#Al tries to cozy up to the kids totally just to get them to join him

[m4gp13]

there's this one post-war ethabaster divorce au that I've been rotating in my brain for genuine years

Basically, Percy vouched for Ethan after the Battle of Manhattan so the gods decided to let him more or less off the hook. He gets to live in relative peace but every now and then he gets called up by one of the camps or by a deity to go deal with some issue. He's basically a contractor but the job he gets contracted for is killing monsters and solving god issues.

Alabaster, on the other hand, still got exiled and he has been a very busy boy. He's sort of like Silco but with slightly less domestic terrorism and drug trafficking. He reconnected with a lot of the surviving demigods and monsters from the TA, took advantage of the power vacuum left by the Triumvirate, and is pretty much in charge of the new titan army, albeit much smaller and less active. They try to keep their heads down to avoid catching the ire of the gods and just play it as them being rogues working together for their own survival, and the gods leave them to it mostly to maintain their agreement with Hecate.

The actual logistics of what Ethan and Al do in this au don't really matter that much because it's just a backdrop for the main event. See, during Ethan's questing he became aware of a group of demigods (who at the time didn't know they were demigods) in foster care and at first he was content to leave it at that but then he couldn't make himself stop thinking about it. He knows how hard it is to be a demigod on your own like that. The oldest of the kids is 15 and the youngest is nine. He had a horrible childhood and he has the ability to prevent these kids from having the same experiences he did so . . . he becomes a foster (and eventual adoptive) dad. He doesn't tell the kids that they're demigods until he has to because he wants them to have as normal a life as possible, even when almost everyone around him disagrees with how he's raising the kids. He's a bit of an awkward dad, especially at first, but he really wants these kids to have a decent life and it comes across. He knows what teenagers are like and he doesn't want to force a relationship so he gives them their space but he's always caring for them in little ways like making sure there's a home-cooked meal waiting for them when they get back from school or picking up extra jobs for the gods so that he can get them cool new shoes or send them on a fun field trip. Ethan staying up until the middle of the night sorting out bills and permission slips at the kitchen table, gently ushering the kids back to bed if they wake up. Ethan being a weary but happy domestic single dad is the fuel that powers this au I cannot stress enough how Dad(tm) Ethan is in this au. He probably has reading glasses or something.

The main conflict comes from Al, who needs demigods to recruit to his cause, which Ethan is staunchly against. The positions they take are Al being of the mindset that demigods being child soldiers is normal. It's how they grew up so he doesn't see any reason why the next generation shouldn't grow up like that as well. Ethan doesn't want the next generation to grow up like that because it's how he grew up. He's not going to let his children become soldiers and be used for another divine war in which they're ultimately just going to be fodder.

Also there is the slight comedic aspect of Ethabaster basically having a custody battle of these three random ass demigods. Alabaster gets thrown for a loop when Ethan refers to the demigods living in his apartment as his kids. Also the kids see Ethan as the pretty young, slightly awkward guy who took them in and has some boring job and is friends with the hot baker who lives around the block. So imagine their surprise when Alabaster "the C stands for Cunt" Torrington and his cool criminal underworld that keeps trying to kidnap them and tempt them to the dark side is revealed to be Ethan's annoying ex-bf who keeps trying to call him up. like, "hey dad, why is that man with the glowing eyes and the mob cult who keeps trying to kill and/or kidnap us calling you in the middle of the night to ask you if you miss him?" "Why don't we stop talking for a while?"

[heyheyloki]

Lost In Translation

Summary: Halloween Special (yes it’s a few days late whoops)

Aaron Hotchner x M!Reader

Word Count: 2409

It was finally the time for kids to dress up as their favorite superheroes, teens to disobey their parents and party, and finally, adults like you to work a case during your favorite holiday. You even prayed to god, which wasn’t something you did, like ever. But you did. You prayed that there would be no case tonight, that the bad guys would just take a break from killing and kidnapping for just one goddamn night. Sadly, your prayers weren’t answered. 

“Happy Halloween, [Name]!” Garcia shouted with glee when you walked into the meeting room. It seemed to just be the two of you for now. 

“Don’t remind me, please.” You huffed out as you plopped down in your chair. “I’m already depressed enough.”

“Why, sugar?��� She asked with a saddened tone, her smile turning down.

“I was supposed to have a night of dancing with random people in masks and casually making out with whoever I pleased,” you huffed. You were so mad about the entire thing that you continued to rant to Garcia without a care. “I mean, can’t the bad guys just take a break for once? I had a whole costume picked out, right? Now, I can’t even wear it cause by the time we get back it’ll be fucking thanksgiving or something.”

You didn’t notice the expression change on Garcia’s face until you finished up, her eyes stared behind you in horror. Seriously, it was like her worst nightmare just walked through the door or something. So, your chair turned your body towards Garica’s fear to make eye contact with your boss, Aaron Hotchner. 

