#it's not the closest one which is also fine but not as fine

[hotchnerwrites]

hi there!! hope you’re doing well :D

this is my first time requesting something like ever so pls bear with me lolll

would you be up for writing something for shy bau reader and pining hotch following them home after a bau night out?? :DD

Bar Closed, Heart Open

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x shy!BAU!reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: SFW, fluff, minor miscommunication, idiots in love <3, hotch pov

A/N: such a cute idea!!!! loved writing it, i hope you love reading it too :) thank u so mujch for ur ask and ur patience <3 mwah mwah mwah, enjoy. also my text colour editor crashed, i had such a cute colour palette for this post ugh :<

My requests are open. Send me stuff! Please read the rules before asking, and be advised there is a slight wait time right now. But I will post for sure. :)

Hotch wasn’t drunk.

Well, not exactly. He had nursed his scotch for over an hour and topped it off once. He was relaxed, fuzzy around the edges, but nowhere near out of control. 

He was, however, standing outside your apartment at 11.46 pm, which was dangerously close to a serious lapse in judgment.

Morgan and Garcia had dragged everyone out after the case wrapped. Just a low-stakes evening at the closest bar near Quantico— laughter, drinks and darts. But you’d sat at the end of the booth all night, shoulders tucked in and ankles crossed as if trying to make yourself smaller. You had politely pretended to enjoy yourself while everyone grew steadily louder. You’d given it your best shot, Hotch would give you that. But you just didn’t seem like the kind of person who enjoyed taking up space. 

He wasn’t sure exactly what tipped him over the edge. Maybe it was the way you quietly slipped out of the booth when no one was looking. Or maybe it was how every time he looked at you, you looked down like it burned.

So there he was, coat unbuttoned, hands cold, heart hammering. He tried to remember why it seemed like a good idea a few minutes ago.

Before Hotch could chicken out, he reached out and knocked on your door. Lightly, though, like he hoped you wouldn’t hear.

But you did.

A few moments passed before the door opened a cautious sliver. A flash of clothing, and then you peeked through the side, startled, wide-eyed. “Hotch?”

You looked so soft, so sleepy, so… you. And Aaron Hotchner— seasoned profiler, former prosecutor, Unit Chief— nearly turned around and fled.

“Hi. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

You blinked, completely puzzled. “Um… No. You’re fine. I just—I just wasn’t expecting…” You trailed off, voice soft.

Hotch cleared his throat, trying to dispel the persistently increasing jitters. “Can I come in for a minute?”

You stepped back, letting him in with your usual shy awkwardness. You looked like you were trying to process whether this was a dream or a disciplinary meeting.

The lights were low, cosy. You’d clearly been winding down. Fuzzy cat socks. A soft throw blanket on the couch. An unfamiliar domestic ache passed through him, and he had to force his gaze away from how inviting it all looked.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“You didn’t,” you said too fast. “You just… surprised me.”

You stood with your arms curled around yourself, fidgeting. Your eyes flitted to him, then the floor. Were you nervous, too? Because of him?

Hotch took a deep breath. “I just wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

You blinked again. “That’s… why you’re here?”

“No,” he said quickly. Immediately regretted it, too. “I mean— yes. But also no. I mean—“

He scrubbed a hand down his face, mentally reviewing every poor life decision that led to this moment. This was going so much worse than the already-pathetic version he’d imagined. What the hell are you doing, Hotchner? 

Your brows furrowed, and you took a cautious step forward. “Is… everything okay?”

“No,” he sighed, lowering his hand, “But I think I’ve made something wrong. And I didn’t mean to, I swear.”

You looked so confused. And so small. Hotch felt his heart twist in several directions before you asked, “What do you mean?”

“I think I’ve given you the wrong idea.”

“About?”

“Me.” His throat felt tight. “And… you.”

You stared at him, wide-eyed. He felt every second of your silence like a countdown.

