last week," you confirmed.

"Best day of our lives," Aaron gave your hand a squeeze and you leaned into him a bit more.

"Oh look at that! Someone checked out early, I can bump you guys to that room and no additional charge for such a sweet couple,"

"Oh you're too kind," you cooed.

She handed you the room key and explained the many amenities of the resort and told you where you could go or call if you had any questions before you made your way to your room.

Once you were in the privacy of the elevator Aaron let go of your hand and looked at you curiously.

"Honeymoon suite? That's not exactly low key,"

"That's the point," you said, "Plus there's more privacy we can set up all out stuff and no one will come up there and be suspicious, we'll just keep the do not disturb sign out there,"

"Okay, we'll go in there and set up the computer and make sure our line to Garcia works then we can start by scouting the resort first then the beach,"

"Got it,"

When you walked into the suite you almost went back out to thank the receptionist a second time. This kind of room with no additional charge, now that was a bargain. Aside from the slight problem that there was only one bed and the loveseat wasn't big enough for either of you to sleep on, you would be more than comfortable.

You put your suitcase on the bed and unzipped it, sifting through your clothes until you found what you were looking for, pulling it out and laying it on the bed while Aaron set up the laptop.

"I'm going to go get changed," you told him. "Are you good with the computer?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he nodded. "You brought a swimsuit?"

"I had a few vacation days saved, I figured I might take them after all this is over," you explained. "And you?"

"Jack found out I was going to Hawaii he threw a couple of things in my bag and I didn't have the heart to take them out,"

"Really?" you chuckled.

Aaron nodded his head with a small smile at the thought of his son.

"He said 'Daddy if you're going to Hawaii you have to go swim with the dolphins,',"

"I'm sure we could find a way to make that happen," you noted. "I'll be back in a minute, if you get ahold of Penelope tell her I say hi,"

"Will do,"

You didn't think you would have to wear a bikini as a part of a work uniform but the BAU surprised you more and more every day.

When you walked out of the washroom you were tying a white see-through cover skirt over your waist and when you looked up it was painfully obvious how Aaron's eyes dragged up and down your body like he's never seen a woman in a swimsuit before. To be fair you were wearing your yellow polka-dot bikini and it was your favourite for a good reason.

"Hotch?"

He coughed and peeled his eyes away from you, "Right, sorry," He looked back at the computer and then shut it off, grabbing his swimsuit and a t-shirt from his suitcase and followed your lead.

While he was getting changed, you packed a bag with a few necessities, a towel, sunscreen, a book to keep yourself occupied and your sunglasses which you kept perched on top of your head.

"You ready?" Aaron asked and you nodded your head, extending your hand and preparing yourself for the show you would have to put on.

The plan was to start at the resort and see if you could find the unsubs around there and if not you would hit the beaches, hoping to get lucky.

The pool was surrounded by deck chairs and there was a bar on the far end facing the beach.

"Hey, why don't I go get us a couple of drinks," he suggested.

"Sure, I'm gonna go grab a seat for this then dip my feet in the water," you nodded and he gave your hand one last convincing squeeze and went off to the bar.

Pulling your book out of your bag, you did as you said you would, letting your feet cool off in the water of the large adults-only pool.

Aaron came back carrying two drinks, virgins you assumed, you needed to be able to keep your wits about you.

"See anything interesting?" you asked, not looking up from your book when he placed the drink at your side.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Aaron honey, come here a minute," if you were being honest you didn't really mean for the pet name to slip out, it just felt natural so you let it happen.

"Mhmm," he nodded as he squatted down so he was at your level, you curled your finger, motioning for him to come closer and he got the hint, leaning in so you could whisper to him.

"I saw a girl with curly hair brown hair and highlights like Kelly's parents described go in past there," you pointed to the small entrance which connected the outdoor pool to the indoor one, "but I didn't get a good look at her face," you told him and confirmed what you were thinking by standing back up and pulling his t-shirt up over his head and slipping into the water while you continued to 'read' your book.

He came swimming back only a few minutes later, and by the look you saw in his eyes you could tell it wasn't her. Either she had some sort of defining feature that discounted her as suspect or she was with someone else who didn't fit the description of the other unsub.

Once he was at your feet he laid his arms across your legs to hold himself up only slightly in the deeper water, but you knew very well he could still reach.

You passed him his drink and you stayed like that, just soaking up the sun a bit and acting like two idiots in love, although you couldn't really tell how much of it was acting at that point, from all the things Penelope had said to how oddly comfortable you felt having him this close to you it seemed like maybe more and more you were just playing out some fantasy that lived deep in your subconscious.

"What are you reading?" he asked, just trying to make conversation while you waited out staying here for a little while longer.

"The DaVinci Code,"

"I think I've heard of that," he hummed.

"You think you've heard of it?" now this you had to hear.

"Yeah, it was a Tom Hanks movie, right?"

"Aaron you're killing me here," you laughed, looking down at him with slight disbelief. "Although the movie was great the book is better, and are you seriously telling me you haven't heard of it? The prequel is Angels and Demons? Dan Brown? This is like my fifth time reading this,"

"Oh Dan Brown," he finally recognized something. "Yeah, I read Deception Point,"

"That's the book of his you've read! What rock do you live under?" you shook your head.

"Would it make you happy if I read it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Yes, I would be eternally grateful if you read the DaVinci Code," you nodded your head.

"Then it's done," he smiled. "And I know just who to come to when I've finished it,"

"Perfect, as soon as we get back home I'll lend you the set,"

"The set?" he questioned and you nodded.

"Three books so far and it's rumoured he's working on another,"

"So I've set myself up for the long run?"

"Yeah pretty much," you chuckled with a sigh, soaking up the sun.

"Hey why don't you come in for a little bit, the water's not that bad then maybe we can go to the beach?" he suggested and you looked down at him, running a hand through his wet hair.

"Sure, and maybe you'll get to see those dolphins Jack wanted you to," you said quietly, and he gave you a smile, stepping away from the pool wall, allowing you to get up and untie the skirt from your waist and setting it along with your book and sunglasses in your beach bag.

When you sat back down on the edge of the pool, Aaron grabbed your waist, before you could protest and make some excuse to not jump in the water fast because it was cold, and pulled you into the water making you let out a small squeal.

"Aaron!" you gasped once your head bobbed back up from under the water and you grabbed onto the edge of the pool for support.

