day 11 of flufftober
⋆.˚ summary: while having to watch Jack for the day you decided to show him the true Halloween spirit and surprise Aaron
⋆.˚ fluff , babysitter!reader , mentions of sexualized costumes , Jack being absolutely adorable
“Alright, Jack, ready to check this place out?” You smiled as you held his hand, opening the door for him, watching his eyes light up as they immediately darted around the many decorations upon entering.
He let go of your hand and rushed over to one of the interactive decorations, a large pumpkin headed animatronic. He looked down at his shoes and saw a button with bright red letters saying ‘Step On Me’.
His curiosity spiked, stomping his small foot on it as he looked back up, watching the animatronic spring out and shout out an automated line.
You walked up behind him and smiled, listening as he started to giggled loudly, turning around to face you before grabbing your finger and started tugging you around to the next one.
“Jack, buddy, slow down.” You laughed lightly, bending down a little to follow after him, watching as he happily started pressing different interactive buttons and watched the different animatronics pop out at him.
He glanced back at you and smiled widely, squeezing your finger before using his little hand to gesture you to bend down.
You sighed and crouched down to match his height, raising your brows in anticipation. “What is it, bud?”
He smiled and moved in closer, using a hand to cup his mouth so he could whisper to you. “We should surprise daddy with one.” He giggled lightly at his own suggestion, before rushing away from you to go search the store more.
“Jack! Gotta stop running from me!” You laughed and pushed yourself up from your knees, taking quick and big steps towards him, scooping him up and held him close.
“Alright, well, what do you wanna do to surprise your dad?” You asked, placing him back down and held him still by his shoulders.
“There’s masks, fake weapons, some little kid costumes. Maybe we pick out your costume and show him what you’re going as this year.” You raised your brows at him, fixing his hair a little and kissed his head.
“Costume! I wanna dress like him.” He smiled and grabbed your hands from behind his head, awkwardly tugging you along to the many costumes on shelves.
Infront of you was several like his father’s job; cops, firemen, etc. You squeezed his hand before pulling away, walking down the small aisle for a moment until finding an FBI agent costume.
“Oh, buddy, I think we found one.” You glanced back at him, showing him the costume, before attempting to find one that was definitely his size.
“Maybe.. you dress as the good guy, and I’ll dress as the bad guy. You wanna help me find a bad guy costume?” You watched as he eagerly nodded, walking over to you and eagerly pointed out some of the criminal costumes—which sadly were very sexualized.
“Maybe not that one..” You smiled awkwardly as you held his costume under your arm, redirecting his attention to the more normal costumes.
He nodded and picked out a classic orange jumpsuit, one that came with a pair of handcuffs as well. You ran a hand over his hair before helping him grab the costume off the shelf, letting him hold it.
“Wanna check out the masks before we buy these?” You gently grabbed his arm again, directing him towards the other end of the store.
By the time you had gotten back to Aaron’s place you were helping Jack adjust his little tie, straightening out the suit from his costume and made him look all professional.
“Now.. we add your badge.” You smiled and picked up the quick makeshift badge you had printed out and stuffed in the provided ID holder from the costume, flipping it to his collar.
“You’re just like your dad, aren’t you?” You kissed his forehead as you smiled at him, adjusting the plastic handcuffs that dangled from your wrist, watching as his smile grew.
“I’m a hero now.” He small words were simple yet enough to make your heart ache, nodding more as you placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, you are.. best hero out there, right?” You raised your brows at him, seeing him happily nod before perking up at the sound of keys jiggling at the door.
“Looks like the real hero’s home now.” You laughed softly, kissing his head again as you pushed yourself to a standing position, watching as he carefully grabbed your hands and held them behind you, loosely clipping the handcuffs around your other wrist.
“You gotta be stern and put me in my place, okay? Really sell the act.” You whispered to him, giving him a short nod before nudging the door open, listening for Aaron as he entered the living room and called out to you both.”