“I always thought you didn’t like me,” you said.

He nearly laughed—not because it was funny, but because it was so absurdly tragic that he’d made you think that.

“Why?”

“You never talk to me unless you have to. You don’t smile at me like you do with JJ or Emily. And when I try to joke with you, you just stare like I’ve said something stupid.”

Hotch grimaced. Of course you’d noticed. 

“That’s not—God. That’s not what I meant to do.”

You looked like you were trying to shrink into yourself. “It’s fine. I get it. I’m quiet. Weird. I know I come off as—”

“You don’t,” he interrupted. “You don’t come off as anything except… you. Thoughtful. Kind. And yes—quiet. But that’s not bad. It’s never been bad.”

He saw you freeze.

And he realised this was it. No take-backs. No cool, calm control. The mask was off.

“I’ve been trying so hard not to scare you off that I think I just came off like an asshole.”

Your voice was so quiet. “Wait. Scare me off?”

He nodded, wishing he were someone better at this. Someone smoother. Someone not carrying a briefcase full of unspoken feelings.

“I like you,” he said. “A lot more than I should.”

There. Done. Ruined.

You blinked, stunned. “I’m… sorry, what?”

Hotch swallowed past the ball in his throat. Say it again. Softer. Or maybe louder. Or more romantically. You probably didn’t hear him right. He must have imagined the way your cheeks flushed and given him the slightest sliver of hope.

“That— Sorry, I’m just— I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“Wait, so… so you don’t hate me?”

He winced. Interrogations were easier than this. “No. God, no. I’ve been doing mental gymnastics trying not to show how much I liked you, especially in the office. I thought— I figured you might not appreciate it. But clearly, I took it too far.”

Your eyes were doing that wide-eyed sparkle thing again. Like you were recategorising the last six months of interactions in your head. All the awkward silences, the moments he stood too close and then bolted, the time he spilt coffee and nearly had a stroke when you offered to help clean it.

“You… like me?” you asked.

And now he felt about twelve years old. “Yes. Is that not—was that not clear?”

You laughed, then. He’d never heard you laugh like that. If only he could bottle it up. “Aaron, you flinched every time I entered a room.”

“That wasn’t flinching. That was panic.”

You lifted a brow. 

“Not the bad kind,” Hotch added quickly, “I just kind of forgot how to speak for a couple of seconds. Or function, for that matter.

You giggled. He’d take the memory of that laugh to his grave,

“You’re really bad at this,” you said.

He sighed, smiling despite it all. “I am… painfully aware.”

“I thought you were mad every time I said something awkward,” you admitted. “Or when I fumbled a report. You always looked so stern.”

“I am stern,” he said, and you laughed again. “But I was never angry. I was… distracted. By you.”

Something in you shifted then—visibly. Like you were seeing him clearly for the first time.

Hotch took a step closer.

“I don’t expect anything from you,” he said softly. “But I wanted you to know. I wanted to stop pretending I didn’t notice you. Or that you didn’t matter to me.”

You didn’t run. You didn’t hide. You didn’t even look away.

Instead, you reached for his hand.

And Hotch didn’t stop himself from holding it.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any likes/comments/reblogs/follows. Constructive criticism is welcome. Do not plagiarise my content and/or post it anywhere without crediting me.

Dividers by @/cafekitsune

[horny-marbles]

do you have any thoughts about sweet moments with brian? i feel like without hoodie or any of the slenderman stuff, he would be a really good boyfriend and really sweet. i think he would be very protective too! i love your writing so much btw!!! :)

OHHHHH MY GOD do i have thoughts... i fucking LOVEEE the idea of him outside the slenderverse, or at least in the moments where he's not being eaten alive from the inside by the operator lol.