You were freezing and he looked like he was having the time of his life and not his undercover self either, you could see this was your boss just enjoying himself while you gave him the stink-eye.

"Why are you still holding the wall, it's warmer if you move around a bit," he noted and you rolled your eyes.

"Not everyone's as tall as you Aaron, I can't reach," you deadpanned, pointing down below to the space between the bottom of the pool and your feet. "And I'd rather not be treading water for the foreseeable future so I think I'll stay here,"

"Well that's what husbands are for, right?" he came closer to you and oh if only Penelope could have seen what was going through your mind at that moment, she would have a field day.

He helped you wrap your arms around his neck before hooking his hands under your knees holding you firmly against his chest. This was a whole nother level of close you weren't expecting and you were starting to think maybe for your own sanity you should have said no to this, not knowing it would involve being practically squished against his well-toned chest, and not to mention that triathlon did wonders for his quads and biceps, but you just had to come up with another way to catch the unsub didn't you.

"You warmer now?" he asked and you could feel his head tilt to lock eyes with you, but you diverted your gaze over his shoulder instead only nodding your head with a small,

"Yep," for confirmation.

"Garcia told me they found another body," he leaned in so close you could practically feel his lips ghosting your ear. "Which means they'll be on the hunt for another victim,"

"All the more reason to check the beach," you whispered back, not only hoping you might find a piece of what you were looking for but maybe if you had a smidge of luck, the unsubs too.

He gave you a hand in getting out of the pool, not wanting to swim over to one of the ladders instead and you grabbed a towel for yourself before passing him one once he hopped out of the water.

You tried to drag your eyes away from his drenched form, but you found yourself staring and with the sudden urge to slap every single one of your team members for setting you up like this.

The beach probably wasn't as crowded as it had been the other day because the weather had cooled down a bit, much to your advantage.

You found a clear patch of sand somewhere in between resorts and set up a blanket there, taking out your sunscreen so you could reapply. Skin cancer was not really something you wanted to deal with and have the capacity to say the phrase: in hindsight.

"Aaron you should put some on too," you held out the bottle to him while he quickly scanned the crowds.

"I'm alright," he pushed your hand away and you frowned. This was coming from the man, who for the record you had never seen whine, and yet had become a complete child in front of you when he had gotten sunburnt in Florida, completely of his own fault too.

"Aaron, come on," you pushed it back towards him. "Lord knows you hate getting burnt,"

"(Y/N), I'm fine," he tried to assure you, but you weren't planning on taking no for an answer. When he turned back around and least expected it, you kicked his feet out from under him and turned him around so he was lying flat on his back.

His eyes were definitely wide with surprise when you sat on his stomach, practically straddling him and using your finger to draw a line of sunscreen down his nose. It was such a ridiculous sight he couldn't help but laugh,

"(Y/N) what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving myself from a few days worth of complaints-stop squirming!" you chuckled, finally getting him to hold still so you could make sure it was evenly applied over his face, your hands carefully holding the sides of his face when you finished, the faint smile not having left either of your lips. "There, see that wasn't so bad,"

"There's a pile of extra paperwork waiting for you when we get back, you mark my words," he gave you a joking threat while you pushed yourself off him and took a seat on the blanket instead.

"Eh, you'll be thanking me later so I doubt that,"

You went fishing in your bag for your personal cell phone to take a few pictures of the beach because why not when you felt Aaron tap your shoulder. At first, you ignored it because you thought he was just going to further complain about the sunscreen incident, but when he tapped you a little harder you turned around, following his eyes to two women who looked exactly like the description Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs had given of the unsubs.

"We need to get their attention somehow," you whispered and he nodded, better they pick you both before anyone else became subject to their torture.

"How?" he asked, and rightfully so, you were on a crowded beach, how would you do that without drawing unwanted attention.

"I have a plan, come with me," you instructed, grabbing his hands and helping him get up off the ground. "Just follow my lead, okay?"

You didn't even wait for a chance to hear or see his answer before you pulled him over to where the two women were standing and at the last second turned around to face Aaron before bumping into the taller blonde one.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" you apologized, checking to make sure she was alright.

"It's fine," she assured you, "No problem, really,"

"You sure? I'm such a klutz aren't I Aaron?" you looked over to Aaron who only nodded with a half-smile.

"I'm sure, these beaches are so crowded I don't blame you," she said before sending a look to her friend. "You guys on vacation?"

"Yeah," you breathed, glancing at Aaron with that love-struck dazed look in your eyes and you swore you could see his eyes glimmer with desire, but you shrugged it off and focused your attention back on the women. "We're on our honeymoon actually and looking for a place to grab some ice cream so we can deal with this guy's sweet tooth," you nudged him lightly. "You don't happen to know of anything around here do you?"

"Actually we were just heading to grab some," the curly-haired girl jumped in, "Why don't we take you,"

"Sounds good to me," Aaron agreed and you grinned, holding his hand tighter and nodding your confirmation. "Are you guys from around here?" he asked as you followed them down the beach.

"Yeah, both born and raised in Honolulu," they said.

"I'm Jasmine by the way," the curly-haired one said. "This is Polly,"

"I'm (Y/N)," you smiled.

"Aaron," he gave them a nod.

"So if you're on your honeymoon where are you from?" Polly asked.

"Virginia," you answered them. "I moved there for work and met this guy,"

That wasn't entirely false, you had moved to be closer to work and as a result, you did end up meeting Aaron, but you wouldn't call it a meet-cute perse.

"That's adorable," Jasmine cooed. "I hope you guys have a great start to your lives together,"

"Thank you," Aaron said, wrapping his arm around your back and pulling you tight into his side. "I do too,"

You looked up at him when he said that, maybe trying to place his sincerity or search for some kind of sign that deep down he really wanted something like this, that it wasn't just you stuck in this godforsaken corner your lovely coworkers had helped you into.

You really needed some of Penelope's advice right about now.

The two women seemed surprisingly normal, no matter how much you tried to profile them they certainly hid their plan well.

They took you to an ice cream shop along the beach and you each got a cone, continuing to chat and hoping by the time you left they would bring up something that might force you all to be together once more.

"You know, while you're in town there's a great restaurant you should try, it's actually really close by," Polly noted as you started to wrap things up, needing to head back to your neglected bags and blankets.

