The Stars | Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 15: Of Venus and Valentines

 Aaron was on a case, and even though you hadn't confirmed you were exclusive, Valentine's day was looking like it was going to be spent by yourself. Or at least, the rest of it would be. You knew in your heart that you were committed to Aaron, and him alone, so you were just looking to hang out with some friends. Before you could even process what you were doing, you were calling a familiar number.

"Hey, pudding, I'm bored." You called from your car as you were about to head to lunch, and since you requested a half day, you would be free the rest of the day.

"Hey honeybee, what's up?"

"I'm bored," you whined. "Aaron has a case and all of my friends over here are already on dates-- Wait, I'm not interrupting something with you and Hannah, am I?"

His tone turned cold, "I don't want to talk about her right now. Bones and I are heading to question a dead wedding consultant's husband."

Oh no, you would definitely have to weasel some answers out of him later. He never turned down a chance to talk about his love life with you, unless there wasn't one.

You laughed, hoping to ease the tension. "Aw man, you're on a case too? So none of the Jeffersonian peeps are available to go clubbing--"

"Nope, nada, we're all busy and Cam wants this wrapped up so she can go on her big date with Paul."

"Paul?"

"Yep," Booth sighed, "It's Michelle's rejected gynecologist."

You sucked in a sharp breath, "Oh wow, that's--"

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, did you have any plans tonight? We could do nothing together, like we did back then." You raised your brow suggestively, despite him not being able to see you.

He laughed, and it was great to hear the sound, "Oh no, that only happened twice, and I'm pretty sure we're both getting too old for that."

"Old?" You scoffed, "Us? Never."

"Besides, I think I'm just going down to the shooting range, blow off some steam over, well, everything."

You smiled sadly, "Okay, I understand. And well, you already know my opinion on what I think you should be doing. Should at least, invite her, you know what I mean?"

"We'll see." And you knew he would at least consider it. "I gotta go, the husband is driving a carriage and, yeah..."

"Alright alright, I'll just be a good little housewife and take care of myself today." You sighed dramatically and started up your car.

"Yeah, whatever," you could tell he was rolling his eyes at you while smiling, "We'll talk later, promise." You let him end the call and shifted your gear into drive, your stomach growling at the prospect of food.

-

After lunch, you passed by the grocery store to pick up a carton of your favorite ice cream. It was one of many aspects to your annual ritual when you were alone on Valentine's, but you always looked forward to the day.

As soon as you got home, you kicked off your heels and began your process of self love.

You put the ice cream in the freezer then went to your TV stand, turning on the bluetooth soundbar and speaker system to play music from your phone. Selecting your "Bisexual Anthems" playlist, your head bopped to the beat as I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry filled your home. You sifted through your DVD collection to pull out the case for Love, Actually, a staple of your ritual as you usually sobbed at being single while watching cheesy romantic movies. After finding it, you placed the case on your PlayStation for later and checked it off your mental list.