i feel like mornings are the sweetest with brian. he stirs awake with this look of pure confusion on his face, all bleary eyed and scrungly with sleep, and he blindly reaches for you in bed before he's even fully conscious yet, completely instinctual. as soon as his hand finds you, that crease between his brows relaxes and he smiles all tired and sweet, curling around you with this croaky, sighed "mornin' baby" like you're his cup of coffee for the day. he'll always refuse to kiss you before brushing the morning breath off his tongue, but he'll bury his face between your shoulder blades and press his mouth to your spine and nape while you're both croaking your plans for the day.

driving around aimlessly is one of his favorites, despite complaining about gas prices constantly lol (i mean, fair). shitty engine humming over his off-key singing—always exaggerating his little southern lilt for shits and gigs—and the occasional whiff of manure through the open windows, to which he inevitably gets this shit eating grin before going "baby, ew, what did'ya have for lunch, huh?" and laughing when you smack his arm like it's so fun being in love with you. also, whenever you get to a red light, he grabs your pinky and guides your hand up to kiss your knuckles like second nature.

late-night movie cuddles with heavy commentary is routine. brian always insists on watching "the classics" like the godfather or pulp fiction and ends up talking over more than half of it every single time, without fail. and when you fall asleep on his chest mid-movie, he just accepts his fate to sleep in that position for the night, running his hand up and down your arm while whispering stupid shit like "bet the director was high as shit when he made this" into the crown of your head like you're still part of the conversation.

oh and him making you short films is a given. you could be doing anything—brushing your teeth, online shopping, sleeping in—and he'll turn it into a cheesy little mockumentary, pretentiously narrating it like, "here we can see the rare specimen known as my sweetheart, in its natural habitat, refusing to wake up before noon. ain't nature beautiful?"

and you're so right, he would be super protective in his own quiet ways. always the "you okay?" guy, always—he notices everything, every quiet "I'm fine", every shift in your usual demeanor. he never pushes you to talk, but his voice would go soft and low when he says "hey, talk to me, what's wrong?"

he always has an eye out for your surroundings. not in any obvious way, but always looking out for you. shifting to the side closest to the road or a crowd when walking together, hanging near you at gatherings or unfamiliar places—not clinging or hovering, but you always feel like there's this protective wall at your back. always offering to walk you to your car, home, anywhere, like it's just obvious.

and he's never the type to make a scene when someone's making you uncomfortble, he doesn't square up. but he doesn't talk about it either, he just handles it, quietly. you never hear what happened, they just don't bother you again.

[greenerteacups]

Midway through Lionheart, and I'm fascinated by this Butterfly effect situation you have going on. Draco is a catalyst for so many things, in canon, that I wouldn't have noticed, and it's interesting how the web weaves itself. I love that he doesn't replace any of the og trio, but instead occupies this very unique position, and that in itself changes so many things. For example: Snape, although still a jerk in his own right, feels almost like he's a bit nicer, compared to canon, and I wondered if Lucius being gone meant that he grew much closer to Draco, and that softened him, if by a bit. You mentioned in a previous comment in one of the vol. 1 chapters that canon harry feels more cautious than fic Harry, only trusting those he's closest too. It made me think, Draco was such a vocal part of the canon books for disliking harry, and I feel like that increased Slytherin hostility? Not only did anyone who wasn't close friends either hated him immediately or only wanted to get to know him because he was the "chosen one", but he also genuinely never had any semblance of a positive relationship with Slytherin, and had an overall harsher experience compared to LH harry, which had understandably molded his perspective. On the contrast, in your fic, Draco has this very unique position as this man of two world, close to harry but also the slytherins. He isn't a vocal harry-hater and there's none of that hostility harry experienced in canon because Draco isn't ferrying the boat. Theo instead takes over what would have been draco's role in canon, except Theo's personality isn't like draco's at all, and I'd even say hes more open-minded, likely from his distance with his father? Because of this, things are less hostile for harry compared to canon.