“Jack? Y/N?” His voice rang through the apartment, before he was greeted by the sound of Jack’s voice yelling at you rather sweetly.
“Daddy! I got the bad guy!” He smiled proudly as he pushed you into the living room, showing off your matching costumes to his father, before letting go of your wrists and rushed over to him.
Aaron crouched down with a smiled, taking in his costume before picking him up, planting a kiss to the side of his head. “Where in the world did you two go?”
You laughed lightly and awkwardly messed with the plastic handcuffs, attempting to loosen them as you glanced down behind your back. “Uh—y’know. Spirit Halloween.. Jack wanted to be a hero for Halloween, so he chose to dress like you.”
Aaron gently put Jack down as he walked over to you, helping you get the cuffs off, before holding them up for you and smiled.
“Thanks.. you really didn’t have to. I can pay you back however much the costume cost.” He offered with slightly furrowed brows. “Aaron, it’s fine. I’d gladly spend all my money to see Jack this happy.”
He nodded simply, a hand finding purchase on your lower back, his gaze on yours as a smile found its home on his lips again.
He was about to speak up when he was interrupted by Jack, his attention going over to his son. “Are you two going to kiss?” He gave you both a weird look before walking away to his room, making you laugh slightly.
“Guess he didn’t want to witness that if it happened.” You shrugged and fiddled with the cuffs in your hand, raising your brows at him.
“If?” He glanced back at you, gaze flickering to your lips for a split second. “Doesn’t have to be an if.” He suggested quietly, his hand still on your back.
“You do realize you’d be kissing a criminal then, right? I’m in character right now.” You smiled and laughed, turning more towards him and placed a hand against his chest.”
“Clearly, you stole my heart. Thief.” He responded simply, before leaning down and planted his lips against yours softly. You almost immediately reciprocated, your hands in his shoulders.
The kiss lasted a few moments, before you pulled back and gave him an amused look. “That is the most cliche thing you could have said, I hope you know that.”
He rolled his eyes, hands on yours waist as he let out a content sigh. “Let me enjoy this, will you?” He gave you a playfully annoyed look, before kissing you once again.
tags: @lemoniiiiiii , @xrag-dollx , @jazz-berry (ask to be added!)
“Eww don’t ship them ! They’re just friends/ they hate each other/ they barely have any interaction/they never even met/they’re not from the same series !”
Pussy. Back in my days, we shipped Elsa and Jack Frost to hell and back because they were both ice themed.
Iron man girlie turned aerospace engineer
i might have said this before but george foyet is the best thing the criminal minds writers have ever done thank you for giving me a dc villian in my fbi procedural
{Quotes marguaxpoetry on Instagram / Sarah Kay}
We have GOT to stop pathologizing the joy out of life.
Saw someone claim that if you read a lot as a child, you were disassociating. No, you were reading. Because reading is fun.
"I have a problem with maladaptive daydreaming." It's only maladaptive if it negatively impacts your ability to function in the real world. Laughing at a joke you made in your head isn't doing that.
"You seem to do a lot if creative projects. What are you escaping?" I'm escaping this conversation.
Like what is the end goal? Because so far, all this has done has made it harder to enjoy my hobbies because you're turning a mindless process into something I gotta think about.
emily prentiss:
tumblr friendships are hard to maintain like im sorry i know i havent talked to you in 5 months but you’re still super rad and i still consider us friends im just dumb
Any yawl on tiktok and see a slideshow that's "CM character headcanons" and you think oooh okay let's see! And the second slide is "Character Headcanon Generator" or some AI prompt thing. I immediately scroll onto the next tiktok cuz what do you mean you can't fucking think of anything yourself and instead rely on generators and AI ???? Fuck off.
And don't get me started on Character.AI or whatever it is ppl use to "chat to the CM characters". Learn to fucking write or request something from REAL PPL.
Jade can we get hotch and his daughter again I miss them!!!!!