"You know we're actually free tomorrow night," Jasmine added. "We could go together, honestly any excuse to eat there, right?"

"Sounds a lot better than room service," Aaron chuckled. "What do you think sweetheart?"

"I'm in," you nodded. "We're staying at the Three Palms Resort, could you meet us there, say seven?"

"That should work, seven tomorrow," Polly grinned. "We'll see you guys there, have a good rest of your day,"

"Will do, you guys too," Aaron waved as they walked away and wrapped his arm somewhat protectively around you, gripping onto your waist maybe tighter than he realized.

"Call Garcia when we get back?"

"Definitely,"

And for some reason, you could only think in the wise, wise words of Derek Morgan when the Chicago Bears made it to the super bowl,

Baby girl, sh*t just got real.

—

"Okay I've programmed a system into each of your phones so if you shut it down it'll send an emergency signal to continue tracking you wherever you are," Penelope explained.

"Hopefully we won't have to use it," you sighed. "I'll tell Aaron when he gets back,"

"Oo," she grinned, leaning forward on her desk. "Aaron, you say?"

"Oh, shut up, Penelope," you scoffed. "He's my fake husband, what did you expect?"

"Right," she laughed. "Let me see the ring,"

You quickly switched the finger your ring was on and lovingly flipped her off while you showed her.

"Hey (Y/N), come on show a little decency," Derek joked and you only threw up another one for him as well since he couldn't hear anything you had to say on account of Penelope's earpiece.

"You know I'm all confused now thank you you guys," you said quietly, hoping your voice wouldn't carry if Aaron was nearby.

"Confused? What do you mean, my love?" she asked, her tone filled with concern like the amazingly good friend she was.

"I-I don't know," your shoulders tensed at first but then dropped with a frustrated sigh. "It just felt a little too real,"

"In a bad way?"

"No... and that's the problem," you swallowed thickly. "I feel like I'm reading too much into it, he's just doing his job,"

"If you think that whenever it comes to you Hotch is just doing his job you are sorely mistaken," she said plainly. "Why do you think we tried to get you both stuck in a room together playing the happy couple on vacation,"

"Honeymoon actually," you looked around at the suite. "For convenience sake obviously,"

"Even better, now maybe you'll both get your heads out of the sand and see that there's something there,"

"Penelope you're reaching," you told her. "I'm not an actor so separating the role from reality is a little harder for me, I'll get ahold of myself,"

"You don't have to be a profiler to see that you like each other, my dear, just you wait,"

The lock on the door clicked and you sent her a look to cut it out just as Aaron walked back into the room with some food and drinks.

"You with Garcia?" he asked and you nodded.

"She was just telling me about this program she installed on our phones remotely. It's to help track us in case anything goes south,"

"Good work," he gave her a nod.

"At your service my liege," she grinned. "I should let you guys go, I have to run these names you gave me with the descriptions to see what information I can dig up on them before tomorrow night,"

"Okay, thanks Penny,"

"Anytime," she smiled. "Stay safe and have some fun,"

You were about to shoot something back at her but she disconnected the video chat before you could.

"Are you hungry?" Aaron asked and you nodded your head, moving the computer out of the way on the table to make room for the food he had bought.

"I'm hungry but equally tired, I think the sun got to me,"

"While we're on that topic," his eyes drifted over to the bed. "I can sleep on the ground it's not that bad,"

"Aaron, if you think I'm going to let you sleep on the dirty hotel room floor you're very very wrong," you gave him a light chuckle. "Come on we're adults and the bed is big enough for us both,"

"Are you sure?" he emphasized. "Because the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable-,"

"Aaron it's fine," you interrupted him, taking out the to-go box of sushi and grabbing a pair of chopsticks.

"Alright," he finally caved and internally you were screaming at yourself for doing that. He gave you so many outs and yet you just had to convince him to sleep in the same bed as you. Great, Hawaii 2, (Y/N) 0.

Yes, you were adults, but right now you felt like a teenager in this whole situation. Uncomfortably created for you, by you.

There was light talk of the case over dinner and then you quickly decided to take a shower and get ready for bed.

When you walked out of the washroom, Aaron was already half under the covers on one side of the bed with a book in his hands.

When you caught sight of what it was you smiled a little and he looked up at you and said,

"I hope you don't mind, it was just sitting there and I got curious,"

"Aaron, please know that having another person read my favourite books is never a problem, plus I finished that one on the plane, it's yours until you finish it,"

"Good, because things just got interesting," he mumbled, looking back down at the pages and you gave him a smile he probably missed.

Drinking some water, and doing any last-minute things you might need to before bed, you climbed into the empty side and tucked yourself comfortably into the covers and turned so you were facing the wall.

After a short while, Aaron turned off the bedside lamp and sunk further into the mattress, prompting you for some reason to switch your position and face him, seeing he was turned towards the centre of the bed facing you.

"Still awake?" he asked and you nodded with a sigh.

"I brought shorts and a tank thinking it was going to be hot but apparently not in these rooms, it's freezing up here," you admitted.

He nodded and looked like he was maybe about to suggest something but was unsure if he wanted to bring it up.

Eventually, his slight concern got the better of him and he said,

"If you want you could come closer," he said. "Haley used to always tell me I was really warm which is great in the winter-,"

"But bad in the summer," you finished for him.

Wordlessly you moved closer to him, to your boss, and let him wrap one of his arms over your back. Your face became pressed gently against his chest and you didn't know if the loud thumping was your heart or his.

You tried not to show how nervous you were, but you weren't sure you were successful with the amount you felt like you were shaking. Maybe Aaron seemed to notice it because he squeezed you a little tighter and your muscles relaxed, easing into his hold and you finally allowed your eyes to close and fall into a restful sleep.

—

The next morning came quickly and you both tried to start the day with as little awkwardness as possible. But considering your search was over you spent the wide majority of the day lounging around and on-call with Penelope, participating virtually in their continued investigation.

As the time gathered closer and closer to dinner you and Aaron both had to get ready.

Penelope had gladly gone to the store on your behalf and purchased a nice evening dress that she then had sent to the resort you were staying at.

"Penelope, I told you not to go all out!" you exclaimed at your friend from across the screen.

"Just put it on, you'll look great!" she insisted. "Hotch won't be able to take his eyes off you,"

"I won't be able to, what?" you could hear his voice enter the room and your eyes went wide, shutting the computer before Penelope had a chance to say anything more and make it worse.