I also feel like Slytherin-gryffindor relations are much better here compared in canon because of this– Theo still likes Draco and thus is willing to tolerate Gryffindor and there's no anti-harry influence that canon Draco cultivated, while Hermione, harry and Ron, though reasonably defensive, are generally tolerant towards people who don't immediately attack them. Draco isn't outwardly pushing hostility towards harry and instead becomes a sort of bridge between the two, as both sides find it easier to see the more "human" Side of the other, for lack of a better term? And find a common ground, that is being teenagers going through puberty. The trio feel more relaxed here, too, because of it. sorry, I must be rambling- I just adore what you did here, with all the butterfly effect web and how these characters grow and interact with one another. I really liked how you write our four main characters especially– Harry and how he's less anxious, in a way? Ron, and the way he interacts with Draco. Of course, Hermione's conversations are an absolute delight to read as well. I find it so funny that Draco Malfoy's consolation is "it's okay, we're gonna sue". I also loved the PROM CHAPTER PROM CHAPTER and how they're all jealous of each other and are all sort of in their own love triangles lmao??? Teen angst!!! Hermione's jealous, ron's jealous, draco's jealous, harry's jealous– wait nvm Harry is fine actually I think? He actually feels very stable compared to the other three (which is saying something, considering he is the one in the tournament), but really I love how Cho and Harry interact. If not a couple, then they'd be fantastic as good friends too. I love how much they feel like teenagers. The bit about pansy's hair being splinched is fantastic, love that that was the thing that broke the awkwardness lmao ofc it would be that. Daphne is a dear, and I hope for the best for her. This is a wonderful fic, really, thank you for sharing it with us. I adore your writing.

thank you so much for this!! have been rereading it constantly ta xxxx!!!!

[acid-ixx]

im actually curious on the whole truth about why exactly you've been neglected for so many goddamn long years because it just sounds so odd to me that they didn't know a single thing about you ( i know you've left several crumbs and have been hinting us on its reasons ) — because normally, even children who are emotionally neglected would still have some sense of core memory with the parent ( albeit very little ) . anyways, looking forward to the full reveal of the truth — good luck in writing, 🪄 may the writer's block and imposter syndromes be chased away.

actually, since tim drake is one of my favs, im looking forward to your development of him in the story!

— masterlist !

trust me, it will all be revealed in chapter six, hence why i've been saying to prepare for the absolute mindfuck that is alfred's perspective and how he's basically manipulated the entire narrative the whole time. though it's a far fetch that they know nothing, there's also a reason as to why you're the closest to jason and that's because unlike with alfred influencing a lot of the family members' perception of you, jason's always been sneaking into the manor in the first place. he's like a wild card, a variable who's just snuck in— and also why damian's treatment towards you is also vastly different because he's known about you way before he was introduced into the family (talia al ghul crumbs...)

so, you guys can make theories on why both jason and damian's dynamic with you is different, and the only clue i'll leave for now is that their own portrayal of you is different from the family's pre-established view taken from alfred. that also means their own guilt is different because it's not exclusively neglect that they enacted upon you, just a variant of it.

and yes! i agree that children would have some sort of core memory with their parents. i say this myself as someone who actually went through the same experience as the reader in my series (as in, they're a carbon copy of me), which is why i would also dabble in a lot of their shared moments with the reader, which kind of make it more tragic as to how you've always been there for them even at their lowest moments (including bruce, where i'd also reveal how the you discover his identity as batman only after a week of staying in the manor). they all have a vague memory of the reader, so suffice to say they were always aware of your existence, just never knew to make it known due to how much alfred would tend to twist the narrative pretending like everything is fine and dandy with you (as if you never harmed yourself, as if you were never almost kidnapped in the past, as if nothing bad was ever happening).

i don't want to reveal as much, and although i promoted chapter 6 as a chapter more lighthearted with a conner kent perspective, there's still a lot of guilty undertones that i'll soon reveal.

