Work Text:
Aaron POV
Aaron carried in a box from the SUV parked out front.
He and Hadrian had worked out the details of his employment three weeks ago, and he had spent a week preparing two rooms, one for his new nanny, and one for his child. Today he was on call, but home so he could help Hadrian move in.
He set the box on the stack in the room, “This is the last one. Is this everything? If you need storage, there is room in the basement.”
Aaron eyed Hadrian as the man stretched on tiptoe trying to slide a small wooden box onto the top shelf of the closet. His shirt rode up showing smooth pale skin and dimples on his back. Aaron averted his eyes, then stepped up behind him, taking the box from his hands and placing it on the shelf. Hadrian really was small, he couldn’t be more 5’2” or 5’3”. Hadrian tipped his head back to look at Aaron and smiled.
“Thank you. I am a bit vertically challenged.” Aaron cleared his throat and stepped back, realizing how close he was standing to the other man.
“No problem.”
”I don’t have anything else to bring here, Teddy and I are not very material. We have larger items or things that stay in storage at the townhouse I’ve closed up for now. I have an employee who maintains the property, so we are ok.”
”Good. I will let you get settled in to unpack. When will Teddy get here?”
”His cousin Draco said he would bring him back tomorrow. It’s not often he has a break due to the course load he is taking, so he was excited for a chance to spend time with him. And Jack?”
”Jessica is bringing him Sunday. She wants to see him as much as she can before she moves next month, she is going to miss him.”
”Sounds perfect. I will finish unpacking our belongings and putting them away. I will have dinner on the table at 6.”
”It’s your first day here, and the boys aren’t here, you don’t have to cook.”
Hadrian raised an eyebrow at Aaron, “I will have dinner on the table at 6.” He turned and began hanging sweaters in the closet. The man had an ungodly number of sweaters.
Aaron nodded even though Hadrian wasn’t looking and stepped out of the room, apparently dinner time was non-negotiable regardless of who was home.
He went to his office, he had paperwork he could work on. He had case reports to review and approve.
A few hours went by, Aaron losing time focused on the work at hand when the aroma of garlic and herbs hit him. His stomach growled and he glanced at the time on his computer, seeing it was a quarter til. Standing he stretched and made his way to the kitchen.
He paused in the doorway and bit back a smile. Hadrian was at the stove, swaying to the music he had playing softly in the background, stirring the contents of the pan in front of him. A timer went off, and he grabbed a dish towel and used it to pull out a cast iron skillet from the oven.
Without turning around, Hadrian spoke, “ Go and wash up, I will have this on the table when you are done.”
“Yes Sir.” Aaron teased, noting the flush that crept up the back of Hadrian’s neck.
He did as asked, washing his hands, splashing some water on his face before heading to the table. As soon as he sat, Hadrian laid a plate in front of him, penne pasta with sautéed vegetables and roasted chicken. It smelled heavenly.
“This looks terrific. My brother wouldn’t even have any complaints.”
”Your brother is a picky eater?”
”Of a sort, he is a Chef in New York.”
”Oh that is lovely, I hope I get a chance to trade recipes. I very much enjoy cooking new things, feeding my family.” Hadrian looked down as he began to eat himself.
Aaron enjoyed the meal, it was much better than he expected of a home cook. It also looked healthy, and like something Jack would eat.
”What plans do you have while the boys are gone?”
”I would like to finish setting up our schedules and some things for the boys before they get here. I also need to make a trip to a craft store - would you happen to know of a local one? Preferably a local owned business? I am not a fan of the so called chains.”
”What are you looking for?”
”Yarn, I crochet, and I would like to start a new project.”
”I don’t know of a place that would sell that, but I can text Garcia, she would likely have an idea. I believe she knits.”
”That would be greatly appreciated. Is there anything —“ Hadrian is cut off by Aaron’s phone.
“Sorry, one moment I need to take this.” Hadrian nods as he answers.
“JJ what’s up.”
”We got a call, its urgent, survivors of a school bombing from a few years back are being killed.”
”Got it. Notify the team, I am on my way.”
”I am sorry to leave on your first night Hadrian, but I have been called. You have your keys?”