"Nothing," you squeaked.

"Is that your dress for tonight?" he asked, not needing an answer if you didn't want to give him one for his previous question.

"Yeah, Pen had it sent over," you nodded. "It's not too much is it?"

"Put it on and we'll see," he shrugged.

"You're lucky," you sighed, throwing the dress over your shoulder, holding on by the hangar. "You've just got yourself a whole suit in your go-bag and I have to wear Penelope's selection right here,"

"I'm assuming it's too much for your taste," he raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What can I say, you married a simple and modest woman," you shrugged just as you entered the washroom and closed the door behind you.

Even though it was a bit fancier than your taste, you couldn't deny that when you slipped it on it looked good.

The back needed to be zipped, but the front hugged every inch of your body and Penelope's signature to get you to be a little more adventurous, a plunging neckline with off-the-shoulder sleeves.

"Hotch! Can you come in here for a sec?" you asked and you heard his footsteps get closer until the door opened revealing him in a half-buttoned shirt with a tie thrown around his shoulders.

"You sure you didn't mean to call me in a couple of minutes?" he asked, quickly averting his gaze.

"I need help with the zipper unless you want me to dislocate my shoulder," you said, turning around so your back was facing him.

"Um, yeah sure, I can do that," he nodded, coming forward and taking the zipper between his fingers, pulling it up slowly to make sure it didn't get stuck or catch onto any stray fabric. You could feel his thumb trail a defining line across your spine and you almost shivered but kept yourself still. He finished off with the clip at the top before asking,

"Do you need anything else?"

"Actually," you grabbed a necklace from your thing and handed it to him. "It goes nicely with the dress and I'm a sucker for jewelry,"

He took the necklace and examined it quickly, noticing the long thin pendant with an engraving on it.

"Someone give this to you?" he asked, bringing his arms around your neck and pulling the clasp back.

"Yeah, my dad," you nodded.

"What does it say on it?"

"Oh, I got that added later," you shook your head. "It's nothing,"

"Come on (Y/N)," his hands ran across your shoulders and down your arms, squeezing lightly.

You sighed and turned around, looking him in the eye.

"Okay, but you can't be mad at me,"

"For what? Is it something I said?"

"On my first day at work," you nodded. "I ran in after an unsub without my vest and when we got back you brought me into your office and gave me a whole lecture, but ended it by telling me to-,"

"Get yourself something to remind you not to make reckless decisions," he breathed. "I remember that,"

"Well it was kind of supposed to be a joke, but it hasn't failed me since," you lifted the pendant and showed it to him. And just like he had said all those years ago, only now engraved in gold,

Don't make reckless decisions

"I can't believe you did that," he let out a small chuckle and an eye roll, moving back slightly to continue buttoning his shirt. "I mean that's a whole nother level of passive-aggressive,"

"If it makes you feel any better karma got me back, it's like my good luck charm now," you laughed. "I can't leave the house without it,"

"Alright, I consider myself vindicated," he assured you. "But for tonight we need to have a plan,"

"I agree, do you have any thoughts?"

"Under no circ*mstances do we leave each other's side, you have to go to the washroom, hold it,"

"Got it, and we need to try and, I don't know, find a way to make ourselves seem non-threatening enough for them to want to pick us as victims," you explained. "If they ask us about work we have to have cover jobs and-," you shook your head. "It's just hard to figure out how to crack someone without being direct about it,"

"After dinner, we can find a way to follow them, see if it leads us anywhere," he suggested.

He checked his watch and after seeing the time, quickly did his tie and grabbed your hand, dragging you towards the door.

"We're running behind," he filled in the blanks.

"Aaron, I still need my shoes," you pointed over to the high heels by the door and he let you go to quickly slip them on before joining him again and walking down to the elevator at a spritely pace.

Down in the lobby, Jasmine and Polly were both waiting for you already, smiling when they saw you exit the elevator.

"Sorry we're late," you chuckled, coming up to hug them both while Aaron shook their hands. "This one's having a little trouble restraining himself if you know what I mean,"

"I don't blame him I mean look at you, you're stunning," Polly flashed you a grin.

"See," he responded, running his hands down your sides and squeezing your hips before letting his fingers glide down further until the dress cut off in the middle of your thighs. "Told you they'd understand,"

"Come on, hands-off Aaron, you can wait until later," you hushed him and he pressed a quick kiss to your cheek before conceding. You hoped it wasn't noticed the way your legs shook while his hands roamed your sides like that.

"So where's this restaurant we heard so much about?" you asked. "After you mentioned it we couldn't stop hearing about it,"

"Oh, it's close by," Jasmine explained, "Right down the street actually, we can walk,"

As expected the night was filled with casual dinner talk and barely any signs of suspicious happenings. Only once or twice an offhand comment was made that might tip someone off, but you came to realize these two were good, they had practice, and they certainly wouldn't be revealing their motivations to two newlyweds on their honeymoon so you would have to get your information another way.

"Hey, so how did you guys fall in love?" Polly asked in the middle of dinner. "I'm just obsessed with stories of how couples meet and you guys are so adorable I can't help but ask,"

"Um well," you looked next to you, catching Aaron's eye before just deciding to say something honest. It was much easier than lying. "We met at work," you said. "He was my boss, and I guess there was just one of those instant connections,"

"I don't know if I would call it instant," Aaron nudged you. "It took some time to warm up but we were fast friends,"

"What made you realize you were in love? Or what made you fall in love with each other?" Jasmine added.

You looked up at Aaron with bright eyes, your teeth dragging over your bottom lip.

"His sense of humour," you chuckled knowing that would get him to laugh.

"My sense of humour?"

"It's subtle, but you make me laugh more than you know," you admitted. "And he's always looking out for people. Putting others before himself, I don't know I guess I just think that's important,"

"What about you Aaron?" Polly asked while she leaned into the table.

"Her determination," he said and you looked admittedly somewhat dreamily into his dark brown eyes, digging deep to see the level of his sincerity. "She's always fighting to keep moving forward and she never backs down. A lot stronger than she lets on," his hand slipped into yours under the table giving it a tight squeeze before continuing. "And her smile, whenever there's a hard day, I just...go looking for that smile and it makes everything okay,"

Jasmine and Polly smiled, saying various things along the lines of that's so sweet, but you were too busy taking in what he had said.