You’ll confess to liking your father’s new apartment. It’s well-furnished and warm. It’s nothing like the house, though. You can hardly tell anyone lives here when you aren’t putting your laundry bag by the washer-dryer to go in next, the bedroom especially untouched. You suspect your father lives out of his wardrobe and go-bag, as it’s called.
Different to the house. You’re always welcome. No strange silences pervade when you come knocking —if Aaron’s home, he opens the door already having pulled the chain lock down to let you in, and, despite his apparent stress and budding depression, he asks you what you need.
How was school? How’s your studying coming along? Did you find a potential grad outfit yet? Did you need a check for that?
It’s too much, sometimes, but not because you don’t want it.
You hesitate at the door. From inside, you can hear the barest hum of the TV. Maybe he’s actually relaxing for once. Maybe you should leave poor Aaron alone.
You’re selfish. “Dad?” you ask, letting some excitement colour your voice, “Hello! Are you napping?”
It’s gotta be five quick seconds before the doors being pulled open. “Hey, sweetheart,” he croaks, all tired eyes and rumpled pajamas as he stands aside. You dodge his arm, laughing at his disgruntled groan. “You can go home if this is what I have to deal with.”
You let him close the door and lock it before you turn back to him. “Tell me you weren’t just sleeping on the couch? I thought we had a few more years.”
“I was asleep in bed.”
“You got to the door super fast.”
“I was getting up. We got home late,” —he drags a hand over his face— “and I didn’t sleep on the jet. Let me go get dressed and we’ll go for breakfast.” He checks his watch. “Uh, dinner.”
“Or we could order in?”
He sighs in relief. “Or we’ll order in. Good idea.”
You don’t comment as he steps past you to the couch. You’ve missed your opportunity for a hug. It’s your own fault for dodging the first one.
You slip out of your shoes and leave them neatly by the door, hanging your jacket on the hook, and your sweater on the back of the couch. He holds up a hand as you sit down on the couch and you take it for what it is, a beckoning to sit near enough for him to hold your shoulder. “Alright?” he asks, touching the side of your face with his knuckles briefly, before leaving you to your personal space. “You look tired. I don’t mean that unkindly. How have you been sleeping?”
“You’re the third person to tell me that today, but I don’t feel tired.”
“Maybe you just need something to eat,” he says. “Pass me the phone, honey, I’ll call for us.”
He calls. You listen to him talk. You love how polite he is to everyone and especially people who work jobs like you did. Despite his titles and expertise, he doesn’t condescend. He says thank you twice. And he orders all your favourites, so you have to give him double the credit for being observant.
You slip a ways down into your seat and look Aaron over. To no one’s surprise, having a father who cares about you is easy work for the heart. Your life is changed. He’s good, and you like being around him, but it’s a funny thing to look at this man you’ve known for a year and to know you love him. He really is everything you ever wanted, as a kid. He isn’t picking you up from sleepovers or rubbing your back when you cry, but you’re sure he’d do both of those things if asked. You like that you can come here without asking. You like that he doesn’t care why.
He doesn’t look young, exactly, but he doesn’t look quite old enough yet to have a daughter your age. He could be a coworker. The thought makes you huff.
“What?” he asks, already smiling.
“Just thinking about something.”
“About what?”
“You’re not as young as you look.”
He rolls his eyes. “Right, right, I forget that you come here to insult me. You know, Jack told me I was getting more ‘crinkles’ the other day.”
“Kids say the darndest things,” you tease lightly.
“I’m not old.”
“I said you’re not as young as you look, that means you’re doing well.”
“I think I look right for my age,” he says contritely, but grinning, tipping his head back against a cushion. “It’s good to look your age. It’s a privilege to be old.”
“I thought you weren’t.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying… I’m lucky to be here still,” he says, giving you a nudge, “or I wouldn’t know my girl, would I?”
“And sappy in your old age.”
“Mm.” He grabs the remote, turning the TV onto a movie channel and upping the volume. “Unfortunately.”