Hadrian smiled softly at him, “This is precisely why you hired me. I will be fine. I will make sure the boys are good as well. If you have 5 minutes before you have to leave, I can pack you the leftovers, so you don’t have to eat out as much?”
Aaron was touched by the thought, “If its not too much trouble, I do have a couple minutes so I can grab my bag.”
“You got it.” Hadrian moved to the kitchen, Aaron could hear him moving around, and he walked back to his office. He needed to swap the clothing in his go bag, but it would only take a moment to toss the used clothing in his bedroom hamper, and grab some clean items.
Hadrian was waiting for him by the front door, a large lunch bag and a thermos in hand.
“I made you some coffee as well. Leftovers are in the bag, as well as a desert you can share with your team. Be safe.” Hadrian handed it over and opened the door for Aaron.
“Thanks Hadrian. I will keep you updated so you know when I am on my way home.” With that, he got in his SUV and left.
He and the team were sitting around the table on the plane, having just debriefed on what they would be walking into. Now they were chatting quietly to each other while they waited for the flight to finish.
Aaron pulled out the bag and took a look inside, seeing a large container of what looked like cookies. He pulled out the container, seeing a sticky note on top. Aaron - I hope you and your team enjoy. Tiramisu macarons. - Hadrian.
Rossi looked on in interest as Aaron opened the container.
”Team, Hadrian sent some tiramisu macarons for everyone.” He tucked the note in his pocket, his lips twitching in a smile.
“Didn’t he just move in today? You working him already there Hotch?” Derek grinned at him, grabbing two.
JJ groaned when she bit into hers, “Oh my god, I am going to steal him. This is amazing.”
”I told him he didn’t need to cook today, but I was firmly informed that dinner would be on the table at 6. There seemed to be no room for argument. I get the sense that feeding people is important to him.”
“I think you might have hit the jackpot in nannies Hotch. These are delightful,” Rossi slipped his hand in the container snagging another.
“That reminds me, Garcia, can you find a local owned business that sells yarn?”
”Planning on taking up knitting Hotch?” Spencer raised an eyebrow, that seemed like the last thing he could picture him doing.
”Hardly. Hadrian crochets, and doesn’t like chain stores. He said he is starting a new project, but I can’t imagine what, I have never seen someone have so many sweaters before. Nice sweaters though.”
”I will send you a local place, mom and pop shop that uses non commercial suppliers. Hadrian will love it.”
”Thanks Garcia.” Aaron had to stop himself from making an embarrassing sound as he finally tried one of the treats.
Yeah, he had hit the nanny jack pot that is for sure.
Hadrian POV
Hadrian hummed to himself as he cleaned up the kitchen with a flick of his wand.
He enjoyed cooking by hand, but would clean the easy way where he could.
Checking his to do list for the day, he checked off cleaning the kitchen and moved on to the next task.
He really wanted to do a good job, already feeling protective of Aaron and his son, wanting to take care of them.
Unfortunately, the changes seemed to be exasperating his OCD. So, checklists and deep cleaning until his headspace was calm again.
He may need to call his therapist for a maintenance appointment.
Growing up with the Dursley’s had caused him to base his self worth on how he cared for others, he was working on it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still struggle. At least he wasn’t burning his hands with bleach obsessively scrubbing the same floors over and over like he used to.
He walked through each of the bathrooms and the bedrooms, gathering dirty laundry to wash.
He was excited for this new chapter in their lives. Teddy would have a companion, and he would have a family to take care of. It had been hard on him when Draco decided to go to muggle medical school. Before that they had lived together, raising Teddy, and Hadrian was able to help Draco heal from the war. They may have hated each other in school, but after the war, Hadrian had recognized how few choices Draco had had, how much harm he suffered from what he went through. So, he invited him to stay, fed him, obsessively crocheted sweaters and blankets and socks for him. They both decided to break ties with the wizard world, go to college. Draco discovered a love for medicine, science and biology, while all Hadrian wanted was to care for children. Together they supported each other through school, and raised his son.
Draco and Luna were getting serious though, and decided to move to New York when Draco was accepted into Columbia.
