In district court, the case was assigned to David Hittner, a Reagan appointee in his eighties. One of the main points of contention was whether drag constitutes artistic expression, and is therefore deserving of First Amendment protection. On the stand, the state’s attorney repeatedly questioned Montez about twerking. “He finally said, ‘Well, can you demonstrate for us what twerking is?’ ” Montez recalled. It seemed to him that the attorney was trying to needle him to admit that the dance style was obscene. “I looked at my attorney, and she didn’t object,” Montez said. “And I looked at the judge, and he said, ‘Well, you haven’t heard me say you can’t.’ So I got off the stand, and I did it, in my suit and tie.”
(Afterward, friends told him that he’d probably made history as the first person to twerk in federal court.) Montez told me that the moment was galvanizing. After he came out, at age thirty, he had vowed never to let himself be silenced again. “It really was one of those moments where I felt like I took back my power,” Montez said. “Because I wasn’t embarrassed. I wasn’t shy. And then I got right back on the stand and kept answering just as good as I was before. It didn’t throw me off at all. And I would do it again.”
The moment seemed to have impressed the judge. “Darn it, it was interesting,” Hittner said, at the trial’s conclusion. “That’s one thing why the job never gets tiring: you learn about different things and different folks and different science every day.”
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Imagine…
Starting to make dinner in Aaron’s apartment on a Thursday night. He’s just gone for a shower, washing away his last case and the worst parts of the world that he falls privy to day in and day out as Unit Chief of the BAU.
You’re humming along to your oldies but goodies playlist while sipping a glass of white wine that’s too sweet for Aaron’s liking. As the current song fades out and the familiar notes of a Bee Gees tune start, you realize with a smile just how many of these songs you've compiled make you think of your love.
And, speak of the furthest thing from the devil, suddenly he’s there, his arms wrapping around your waist from behind as his body perfectly molds to the dips and curves of your own. He guides you back and forth in a gentle sway, his chin coming to rest on your shoulder as he releases a deep sigh.
You allow your eyes to drift shut and your head to fall back against Aaron so you can bury your nose in the crook of his neck. "Sauce'll burn," you mumble, letting his familiar smell wash over you and sending warm tingles throughout your body.
"Let it," he responds just as softly. "We'll order something. Need to hold you."
You release a sound of contentment that's half-sigh, half-hum, nuzzling even deeper into him as if you can become one person if you try hard enough. In this moment, there's no yesterday or tomorrow. There's no anticipation of the next phone call that will take your love across the country again. There's no darkness, no fear, no evil lurking around the corner. There's just you and the man you love more than anything else in the world.
You dot gentle kisses along the expanse of his skin that you can reach without moving, and he squeezes you tighter in response. "Marry me," Aaron breathes out on a sigh. "I'll make it more romantic later, I promise. Just tell me you'll be mine forever."
"Oh, my baby," you murmur. "I already am."
—————
AH tags 🖤 @gothwifehotchner @iyv-ray24 @mrs-ssa-hotch @criminalskies @callm3c0nfus3d
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Wow... how much do we NOT love having BG3 win a bunch of really impressive awards, including players voice, only for Larian to not get any stage time to receive their awards or give a speech because the awards were smashed before a bunch of trailers...
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