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sequinsmile-x · 1 day ago

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Save a Horse...

It’s almost ridiculous how good he looks in a cowboy hat. It pisses her off for a reason she doesn’t entirely understand, her mouth suddenly dry as she stares at him. She’s furious that somehow, after all this time, he still manages to make her feel like this, that all it takes is a smile from him and a wink from under the cowboy hat she didn’t know they owned to have her stomach flipping and her blood rushing in her ears.

AKA the one in which Emily learns something new about herself.

-x-

Hi besties!

I am dedicating this to two of the lovely, talented, incredible people we are lucky to have in this fandom.

The first is @ssaemilyhotchner who created this post of pictures of Thomas Gibson in cowboy hats. The idea of it kind of set my brain on fire and inspired this fic!

The second is @eyesontheskyline whose birthday it was yesterday. So this is a belated birthday gift in the form of Emily thirsting over Aaron in a cowboy hat (with a few feelings thrown in the mix because of who we are as people)

Thank you both for making this fandom a better place to be part of <3

As always, let me know what you think!

-x-

Warnings: None

Words: 2.3k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

She was starting to think that Penelope Garcia could talk her into just about anything. All it took was a pout of her lower lip and a ‘but we never get to spend time together anymore’, and Emily would find herself agreeing to whatever she was suggesting. It’s how she finds herself at a hoedown of all things on a Friday night, dressed in a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, wishing she were almost anywhere other than where she was.

It was supposed to be date night. It was something she and Aaron had established early on. Their relationship had moved quickly, quick in a way she thinks would have freaked her out if it were anybody else she was doing it with, so it felt like they never got the chance to date each other properly. Within a year of their first official date, they were already living together and engaged; within two years, they were married, and she was pregnant with their little boy. Life moved quickly around them, a blur of work and family and love, and they made sure to take the time to slow down. One evening a month when they were just Emily and Aaron. Not Mom and Dad, or Chief Prentiss and Agent Hotchner. Just the two of them and the way they loved each other, the makings of the very foundation of their family

When Penelope originally told her about the hoedown, she’d said no when she saw the date it was on. Date night was circled on her desk calendar - something Clyde would make endless fun of her for when he came to visit Interpol’s DC office - so she always knew when it was. A countdown to a quiet moment with her husband that had started to feel like a sanctuary of sorts, something she’d draw energy and love from to get her through until the next time. Aaron had encouraged her to go out with JJ and Penelope. He knew she was stressed with work and everything else, so he’d kissed her and told her to go and have fun with their friends. Date night could, just this once, be rearranged for a reason that was not case related.

Now she was here, as much as a hoedown was not her thing, she knew she’d needed something like this. Something different and new. She thinks she’d hate him for knowing her better than she knew herself if she didn’t love him so much for it.

“Isn’t this amazing?” Penelope says, appearing by Emily’s side, a beer in one hand and a cocktail of sorts in the other. Emily gladly takes the beer and smiles at JJ on Penelope’s other side. They both smile, shaking their heads lovingly at their friend’s excitement.

“It’s something,” Emily grumbles as she looks around the club, sighing to herself as she watches the band set up. She sips her beer and hopes that the alcohol will get her in the mood, that it will loosen her up just enough to enjoy herself.

“How did you even find out about this?” JJ asks, and Penelope beams at them, her excitement flowing from her like a sweet perfume, straying into Emily’s senses and infiltrating them, her joy catching.

“I was looking for ideas for girls' nights and this came up,” she says, “And we so rarely get to have them anymore,” she looks at JJ, “You’ve got Henry and Michael,” she turns to Emily, “And you’ve got Jack and Leo. And you and bossman are trying again-”

“Enthusiastically,” Emily says as she sips her beer again, smirking at the mixture of delight and mild horror that crosses her friend’s face. “What? You know we have sex. You’ve bought the proof of that enough toys to fill my house.”

Leo was 18 months old. He was beautiful and perfect and a mini version of Aaron through and through. Motherhood was hard. Difficult in ways she could never have imagined when the idea of raising two little boys with the love of her life felt nothing more than a fantasy. It was hard, but it was the best thing she’d ever done. It brought her more joy and happiness than she ever thought possible. She loved being Jack and Leo’s mom, and she wanted more than anything to add to their family - to let her heart grow even more, to make room for a piece of the puzzle that felt like it was missing, the face of a person she’d love more than life itself just slightly out of reach.

She’d been strangely nervous when she spoke to Aaron about it, somehow worried that they wouldn’t be on the same page, but he’d made it clear he agreed before she even finished her list of reasons of why they should have another baby, his lips pressed against hers before he told her he’d have half a dozen children with her. The thought of it made her smile, because she’d want the same with him too if time wasn’t a factor, if the ticking of her biological clock wasn’t getting louder with each passing month. Maybe, in another life where things had been different, that could have been something they’d had.

“Please don’t call my sweet little nephew proof of your sex life,” Penelope grumbles, her eyes still sparkling with happiness despite her tone. “Anyway, you’re trying to have another adorable baby, and we’ll just have less time. So I wanted to look for something new to do, something that wasn’t just drinking margaritas in a bar somewhere.” She reaches out and squeezes Emily’s arm, “And I know you gave up date night for this, so I appreciate it.”

Emily hums, “You owe me,” she says, winking playfully, “And Aaron said he’ll make it up to me.”

Penelope and JJ smile as they both look past her, both of them failing to contain their excitement.

“Oh, I’m sure he will.”

She furrows her brow and turns to follow their line of sight, and she sucks in a breath when she sees him, her chest catching with it as she tries to stop herself from reacting in a way her friends will tease her for.