Hadrian was happy, but also felt lost. His obsessive tendencies were spiking, although not anywhere harmful. Just a need to cook and clean and stick to a rigorous schedule. He hoped it would get better after he settled into a routine with the Hotchners. Watching Aaron enjoy the meal had soothed some of his anxiety, hopefully cleaning the house and starting a new project would soothe him further.
His phone dinged with the tone he assigned to Aaron.
A. On route out of state. Team loved the macarons. Sending you info on a local craft shop Garcia recommends.
H. I am glad they liked them, I hope you did too. Thank you for the info. Be safe.
A. I liked them too.
Hadrian smiled, his heart warming knowing Aaron liked his baking. He set the phone down after taking note of the address he sent him, he would visit first thing in the morning. He had blankets for the boys to make.
Aaron POV
Aaron sat heavily on the seat in the plane. The case had been resolved, unfortunately not before more loss of life. The unsub killing off survivors from their high school bombing sat heavy on him though. He wanted to go home and hug his son.
A. On the plane home. Will the boys be up?
H. I think we can make an exception to bed time tonight :)
A. Thanks. See you soon.
H. Be safe.
Aaron put his phone away. He had kept in sporadic contact with Hadrian the past few days. Hadrian making sure to provide updates every evening, as well as pictures of what the boys were up to. He had pictures of them at the park, baking, even going to school. Aaron was grateful for every moment captured, every text telling him something funny Jack said, or cute that he did.
It took a couple more hours before he was pulling into his driveway. He sighed and looked at his watch, it was close to 10. He doubted the boys were still up, the lights appeared to be out.
He grabbed his bags and headed inside. When he opened the door he heard soft piano music and giggling, the house smelled faintly of spices and baked bread. Setting his bags down he made his way through the dark house, to the soft lights of the living room. Walking in, the sight he came upon made him smile.
Hadrian had used sheets to make an elaborate fort, and hung twinkling lights, so it looked like fairies. The boys were nested in an enormous mound of pillows and blankets, each clutching a soft blanket, one in green and one in blue. Aaron blinked when he realized the green one had dinosaurs, and the blue owls. Hadrian was sitting against the couch reading a story with his soft voice.
Jack noticed him first, “Daddy!!” He shot out of the nest, dragging the blanket with him and running to wrap his arms around him. Aaron held him tightly, kissing the top of his head.
“Hey Jack, what do you have there?”
”Look daddy, Haddy made me a blanket just like Teddy’s, ‘cept I have dinosaurs. Isn’t it soft?”
”It is very soft, that was very kind of him, did you thank him?”
”Yeah daddy. I love it.”
”Thank you Hadrian, that was a thoughtful gift.”
Hadrian beamed at him, his eyes bright. “It was absolutely my pleasure. Now, these boys have been awaiting your arrival. Jack would very much like you to tuck him in. When you are done, I will have a plate of dinner on the table for you.”
”Hadrian you don’t have to do that.”
Hadrian gave him a look, “There will be a plate of dinner on the table for you. I made roast and fresh bread. Now, come Teddy, let’s get you in bed.” He lifted his son, who blinked sleepily, dragging his own blue blanket, before popping a thumb in his mouth and resting his head on Hadrian’s shoulder. Hadrian gently pushed the thumb out and walked out of the room.
Aaron watched him leave, then picked up Jack to put him to bed as well.
He tucked his son in, and listened to him tell him all about all the things he did with Haddy and Teddy, until his yawns were making it difficult to speak. With a final kiss, he said goodnight and left the room. He headed toward the kitchen, noting with surprise that the living room was already back to its tidy state. He stopped and washed his hands in the sink, before sitting at the table. Hadrian walked in softly and laid out a plate of food, and a glass of lemonade. He sat across from him and watched him eat.
“This is very good, thank you Hadrian. But you know, you don’t have to worry about me.”
”You take care of other people every day in your job. Let me take care of you here. I am happy to do it.”
Aaron looked at him, before sipping his drink.
“Did everyone make it home safe?”
”Yes, we are all ok, no injuries.”
”Brilliant. I am glad you are home safe Aaron.”
”Thank you for everything Hadrian, it is very appreciated.”
”It is my pleasure Aaron.”
Aaron continued his meal, a comfortable silence between them.
He hadn’t felt this content in years. It felt as if he had finally come home.