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winterscaptain · 4 years

Text

breath.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: for those of you who saw my cheeky little post about this, its true. the end of this prompted an entire offshoot that turned into transfer request that turned into, well....a whole multipart series. as always, let me know if i spaced on any pronouns or anything too gendered. i hope you like this one! words: its less than a thousand, i think? warnings: canon-typical dead bodies

AO3 | Masterlist | Transfer Request Masterlist | Requests Closed!

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The explosion knocked the wind out of you, even from back behind the barricade. The icy fingers of shock radiating down your spine and into your gut rooted you to the spot, the panic locking up your breath. It was so hard to breathe.

Why was it so hard to breathe?

All the communication was blown, and there was nothing but static in your ears. You ripped out your earpiece, adrenaline kicking in to push you forward. Your head swiveled toward JJ, who still had a hand over her mouth.

Aaron. Emily. Spencer.

Protocol be damned, you double checked the snowing video feed and made a break for it, sprinting toward the blast site. You always knew it was a possibility - losing someone on the team. Every day was dangerous.

But not him.

Never him.

Your voice was raw from shouting something that sounded like “Aaron.” You didn’t realize you were crying until a pair of strong arms stopped you and wrapped around you as you fought against them.

“Hold on, kid. Hold on.”

Derek’s voice in your ear subdued you, and you dropped your full weight into him, letting him catch you before you hit the ground. He turned you around by the shoulders and pulled your head into his shoulder, a hand tight to the back of your head. He was breathing heavily too – you could feel it beneath his vest.

You had no idea how long you stood there before you heard, “Site’s clear!”

As bomb squad retreated, you Morgan’s hold on you loosened. You raised your head from his shoulder, looking toward the former compound. The building was a smoking, smoldering heap.

No way anyone could survive that.

No. Stop.

“Do you think…” You couldn’t finish the thought. The very idea was inconceivable.

“We won’t know until we look.” He caught your eyes, holding your gaze for a moment. “You ready?”

You nodded.

JJ followed close behind you as Derek forged ahead, gun drawn, just in case. You cleared what was once the front of the building, stepping around the ruins with care. There was one wall still intact.

Oh, God.

There were bodies everywhere - some so burned they were nothing but bones, others with identifiable body parts in places they definitely should not be.

You wondered if you would be able to identify Aaron’s -

No. Stop.

Your breath caught in a sob again. You swallowed the bile rising in the back of your throat. You forged ahead, carefully stepping over remains as you cleared the rest of of the main building. Two more structures were in various states of destruction - ones you understood to be the school and the men’s housing.

You were halfway there, when -

“Hold your fire!”

You nearly collapsed on the spot. Aaron.

“We’re here, all clear!” Derek shouted back, holstering his weapon.

Breaking out into a dead sprint you weaved and dodged debris and threw yourself at him. Aaron caught you easily, and your lips met out of pure instinct and panic. He tasted like dust and smoke and ash and coffee. You let out a half-hysterical laugh before you burrowed your head into his shoulder. His breath in your hair and hand on your back was the only thing holding you to the ground.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you heard JJ and Derek reach Spencer and Emily, checking them over for injuries and trying to figure out what the hell happened.

“I thought I lost you.” Your voice sounded raw and broken even to your own ears.

He pressed a fervent kiss to your temple, breathing you in. “You can’t get rid of me that easy, sweetheart.”

You pulled back after a moment and checked him over. Your hands fluttered around his face, shoulders, and vest before landing flat-palmed against his chest. He was covered in fine, pale dust, but looked otherwise unharmed. He looked down at you, his dark eyes pensive.

“We have to rethink this.”

A different kind of ice curled through your chest. “What?”

He shook his head, realizing he didn’t contextualize properly.

That happens when you’re almost blown up, I guess.

Aaron brushed a section of hair behind your ear. “No, no, I mean you and I staying on the same team.”

You heaved a sigh of relief and fell back into him. It seemed completely inappropriate to laugh, but the overwhelming waves of relief and the lingering blows of fear made it hard to regulate your emotional response. “Yeah. Might have to rethink that.” You paused for a moment. “I’ll put in a transfer request first thing tomorrow. Strauss will be thrilled.”

A laugh rumbled in his chest. “You’re right about that.”

The two of you pulled apart, and you looked toward your team. They all looked fondly in your direction. “Hear that team?” You said, glancing back at Aaron, who had a noticeable smile on his face. “I quit!”

They laughed and Emily yanked you forward by the hand, shoving you between her and JJ as you walked back to the cars.

The next week found you on the white-collar crime task force, where you could spend lunch on the 6th floor with your family and still leave early enough to get Jack from school. The new ring on your left hand wasn’t a bad consolation prize, either.

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