“Ah, well, at least this halloween isn’t totally ruined,” you hummed as a coy smirk inched across your lips as if it belonged there. “At least I get to see some type of candy.”

The absolute silence that struck the room when that left your lips was something you were used to by now, after all, you’ve been the ‘team flirt’ for a while that. The name was given to you by Hotch to make him feel better since you never did flirt with the team, just him, always.

“Watch it,” Morgan teased as he passed by Hotch. Reid was quick to join in the fun with, “Yeah, he might actually fall for it.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe that was my intention?” You questioned as you turned your attention away from your boss and to Reid and Morgan that both sat next to you at the same time.

“Damn, someone’s cranky.” Morgan said.

“I wanted my fun night of kissing random strangers at a club with masks.” You summarized what you said to Garcia. “Instead, I’m stuck hanging with the Scooby Do gang.”

Reid paused. His brows furrowed when he asked, “Scooby Do?”

You stared at him with a deadpanned look before dismissing the entire thing and getting ready for this case to be over with.

On the jet, you kept to yourself in the corner with your headphones blasting music into your brain. Some of your teammates wondered how you haven’t lost even part of your hearing yet. However, as you stared out the window with a far-out look, someone wouldn’t take his eyes off you. 

On the other side of the jet was Hotch with his eyes glued to you, almost like he couldn’t take them off of you no matter how hard he tried. To him, something about you drew him in closer even if he didn’t want to. The words and look you gave him earlier stuck in his mind as it played on repeat, over and over again until he was satisfied. Though, while in his own head, it took Rossi multiple tries to shake the man out of his daze. 

“Damn, only took me ten tries this time.” Rossi said under his breath so only Hotch heard. 

The man sighed, his eyes glancing over towards you once more before eyeing Rossi. “Sorry, I, uh, just spaced out for a moment. What were you saying?”

Rossi gave Hotch an all-knowing look, a look that spoke to him without having the older Italian man to open his damn mouth. “I was just saying that this case is probably going to make us stay for multiple nights.”

“I suppose so.” Hotch replied, not yet catching on.

“It’s in the middle of no where with a low population.” Rossi smirked. “We might have to double up.”

Aaron stared at his long term friend for a moment, his mind running without having his brown eyes show it. However, his mind danced and entertained the fantasy that he would have to double up with you. That there would be one bed. That you would allow him to share the bed with you instead of kicking him to the floor. 

“We’ll see when we get there.”

By the time the first day of investigating ended, the team had no leads and needed a place to crash for the night. The police station wouldn’t do so your team was recommended to a small motel cottage in the middle of the woods. It was cozy and yet somewhat unsettling at the same time. The kind of place were you wouldn’t want to be alone, but wouldn’t mind spending it in the arms of another. 

“I’m not sleeping with Reid.” Morgan suddenly announced to the group once the owner said that she only had single rooms, and only a limited amount of them.

“Who said you were going to?” You smirked as you stared at your co-worker. It was always a trait of yours to tease Morgan or Spence, and you took any opportunity you could.

Morgan gave you a side-glance before looking down at Garcia who was on the couch in the lobby in front of him, her hand resting on his forearm before calling dibs. You saw that coming, but it was quicker than you thought it would be. 

You weren’t too fond of the idea since you had your own quirks when it came to sleeping, but you knew you had to hold off on them for your team member’s sakes. Patiently, you waited to hear who would room with who until your hears heard a loud and clear, “[Name] and Hotch can take a room, I’ll room with Reid, and JJ can room with Prentiss.”

Your eyes, as well as many others, jumped to the voice. You could feel your heart beat furiously against your chest when you saw the smirk across Rossi’s older face. It was one that was up to something, you knew that much, and you didn’t know what until you saw the fear run across Hotch’s chestnut eyes.

In your mischievous mind, you were happy. You were thrilled to be able to push the man that you pined over to his limits tonight. Though, on your logical side, you were terrified. You wanted to protest. You’d say you’d like to room with Reid or ask Garcia to switch with you. Yet, both of them at the same time made something in you anxious for the night. Anxious for the darkness to take over the room and consume you.

When Aaron and you came to the room, you were standing in the doorway with eyes staring blankly at the single bed that rest in the middle of the room. You guessed it, sure, but it was another thing to see it with a man so close next to you.

“I’ll take the floor, you can have the bed.” You hummed out. It surprised you as much as it startled Aaron. Normally, you’d jump at the chance to say something witty and making a flirtatious gesture, but for now, you rather not make him uncomfortable.

“It’s okay.” Aaron said. “You can take the bed.”

You paused. This was a chance, a chance to spit out those words and yet you remained calm and said with your back turned to him, “Okay.”

You wasted no time after that to hop into the shower. It was both a way to get away from your boss and clear your mind all in one go. The water trickled down your naked figure as you ran your fingers through your wet hair. A steady breath of oxygen left past your lips as you tried to empty your mind. Yet, no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t help but think about the man you were sharing a room with tonight. Part of it sucked, and the other half didn’t. Right now though, it sucked. 