"You mean that?" you whispered quietly while the girls ordered dessert.

"Every word," he nodded, and your heart suddenly felt more full and a big part of you wished that you weren't confined by the case, that you could actually tell him what you thought you felt in a natural setting and see if those feelings were really reciprocated.

When things were tidied up Jasmine insisted, as in practically fought with Aaron, to get the cheque because it was their gift to you as newlyweds. You wondered if they had treated all of their victims like this.

They left the restaurant first and at a respectable distance behind them, you and Aaron followed.

At first, it made sense that they were going back to their hotel, that was where their car was parked, but when they entered the lobby you frowned.

"Why are they back here?" you whispered to him. "Do they have a room?"

"I'm not sure, maybe,"

You waited for them to get into the elevator and stood next to it while you watched what floor it got off at.

14, one below yours.

You looked up and Aaron and he nodded while you clicked the buttons, calling an elevator down to take you to the fourteenth floor.

Reaching the floor you saw it was empty, obviously, you had missed them going into one of the rooms.

But as you walked down the halls you could make out voices coming from one room in particular that sounded awfully familiar.

As cliche as it was you, pressed your ear to the wall in an attempt to hear better.

"He never leaves her side. How are we supposed to get one of them alone?" Polly asked.

"I don't know but we'll figure it out, when did they say they're leaving?"

"A week and a half from now,"

"See we have time... we just have to make sure we wait for the right moment, we'll get one of them,"

There was a quiet shuffle and you looked up at Aaron, this didn't sound good at all.

"Did you see the FBI got called here, what if they figure it out? What if-?" Polly was cut off by Jasmine saying,

"They won't. Trust me," she assured. "When we're done we'll be back where we want to be, okay? I promise,"

"Okay,"

There was silence for a few moments then Polly spoke up once more,

"I'm going to go down and get some ice, okay? We're out,"

Naturally, you panicked, unsure of what to do, the elevator and stairs were too far away and there didn't seem to be a thing to do to cover your tracks. Luckily, or unluckily for you, Aaron had his head on straight and quickly pulled you a few doors down and quickly took his key card out of his pocket.

"Aaron what are you doing?" you whispered.

"Making this believable, I'm so sorry,"

You didn't know why he was apologizing but it soon became evident. His lips smashed against yours in a fervent kiss, filled with desire while he made it look like he was attempting to get into the right room on the wrong floor.

Your breath hitched when you felt his tongue delve into your mouth, devouring you like you were meant to be fitted together like that.

He pushed you up against the wall next to the door, grabbing your legs and pulling them up around his waist, his large hands coming to rest on your bare thighs.

"Aaron," you squeaked when you felt him grab you tighter, holding onto you like he never wanted to let go.

When his mouth left yours and moved lower to your neck, you didn't know if he could tell, but you weren't acting anymore.

The choked moan you let out when he nipped at the sensitive part on your neck, running your hands through his hair as his teeth lightly grazed across your chest, looking for the right spot to mark.

You almost forgot the real reason you were there until you were so painfully reminded when Polly called out your names.

"(Y/N)? Aaron?"

At the sound of his name, Aaron's lips were off you and you almost whined wanting to pull him in for more.

"P-Polly," you quickly tried to compose yourself as Aaron put you down, his arm still wrapped protectively around you. "What are you doing here?" you asked.

"I have a friend who works here," she lied smoothly. "I needed to give him something and his boss said he was up here,"

"On the fifteenth floor?"

"This is the fourteenth floor," she chuckled.

You looked up at Aaron and shook your head, letting it fall into his chest.

"This is so embarrassing," you groaned and he apologized.

"Heat of the moment sweetheart, I'm sorry,"

"Well, um we should probably-," you pointed to the elevators and she nodded.

"Yeah for sure," she chuckled and waved goodbye while you both walked away to the elevator.

When you got inside the small square box, you looked anywhere but Aaron's eyes, the silence painfully awkward.

He grabbed his key card when you made it outside your room and unlocked the door allowing you to walk into the suite.

As soon as you closed the door behind you and looked up in front of you, your eyes locked with his.

The way he looked at you, ate you down to your very core and you just wished he would pull you up again in his arms and made sure he left nothing unfinished.

It was almost like if you broke the silence, whatever it was would be over, you couldn't ask him to kiss you again, you needed to show him you wanted that and he needed to respond in action.

You stepped forward, wrapping your arms around his neck, praying to whatever God was out there that you weren't getting the wrong signals from him.

Thank goodness you weren't. His lips connected with yours once more and you pulled him so close his body was pressed flush against yours.

He picked you up again, moving you over to the bed, not caring about your heeled shoes still on your feet.

You could feel his hand on the zipper of the back of your dress, pulling it down and letting the sleeves fall further down your shoulders until he put you back on the ground and the dress pooled at your feet.

You kicked away while working on his tie and buttons of his dress shirt, allowing his lips to press as many kisses to yours as they could while your fingers did away with his clothing.

But as soon as your back was on the bed he paused, leaning over top of you, his lips slightly swollen from the force with which you had kissed.

"(Y/N) are...are you sure?" he asked and suddenly everything came rushing back, the case, your cover, literally everything Penelope had ever said.

And suddenly you weren't so sure this was how you wanted things to go down. You wanted him, without a doubt, but you were in the middle of a case, it just didn't seem right.

"Maybe we should slow down," you suggested and he gave you a nod, but you still pulled him down for another kiss as if to say, I still want this, just not right now.

His forehead was still pressed against yours once your lips had parted, and your hands were gently holding the sides of his face.

It felt so intimate, yet so right, and when you saw his eyes flicker down to your necklace you both let out a quiet chuckle.

It might have just saved you one more time.

—

The next morning you woke up to the sound of the computer monitor going off and you attempted to push yourself upright with a bit of a struggle seeing as Aaron's head was laying against your chest.

Eventually, he moved over slightly so you could sit up, squinting to see what the alert was for.

"Aaron, Aaron come on we have to get up," you shook him gently and he groaned, turning onto his back before pulling you back on top of him, pressing a firm kiss to your lips,

"Wow Hotch really commits to a role doesn't he," you could hear a familiar teasing voice from the computer and your blood went cold as you quickly scrambled off him so fast you fell off the side of the bed revealing that you were unfortunately only wearing your undergarments, it looked very incriminating.

