The Stars | Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 22: The Voyager

David Rossi was a man of passion. He had a passion for cooking, passion for mischief, and most important of all, a passion for love. Passion was the motto of his life, and if he didn't have a passion for it, he would simply walk away unless necessary to stick it out. Passion had gotten him far, living all of his life with it meant he could spot it miles away.

David Rossi knew his best friend Aaron Hotchner had a passion for you. There was a shift in his eyes that revealed the extent of it, shining brightly whenever he mentioned you.

David Rossi also knew his best friend Aaron Hotchner was afraid of being too passionate, no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

Rossi thought himself to be a clever man, and as he had high hopes regarding Hotch, he figured Aaron would be more comfortable broaching the topic of you in a non work environment. He knew you had known each other for around six months, so definitely enough time to have gotten intimate with each other and therefore Aaron would be able to provide a holistic evaluation of your relationship.

Knowing Hotch would arrive fifteen minutes early to nearly any meeting, Rossi texted the group team chat to announce an impromptu get together in one hour, specifying he would be cooking as the team would find the offer irresistible. He figured Hotch would get to his place fifteen minutes early, perhaps with you, share the good news of how you like each other in all areas and would put a proud David Rossi in an even better mood that would result in enough food to feed a small country. He made sure to send an extra text instructing Aaron to bring you to the team dinner.

As planned, Rossi welcomed Hotch into his home fifteen minutes before everyone was supposed to come. They greeted each other with a smile, though Aaron's seemed stressed.

"Did you let Y/N know to come tonight, too?"

"Yeah, yeah," Hotch ran a hand through his hair, "She hasn't responded yet, but the Ladies' Night is supposed to last another half hour, so I'm sure she'll check my text then."

"Good, that's good..." Rossi stepped aside to let the other man in, "How are you and Y/N anyway?" The two men made their way to the kitchen island, Rossi pulling out more ingredients to have everyone make personal pizzas on top of the two large ones heating in the oven as Aaron sat.

Hotch raised a brow, unsure of where this particular topic would lead, "...It's, good. We're good, so far at least."

Another knock brought Rossi back to the door, continuing the conversation at a louder volume, "Trouble in paradise?" He turned to the door, opening it to reveal Morgan and Reid.

"Rossi, my man!" He rubbed his hands together, grinning. "Hope we aren't too early, but I picked up Pretty Boy here and we can smell something cooking. What's on the menu tonight?"

Dave stepped back to let the other two men in, "Would you like to make dinner, Derek?"

Morgan's eyes widened as Reid snickered, "Nah man, I can wait," he took on a whiny tone, "I was just asking..." they took the two seats next to Hotch as he sat on the closest seat to the door, greeting him.

Reid perked up, having caught the last snatch of Rossi's conversation and being naturally curious, "Who's having 'trouble in paradise'?"

"No one—"

"We were discussing Y/N," Rossi answered at the same time as Hotch, who stopped himself as his mentor spoke.

Morgan smirked, "That doesn't sound like 'no one' to me, Hotch..."

Aaron blushed, not wanting to get further on the topic of you, "That's not what I— Dave and I were finishing up on the topic of Y/N—"

"No we weren't," Rossi teasingly sang, "I was going to ask if they'd gotten to the point of trying to make Jack an older brother—"