Aaron was standing just a few feet away in her favourite pair of jeans that he owned, a brown leather belt, a white t-shirt and a brown cowboy hat she’d never seen before.

“Is she okay?” Penelope stage whispers to JJ, leaning in but still talking loudly enough for Emily to hear.

“I think she’s just discovered something new about herself,” JJ replies, and they both smile widely and unashamedly in their teasing as she turns to look at them. Her cheeks burn with embarrassment at being caught out for checking out her husband, and she finds herself praying to a god she wasn’t entirely sure she believed in that they can’t see the pink flush to her cheeks in the low light of the club.

“Shut up,” she says, looking back and forth between her friends and her husband. He walks over, more swagger in his step than usual that she knows he’s putting on just for show. “I don’t understand.”

“Well,” JJ says, smiling conspiratorily with Penelope as they look at each other, “We know how important date night is to the two of you, so we spoke to Hotch and brought date night to the hoedown.”

Emily smiles, and a surprised laugh escapes her before she can try and pull it back in. Aaron places his hand on her back as he makes it to her side, his smile wide and full of something she’d call mischief if he were anybody else.

“Surprise, sweetheart,” he says, leaning down to kiss her cheek, the rim of his cowboy hat knocking against her forehead. She places her hand over his as it slips to her hip, and she links their fingers together. She looks over at her friends and shakes her head ever so slightly, guilt flooding her lungs and washing away any joy she’d felt at seeing her husband.

“It was meant to be girls' night,” she says, squeezing Aaron’s hand so he knows she’s not mad that he’s here, that she appreciates it. It was just another balancing act - separating out time for her friends in her increasingly beautiful, but busy, life.

“It was meant to be your date night,” Penelope says, “And now it can be both,” she scrunches her nose up slightly, “Just no baby making on the dance floor, please.”

Emily laughs, and she feels Aaron go tense behind her, his shoulders wound tight with embarrassment that she knew she could undo in a second. Penelope and JJ give them some space, making the excuse that they were going to look for dancing partners, and Emily turns in Aaron’s arms, looping her arms around his neck the moment she looks at him.

“Speaking of babies,” she says, smiling when he tugs her closer, his hand on her lower back as he arches her body against his, “Where are ours?”

“9 and 18 months old is old enough to be left alone, right?” He quips, his smile getting wider as she rolls her eyes at him, “Don’t worry, I only left them with half a pack of matches. I’m not entirely irresponsible.”

“Aaron,” she says, shaking her head at him as she cups his cheek, pressing her thumb into one of his dimples.

“Jess is with them. She arrived 5 minutes after you left.”

Emily hums, “So, everyone was in on this little surprise.”

He nods, and doubt flashes in his smile, carves itself out in his dimples in a way that makes her ache, “Was this okay? Me coming along?” He looks over to where Penelope and JJ are standing, and she nods, her hand on his cheek as she makes him look at her.

“It’s a very nice surprise,” she says, smiling as she looks up at his hat, “As is the cowboy hat,” she tilts her head curiously, momentarily distracted by the sight of him in it again, by the way it seemed to perfectly frame his face, “When did you get it?”

“I…bought it specifically for tonight,” he admits, his lips pressed together in embarrassment. “Do you hate it? Does it look stupid?”

“No,” she answers a little too quickly, clearing her throat when he raises an eyebrow at her, “Definitely not stupid.”

He furrows his brows, and she sees the moment it registers, the moment he realises just how much she doesn’t hate the hat. His smile turns playful, an edge of confidence to it that just makes him impossibly more attractive, and he leans in to kiss her, pulling back just enough to speak.

“So you like the hat.”

She sinks her teeth into her lower lip as she pulls back to look at him, “I really like the hat,” she says, turning the tables on him as she strokes her hand over his chest, letting her fingers trail under the neckline of his t-shirt, smiling when he shudders, “What’s that saying? Save a horse…”

“Ride a cowboy,” he finishes for her, his grip on her tightening as he leans in to stamp his lips against hers, but they are interrupted before they can kiss, the voice of the host crackling through the speakers. It’s a stark reminder that they aren’t alone, dousing the fire between them that they’d briefly built up as they got lost in each other.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to start, so find your dancing partner and come to the dance floor.”

Emily laughs and looks at Aaron, “Later?”

He nods and squeezes her hand, “Later.”

Despite her reservations, she has fun. She laughs and she dances and she enjoys herself. Aaron is surprisingly good at it, something that Emily knows will be endlessly fascinating to Penelope and JJ. Another fact about their boss that they could store away for later, another part of the stern facade he wore like a mask, suddenly gone.

By the time the hoedown is over, she’s sad to be leaving, but she doesn’t let Penelope know as they say goodbye, just in case she tries to arrange coming to another one. Emily waves her friends off before she climbs into her and Aaron’s car, sighing contentedly as she buckles her belt and looks over at him, smiling as he starts the engine.

“So…” she says, her eyes fixed on the cowboy hat as she bites her lip, “Do you think the boys will be in bed by the time we get back?”

“Jack will be,” he replies as he starts to drive. “Leo tends to try to fight sleep until he sees you,” he quips, and he smiles when she doesn’t try to deny it, their toddler's obsession with his mother well known. She knew if they got what they wanted, if they had another baby, Leo would have to learn how to share, but for now, she revelled in it, loved that she was her son’s safe space. “But it shouldn’t take too long for us to have some alone time.”

She hums in agreement, “Aaron?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” he replies, purposefully speaking in a drawl, and she has to clench her teeth to hold back a groan, the combination of the accent and the hat unlocking something in her that she hadn’t known existed.

“The hat stays on.”

-x-

...ride a cowboy!

-x-

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