"Oh my God," another voice joined in. "OH MY GOD,"

"Aaron!" you exclaimed and he quickly threw you a blanket to cover yourself with. "Isn't this an invasion of privacy?" you looked over at Penelope and Emily on the computer screen, quickly turning it away from the bed so that Aaron could get out and throw on a shirt and some pants.

"Technically this is all a part of a federal investigation so," Emily sucked some air in through her teeth and you looked over at Penelope, expecting her to say something.

"Don't look at me!" she said. "What did I tell you?"

"Okay, you guys just-,"

You were cut off when Aaron was quick to come to your rescue, turning around the computer to face him now fully dressed and giving the girls his Unit Chief glare, but you saw the fire in Emily's eyes, she was not backing down.

"So Hotch you always greet people like that in the morning or-,"

"Prentiss," he said warningly while Penelope was trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably. Aaron then directed his gaze to her and she could sense it burning through the screen. "Penelope I really thought you were better than this,"

Ouch, he used the first name and everything.

"I-I'm sorry sir it's just that we," she looked up at Emily. "Found some relevant information and w-we couldn't wait to share it, it was kind of urgent," she looked like she was more worried he was mad than you, but you didn't blame her. Sometimes Aaron was scary.

"Don't apologize to him," Emily gently hit Penelope's arm. "He's the one bangin' it out on assignment, if anything he should be apologizing to us,"

"Um excuse me," you turned the camera around again to yourself. "We did not 'bang it out' thank you very much,"

"(Y/N) I'm sorry gorgeous, but do you really expect us to believe that when you were literally, y'know," Penelope put her hands on top of each other to show the position they had seen you in, and you facepalmed. "And you're only wearing a lace bra and panties under that blanket, come on you've got to know how that looks,"

Right about now you wanted to jump into a fiery pit of lava to be disintegrated and never seen again. Maybe Kīlauea was open for visitors.

"You guys are a lost cause, there, you happy?"

"Hmm," Emily hummed. "Not until you say it,"

"Say what?" you asked, your eyes drifting over to Aaron to see if he knew what they were talking about. Clearly, he didn't.

"That you would have never made a move on him if we hadn't forced you to play the married couple,"

You scoffed, shaking your head, "You know what as much as I love you guys I don't have time for this, what were you going to tell us, out with it,"

Penelope took over at this point, knowing you were serious and explained the additional information they had found.

"So it turns out Jasmine and Polly have known each other a long time and each had apartments in Honolulu up until a few months ago. The tourism here screws up the housing markets and they couldn't afford rent anymore so they moved out and have been staying in the same resort as you guys ever since then,"

"If they can't afford rent how can they afford the resort?" you asked.

"They work there," Emily jumped in. "But they've both been given paid leave for a bit, I think they know the owner and he's cutting them some slack,"

"And their time off has given them more time to hunt and the prime place to do it," Aaron sighed. "Thank you, Garcia, we'll check in soon,"

"Of course, sir,"

"Don't forget to use-,"

You shut the computer before Emily could finish her sentence and ran a hand across your face before running it through your slightly messy hair.

"That was so much worse than I expected that to be," you sighed. "You're lucky your friends aren't like that,"

"Have you met Dave?" he asked, a brow raised and you gave him a soft smile. "There she is," he whispered softly and held your chin in between his thumb and index finger, tilting it upward so he could press another kiss to your lips. "Don't let it bother you too much, eventually it'll be yesterday's news,"

"Yeah, but it's still today, unfortunately," you said, moving over to your suitcase to grab a change of clothes. "I'll go grab us something to eat downstairs then we can come up with a game plan," you suggested while slipping on a white sundress with a tacky oversized Hawaiian shirt as a light sweater.

"Good idea," he nodded, "And don't-,"

"Forget the coffee, I know," you chuckled, grabbing your phone and wallet, leaving the room by yourself to go down to the lobby.

While Aaron waited for you to return he grabbed the book you had given him to read and sat down on the love seat to read until you got back. It was still early in the morning and he had a bit of time before the day needed to start and you had to be on top of the case.

Just when he was starting to get suspicious of how much time it was taking you the monitor went off and he quickly made his way over to the computer and turned it on.

"Garcia, what's going on?" he asked.

"Sir I-I don't know what happened we just talked a few minutes ago how is she-,"

"Garcia what happened?" his heart rate picked up, had she heard from you. Did she know something he didn't?

"The signal on her phone went off, we're tracking her, but she's moving away from the resort fast, probably in a car,"

"Send me the coordinates, I'll meet the rest of you wherever they're taking her," he said, "They don't wait, we have to get there quickly, I'll call you in the car,"

"Of course and s-sir?"

"Yes, Garcia?"

"Please bring her back," she pleaded and he didn't hesitate to nod before turning off the computer and grabbing his gun from the safe, running out the door to the parking lot, not having time for the valet, quickly getting into the car and punching in the coordinates to the GPS, calling Penelope again with the rest of the team on a conference call.

"Hotch we traced her phone to an abandoned construction development right out of town, we should get there at the same time,"

"Alright, Jasmine won't give up, she's the dominant one she'll most likely go down fighting but let me try to talk down Polly," he added.

He drove there as quickly as possible, arriving there just before the rest of the team and running into the building without a briefing, without a vest.

He'd go on to say it was because he couldn't have Polly see him as an agent, a profiler. He needed to be Aaron, looking for his wife, that was how he would get the most sympathy from her.

"Aaron, wait!" Dave called but Aaron paid no mind, storming into the building.

He walked through the abandoned development, listening for sounds until he heard,

"Jasmine, come on you don't have to do this,"

"Don't have to do this? This is your fault! If it weren't for people like you we wouldn't have to do this!"

Aaron peeked through one of the doors, seeing the women on the inside and carefully making himself announced.

"Jasmine? Polly?"

"Who is that?!" Polly asked, turning to point her gun at the door.

"It's Aaron, I'm coming in and I'm unarmed,"

He pushed the door open, his gun tucked into his holster and his shirt hiding the weapon.

Jasmine had a gun pointed at you while Polly's was pointed at Aaron.

"How the hell did you find us?" Jasmine growled and Aaron was ready to deflect.

"That doesn't matter Jasmine, come on now, we both know you don't want to hurt her,"

You were tied against a chair, they hadn't gagged you most likely because you had cooperated, no doubt due to a gun pointed at you.