You turned off the water before placing a towel around your waist and hopped out the shower. You were about to spend some time on some well-deserved self care before you heard some clashing in the room outside. It startled you to the point where you completely forgot about your composer and ran out the bathroom with the thought of their being trouble on the other side of the door. However, instead of trouble there was just a very troubled Aaron Hotchner trying to do something about his spot on the floor. 

“What the hell!” You yelled out, his eyes immediately locking onto you without a second thought. “You scared the shit outta me, I thought something happened!”

Aaron leaned his head to the side a bit as he raised a brow. “I’m sorry?”

“You better be.” You huffed out. “Jesus, don’t do that shit to me again.”

“I won’t.” Aaron mumbled out as he tried his best to keep his eyes locked on yours. 

It was a moment before you noticed the cool air hitting your bare skin, your eyes widening as you slowly began to back into the bathroom again and stutter out, “Okay, so, uh, if you’re all good then I’m just, uh, gonna finish up real quick.”

You quickly shut the door behind you, your chest falling up and down for a few seconds before stabilizing. It took you a few seconds to get yourself together and finished up in the bathroom. Which, for Aaron, took forever. Seriously, he thought about knocking on the bathroom door and asking if he’d done something wrong. Though, before he was about to, you came out. This time with clothes. It wasn’t anything special, just a loose t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Honestly, the two of you kind of matched with your night clothes.

When you sat on the somewhat hard bed you gazed around the room. It was so bare compared to the other hotels you’ve had during your time with this team. It was almost like you weren’t even on the job but instead having a night out with Hotchner. Honestly, the thought made your body heat up a bit. 

“They could have at least gave us a tv.” You hummed out.

“I’m not sure if they even use those here.” Hotch replied as he laid down on the floor, his eyes studying the plain ceiling above. 

Your eyes were on him from the moment he began speaking. You felt sort of sorry for the man, after all, the bed may not be the softest, but it was better than the hard floor. All of the sheets in the world could never fix something like hard tile floorboards. You knew you didn’t need him having back problems in the morning, after all, he was the team leader. Without him, you weren’t sure if this team was even a team anymore.

So, without a strain in pitch in your voice you said, “Come here.”

Now, when you said it in your mind you thought it would sound better. Aloud, it just sounded either dirty, commanding, or both. Forget about it when he lifted his head up to look at you with narrowed and confused eyes. You swear if you didn’t know any better you were either in it for a scolding or a firing. 

“Sorry,” you recovered quickly. “I mean you can share the bed with me, if you want.”

You watched the confusion leave his hardened orbs quickly. However, they were promptly replaced with something that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It was so familiar yet unseen with him. 

“It’s alright. You can have it.” He said, though to you, it seemed forced.

You didn’t try and let that bug you too much and quickly kicked it from your thoughts. Your hand came to the sheets of the bed and patted on the sheets, calling him. “C’mon, you’ll strain your back or something if you sleep on the floor.”

Hotch hesitated. He wanted to, desperately almost. Yet, he didn’t at the same time. His yearning looks and shut down feelings around you were what got him through the day, what got him to do this job without solely focusing on you. Although, he couldn’t stop his body lift up from the floor and walk over to you, sitting down at your side.

It was silent for a moment as the tension slowly began to fill up, however, just before it overflowed you said, “What did Jack plan to be for Halloween this year?”

“I thought he was going to be Spiderman, but he changed his mind last minute.” Hotch replied.

“Yeah? To what?”

There was a small pause. Hotch looked down for a moment before gazing up into your eyes with a smile slowly coming to his face and answering, “Me. He said that I was his superhero.”

Your expression began to mirror Hotchner’s face. You knew that this Halloween was destroyed, but at least you gained some joy out of it. “That’s cute, but I’m not surprised.”

“How come?” Hotch questioned, his brows furrowing.

You leaned against Hotchner’s shoulder in a friendly and playful manner before going back to your original position. “Cause he’s got the best dad in the world.”

“Thank you,” Hotch smiled. “And, I’m sorry about this case ruining your day.”

You shrugged your shoulders. “It comes with the job, I shouldn’t be surprised. However, it did save me from a night of bad choices so maybe I should be grateful.”

“Well, if it means anything, I’m happy you’re here instead.” Hotch suddenly revealed.

Your eyes flicked with mischief, your body leaned in on instinct before asking, “Yeah? Why?”

“Because,” Hotch trailed on, his eyes running between your eyes and lips. “I wouldn’t be with you right now.”

You smiled, a smile so bright that it almost took his breath away. While you felt as if the day was ruined in the beginning because of work, it was only a side affect of being able to be in his moment. To be able to be with Aaron Hotchner in this moment and finally end this childish game that caused your feelings for the man to explode like a firework.