#aaron hotchner headcanons
pairing: aaron hotchner x reader
request: Reader telling a joke on the plane and Hotch laughing and the team is like ???? You actually laughed???
“Comeon, Y/N, you have to admit it! We all see you blushing during group meetings, and you stutter when you talk in front of the group. Either you’re terrible at public speaking, or you like one of us.”
Before you could interject, and claim that it was the first option, (it was a bit of both, but you’d rather open one of the plane windows and jump out before you admitted you had a crush on your unit chief), Morgan continued with his signature shit-eating grin, “It’s me, isn’t it?”
You couldn’t help the scoff that escaped your lips, “Yes, Derek. It’s you! Congratulations, you’ve figured it out.”
“I knew it,” He beamed, “I don’t know why you sound so sarcastic right now, but thank you for admitting it.”
You rolled your eyes, a lighthearted sigh escaping your lips, “Derek, no offense, but you have the phrase ‘Alpha Male’ in your instagram bio. You are the person on this plane that I am least attracted to.”
An indignant scoff came from Morgan, as did an appreciative hum from Rossi, but the sound that you solely focused on was the abrupt chuckle from Hotch.
FromHotch.
Everyone on the plane turned to look at him. There was dead silence for a moment, where he tried poorly disguising the sound as a cough, but finally let his hand slip from over his mouth and bit the inside of his cheek so that his half-smile didn’t become a full one.
“I’m sorry,” There was a lilt of amusement in his usually-professional tone that sent your heart soaring, “You caught me off-guard.”
Everyone seemed to realize that making a big deal out of it would only ruin the moment, going back to what they were doing before, but throwing meaningful glances at you. Morgan was the first one to break the silence again, throwing you a teasing pout, “Me too. I really thought I had a shot with you, no?”
“Not a chance.” You couldn’t help the satisfied smile that lingered on your face after getting a laugh from Hotch, though you kept your eyes down at the table, worried your teammates would pick up on it if you glanced back at him.
Eventually the conversation faded back to normal, and you chanced a peek at Hotch. You nearly felt your heart implode as you met eyes with him, the same amused half-smile on his face from when he’d spoken earlier. You felt a rush of adrenaline, holding the eye-contact for longer than you would have in any other situation.
You were rewarded with his full smile, the side of his mouth that he kept in his signature neutral frown curling upwards to match the other. You swore the expression knocked the wind out of your chest, and you weren’t getting it back anytime soon, because he held the eye-contact too.
It was a game of chicken, and you weren’t backing out first.