"Yes I do," she co*cked the gun and Aaron caught a loud protest in his throat.

"Wait, wait," he said softly. "Tell me why? What happened to our story? To hoping we could have a good start to our lives together? Jasmine, I can't have that if I don't have (Y/N),"

"That doesn't matter!" she was angry, frustrated, so Hutch turned his attention to Polly, speaking with her could actually work and maybe distract Jasmine while he was at it. "Polly, come on," he pleaded. "I know you don't want to do this," he offered. "I know you love Jasmine so much and you would do anything for her. I know that your home was taken from you, and things just kept going from bad to worse and I know that you know that is no reason to harm innocent people,"

Her hand shook as she continued to point it at him, but he could see he was getting to her.

"Don't listen to him, Polly! He took our house away!"

"No," Aaron said firmly, "I didn't, you know that Polly,"

"S-Stop! Stop!" she exclaimed, "Y-You don't know what you're talking about,"

"Yes I do," Aaron continued. "I know you're tired and scared Polly, I know you didn't mean to hurt all those people, you just wanted to my Jasmine happy, to help her because you love her,"

Polly shakily nodded her head, he was getting to her.

"And you know that love you have for her? I have that for (Y/N), please you have to let her go,"

He sounded desperate, more desperate than he had ever sounded in a case. Aaron didn't plead, but for you, he'd make that exception, especially if it worked.

"Polly give me your gun,"

"Don't do it!" Jasmine protested.

"Polly, please," you whispered. "Listen to Aaron, this can all be over if you just give him your gun,"

Carefully Aaron inched closer to her and his hand wrapped around her gun causing Jasmine to redirect her aim at Aaron.

"Don't do it," another voice came from the door, Derek and Dave entering the room. "We've got you surrounded Jasmine, give it up,"

Jasmine was going to shoot so while she was distracted by the agents who had come through the door Aaron fired a shot into her leg, only incapacitating her so Dave could cuff her while Derek took over for Polly who had collapsed onto the ground in turmoil at seeing the woman she loved shot.

Aaron didn't waste a second running over to your side on the chair, untying your arms and checking you all over for any injury.

"Aaron I'm fine, I'm fine," you insisted. "Aaron, Aaron, look at me," you lifted his face so his eyes met yours and you gave him a gentle nod, you were telling the truth and everything was okay, you weren't hurt and he had made it in time.

You kissed his cheek, knowing full well you wanted more, and he did too another assurance, but it was already a nightmare having Emily and Penelope know, you would need to tell them another time, not while they were in the middle of making an arrest.

"But what were you thinking?" you asked him, slapping the side of his head lightly. "Running in here without a vest and your gun holstered?"

"You can yell at me later sweetheart," he whispered into your hair after pulling you into his arms once more. "Just a few more minutes,"

"Okay," you nodded, your arms wrapping around his neck and your eyes trailing over to the small sparkling ring still on your finger. "A few more minutes,"

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Emily came running into the room once Derek and Dave had taken care of Jasmine and Polly.

"We're fine," you nodded, pulling away from Aaron a moment to go give Emily a hug.

"I'm sorry about this morning," she apologized. "I-I was just teasing cause I love you guys you know that right?"

"I know Em, I wasn't mad," you assured her. "And I'm fine we don't have to be all overdramatic about it,"

"(Y/N)! My love, thank God you're okay!"

"Okay I take it back," you chuckled as Penelope ran into the room with a police vest on, pulling you into a bone-crushing hug with Aaron and Emily spoke briefly.

"I thought they hurt you!" she exclaimed quietly, just squeezing you tight and not letting you go.

"What is it with you guys? I'm fine!" you insisted. "So fine I am ready as all hell to take my vacation days now,"

"If you think I'm leaving your side after this you're mistaken, I have vacation days saved too you know,"

"We all do," Aaron added. "Maybe we take a couple of extra days, chalk it up to paperwork?"

"Wow, you'd do that? Even if Strauss could find out?"

"I haven't done something to bother her in a while, think it's about time I stirred the pot a little bit,"

The group chuckled a little bit and you sent Aaron a soft look, a combination of a 'thank you' and 'we'll talk later'.

When you came back outside the warehouse you were suddenly grateful you were able to deal with this without another victim surfacing and without too much violence. All in all, it was a pretty big win.

"(Y/N) and I have to go and grab the equipment from the room, we'll meet your back at the precinct for wrap up," Aaron told the team including Spencer and JJ who were outside with some of the other federal agents and uniformed officers.

"You guys are both okay?" JJ confirmed and you nodded.

"Yeah we're fine, we'll see you guys soon, okay?"

They nodded and when you turned around to make your way to the smaller sedan you could feel Aaron's hand lightly in your back, leading you towards the car and a ghost of a smile came across your lips.

When you got into the car parked on the other side of the development he was quick to pull you in for a deep kiss, holding you tight and close over the centre compartment, not wanting to let you go.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked you, his hand slipping to hold the back of your neck.

"A lot better now," you murmured. "Did you really mean it? Would you find a way we can stay a few more days?"

"I'll pull a few strings," he nodded.

"Maybe we can keep the room," you joked with a smile on your lips. "They did say no extra cost and then maybe we can use it for what it was meant to be used for,"

That made him chuckle slightly, pressing one more kiss to your lips before turning on the car and starting the drive back to the resort.

When you walked into the room it was in slight disarray due to Aaron running to grab his things before coming down to the warehouse, but it wasn't bad, you could have been out of there quickly, but when he took your hand and lead you to the love seat, you knew it might take you a little longer than just clearing up your things.

"We never got a chance to talk," he explained. "And with our jobs and everything else, I think it's important that whatever this is we go into it on the same page,"

"I agree," you nodded, ever the practical one. "Look, Aaron, as much as I hate to admit it Penelope and Emily were right, I don't think I ever would have even caught wind of whatever it is I was feeling if it wasn't for this case. And I can't lie, I'm really glad it forced me to come to terms with the fact that you've been really important to me for a long time and I've just tried to push those feelings down because they weren't appropriate and I didn't think you felt the same...but I think it's clear that isn't the case, it just took whatever this was for me to see your sincerity,"

"I don't want you to doubt that, ever," he confirmed. "It took me a long time to convince myself that it's okay to want to love someone else, to care for them, and how I fell for you, that helped me break that barrier," he explained. "These past few days, the small moments we've been able to share even if it was just playing some sort of part, I haven't felt that relaxed in ages,"

"It's a good look for you," you joked and he gave you a small smile.