[phoenixwithapencil]

I don’t know what, exactly, went on in Angeal’s past to make him The Way He Is, but I do know that healthy, well adjusted people aren’t, by and large, in solider and that the being a mom friend and the seeing himself as a monster and immediately choosing to isolate himself and seeing his honor as a burden so heavy it is most aptly represented in the buster sword— none of that is likely to have spawned from remotely healthy places.

I am of the belief that he is just as much of a trainwreck as his two friends, he just happens to be the most socially acceptable about it

[telesodalite]

Thinking about Krok and his og squad again...

[e77y]

I really want to like being a woman but I don’t. But I’m not dysphoric either; I like my body fine and I don’t want to change my voice or my mannerisms or even my pronouns really. So I don’t think I’m transmasc. Sometimes I just really wish I was born and raised a man. But it’s more of an “in another life” dream kind of thing. I think it’s just internalized misogyny idk

[starlit-mansion]

the funniest thing about kellan is that he looks physically different in every set (by which i mean his hair texture and skin tone and overall look do not quiiiiiiiite match) but at no point does he ever look like oko

like absolutely i've been nursing a headcanon about kellan that his hereditary shapeshifting manifests less as physically morphing and more by him very easily fitting into a dovetail of what people expect of him and what he's trying to be that changes between different planes and situations, which is also why his color identity and mechanic function has changed so much over the sets

but it would also be. honestly really funny if he didn't look like oko because he never knew what oko looked like and so his subconscious half-fae shapeshifting never had anything to latch onto and manifest

[doueverwonder]

thinking about my old youth pastor who was a flight engineer in the Coast Guard and would randomly tell us stories about times he almost died because "coast guard planes are so old 90% of my job is being done by computers in most planes"

[northersouth]

KaeMAYeus Week 3:

Lunch Break | Love Poems

I got struck with the initial idea for the Kaemaeus ship at the beginning of 2023. It started with the premise of Kaeya taking Klee by the alchemy table in search of Albedo, and Timaeus having to regretfully tell them he was still away on Dragonspine. To avail Klee's disappointment Kaeya would take her to get lunch at Good Hunter, on a whim inviting Timaeus to join them. It ends up becoming a regular occurrence, the two chatting about this and that over a shared lunch break. They find that they like each other's company, and over time go from acquaintances, to friends, to more.

Given that it's June, I got more than a little behind on this. I still had fun this last month, trying to do a bunch of pieces for my server's rare pair alongside my friends. Thank you to @throwaway-writing and @tittysuckersworld for nudging me into making the prompt list. And for participating in this silly little ship with me. ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

(Textless versions of the pictures below the cut)

[arolesbianism]

Finally fixating on some nugget relationships that aren't horrible for everyone I love friendship <3

[pumpking64]

.

[smallblueandloud]

i have now posted 49 fics on ao3. my next fic will be my 50th, which is very exciting!

...i think i want it to be bail organa time travels. if i can. which means i gotta... get back onto that

[arsenicflame]

Steddyhands for the ship ask game

thank u !!!!!

Send me a ship and I will grade it:

A: I love it

ha ive actually been having a really interesting conversation with my friend about this specific topic, in that, i dont really ship steddyhands? or thats how i feel about it anyway- i ship each couple individually at the same time, but i dont tend to imagine them doing things i consider couple things all together (i also recognise my stance on that is weird because ill still stick them in the same bed and maintain thats not couple activity) specifically the appeal of steddyhands to me is how each couple inside it plays off each other and provides fulfilment that the third person cannot!

Steddyhands, for me, is about not having to be everything for someone and that being ok :)

[bestfluteninja]

breaking news recognizing that you feel desperately lonely because you have been severely lacking in social conversational interaction this week and taking steps to fix that will ultimately make you feel better!

[ssongsboo]

I HAVE TO TELL MY BOSS ABT THE DAYS IM PLANNING TO TAKE OFF WORK THIS YEAR SOON BUT IDK WHICH ONE OF LYRANS TOUR STOPS I WANNA GO TO