"I think what we're both trying to get at is that this is something that could work, it's not just passing,"

You nodded, "Whatever it means to be there for you, I've got your back, no matter what because you've always had mine, whether or not you knew it, I probably wouldn't be where I am now without you and I'll be forever grateful for that,"

It was easy for you to open your arms, offering them in an embrace of comfort and you stayed like that for a moment, just taking it in.

"Once this is officially wrapped up, why don't I take you out to dinner, like a date?" he suggested.

"Or," you smirked. "You could take me to swim with the dolphins,"

"Even better, just be sure to wear that yellow bikini," he quipped.

"Aaron!" you slapped his arm in a chastising manner and he only got up to go and pack away the computer monitor and whatever else they had brought from the bureau for the case.

And really, there couldn't be a better time to take those vacation days.

—

"Spence, what the hell are you doing?" you laughed, watching the young profiler attempt to build some sort of thing out of the sand but there was always more to it, you could tell.

"Rossi said I missed out on my childhood so I was trying to see what was so good about what I missed. So far, it sucks... a lot,"

"Yeah, sand will do that to you," you chuckled, ruffling his hair as you walked past him on the beachfront.

Just as promised, Aaron got the team those extra days in Hawaii and you were more than happy to spend it together, creating some happier memories to balance out the sad, often depressing ones you associated with your travels.

And thanks to Penelope and Emily, who apparently were not capable of keeping secrets, the whole team knew of the small affair that had happened between you and Aaron. On the one hand, it started with a bombardment of questions once you returned to the precinct, but in the end, it gave you the ability not to have to worry about keeping a secret.

You noticed Aaron was talking with Derek in the water, just standing in the sun and you shook your head. He was such a dad.

Seeing his red-tinged ears you grabbed the sunscreen and put a small bit in your hands, rubbing it together before putting them behind your back.

"Aaron, can you come here for a sec?" you asked, an innocent smile on your face and Derek was quick to push the Unit Chief in your direction.

He jogged over the rest of the way and you looked up at him while he looked down curiously at you.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nope just wanted a quick kiss,"

"In front of everyone? You know they're not going to let it go,"

"I know Penelope's already got her camera out and Emily's going to make a lewd comment to bother me, but we should probably get used to that,"

"As you wish," he nodded, bending down and delivering the kiss as you had asked and you didn't waste a moment placing your hands on both sides of his face and before he knew it he had sunscreen on the top of his ears and two white streaks across his chest to match the splotching handprints on his face. "That was uncalled for," he looked at you warningly and you took that as your cue to run into the water where you knew he wouldn't follow you because it was 'too cold'.

"What are you gonna do about it?" you taunted, turning your back to laugh with JJ and while you were too busy focusing on your premature victory you didn't notice him sneaking up on you from behind, grabbing you by your waist and tossing you into the cool water of the Pacific Ocean with a scream.

To say you both now looked ridiculous would be an understatement, but everyone was just eating up your interaction. The extreme light-heartedness from both ends was an uncommon sight.

"You're gonna regret that!" you called back at him and he only shrugged with a smile, his dimples showing clear as day, having gotten what he wanted and finally rubbing in the sunscreen properly that you had so kindly put all over him.

In an offer of peace, he tried to help you up, but you just yanked on his arm, sending tumbling in on top of you, but it seemed he just got what he wished for again, letting his lips fall on yours in a kiss, catching you off guard.

"You taste like sunscreen, that's disgusting," you said flatly against his lips.

"Yeah, and whose fault is that? Plus you taste like saltwater, get in line sweetheart," he teased and you just kissed him harder ignoring the cheers and comments of your coworkers who surrounded you.

After a long day on the beach and grabbing dinner at a nearby restaurant, you all decided to call it a night and each went your separate ways to your rooms.

You and Aaron had decided for the price you were getting the suite at, it wouldn't hurt to play the part of the married couple for a little while longer, your rings still on your fingers.

You had just come out of the shower, getting all the sand and seawater off you, and changed into a crocheted bikini top with a floral skirt and one of Aaron's dress shirts as a light sweater.

You didn't see him anywhere in the room, but the door to the balcony was open and you knew he liked to rest on the hammock they had out there. So you peeled your head out of the door, seeing the sun setting over the ocean on the horizon and just like you had predicted a tired but relaxed-looking Aaron laying in the large hammock, sunglasses perched up on top of his head.

"Room for one more?" you asked and he looked over at you with a smile and opened his arms so you could climb into them.

You had one leg slotted between his, the other resting against the side while your head rested just above his shoulder, the perfect angle to look up at him and pepper his jaw with light kisses.

His large hands held you like a safety net and you could easily let go and be at ease with him.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked in a low hum and you nodded your head.

"I think it looks a little better on me don't you?" you joked and he gave you a chuckle, answering your question with a kiss to say,

'Of course, it does,'

There wasn't any worry about what would happen when you had to go back to D.C. the future was just as distant as the past and the only thing that mattered was being there together.

"It would be nice to bring Jack here sometime, no? We can save swimming with the dolphins for when he comes," you spoke softly into the crook of his neck.

"Already planning another vacation there? Why don't we just work on getting through this one then we can think about adding a kid to the mix," he teased and you gave him a light shove, causing the hammock to gently swing a little, back and forth. "But seriously," he added. "You don't know how much it means to me that you're thinking about him,"

"I know Aaron," you nodded. "He's a special kid, and I love him a lot,"

"More than me?" he poked and you rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, a hell of a lot more than you," you confirmed.

"You wound me, sweetheart," he said with a deep chuckle and you could feel his chest rumble underneath you.

"We're not going to get moments like this back in D.C. are we," you sighed and he nodded, reciprocating the action.

"No, I don't think we will,"

But even though there was a certain sadness to your voice at knowing that every day wouldn't be a relaxing evening, laying in a hammock together, enjoying watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, you figured if you could make it past hostage situations, faked deaths, serial killers who had a personal vendetta against one of you and not to mention the hundred other things you faced on a daily basis, you'd be able to make it through that too. And those sunset and hammock days? They'd find their way back to you too.

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Criminal Minds:

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Aaron Hotchner:

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