You turn into him and let your knees touch. You watch TV waiting for your dinner to arrive in companionable silence, not tired but worn, not bored but somehow restless. You wonder if wanting a hug off your dad when you haven’t had very many is wrong of you. But the thing is —is that he really feels like your dad. Just the way he talks to you cements it. Sometimes when you’re with him, you feel like a kid again.
When he touched the side of your face and told you that you looked tired, it felt like a compliment, somehow, the signals all crossed in your head, ‘cos it was nice to be cared for.
“Dad?” you ask quietly.
Aaron turns his gaze to yours, not bothering to square away his joy at being called such a thing. “What, honey?”
“Do you think… would it be really weird if I asked for a hug?” you ask shyly. Heat floods your cheeks and nose, but he doesn’t laugh.
“Come here,” he says, sitting up a touch, arm extended for you to fold under. He wraps you in, lets you slouch into his touch just like Jack does in those slices of time after dinner and before bed. “Not weird. I mean, you’re a big girl,” —he laughs— “but I don’t think there’s an age limit.”
“I know that. Just don’t know if you want to.”
If he sees you wringing your fingers, he ignores it. “Why wouldn’t I want to?” He settles back on the couch, pulling you a little to make sure you go with him. Not like Jack laying bodily atop him, but still a nice hug.
“Don’t know.”
You both sort of know why. You’re old. You’re not supposed to want this stuff. You should find it too awkward and the time for affection has passed. And yet.
He hums softly. “I love you, honey.”
You know, but it’s nice to be told. “Yeah. Yeah, me too.”
He doesn’t begrudge the way you put it, sinking again into the couch, his eyes looking heavy with some contentness, but mostly fatigue. “Don’t let me fall asleep before the food gets here,” he says.
“You got it, boss.”
He gives your shoulder a rough, dad-like squeeze. You laugh and squirm away. After a few seconds apart, he shuffles you back toward him.
“Is it hard?” he asks.
“What?”
“Finishing the year out. Getting ready for your exams. The bar. Is it stressing you out? You can be all caught up on sleep and still exhausted, I’d know.”
“Yeah, it is. Yeah, but it’s just a few more months. I can do it.”
“I know you can do it, baby,” he says, drawing your attention from the TV, “that's not in question.”
His voice is soft like a strip of velvet. You’ve stopped being surprised at his propensity for gentleness, but you don’t always know what to do in the face of it.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks.
“Nothing. Just studying.”
“Okay, so stay the night, the guest rooms calling your name, and tomorrow morning we’ll just study.”
“Do you even remember–”
“Don’t insult me.”
“It’s a lot.”
“I remember. I used to drive Haley mad.” He goes quiet for a bit. Two or three seconds where you know he’s thinking about their separation. “But I couldn’t have done it without her. It’s hard work, committing it all to memory, we can make more flash cards.”
“That would be nice.”
“Not exactly helping you with your math homework.”
“Are you any good at it?”
“Math?” He laughs. “Not anymore.”
“You forget all that stuff, right? I knew we would.”
“Yeah, you do. I had to get rid of all that stuff to make room for work.”
“Oh, so it was on purpose?”
“I’ll ignore what you’re implying. I’m gonna eat all the poppadoms when they get here, but I’ll ignore it.”
“Sick.”
He shrugs.
“I’ll tell Jack.”
“Oh, don’t. If your brother knows we had butter chicken without him he’ll throw a fit.”
“We can save him some.”
Aaron lets his face rest on the back of the couch. “Good idea.”
“Aaron, don’t sleep.”
He grins. “I’m not. I’m resting my eyes.”
Ridiculous. “Is it… Can you have Jack tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t really like it that I’m only having him on the weekends. She says she gets all the hard parts and I have all the fun.”
You don’t know what to say. “Well, I guess that’s kinda true.”
“Yeah. Thing is, I can’t say sure, I’ll have him Sunday through to Wednesday because I never know if they’re gonna send me somewhere with the team. I can’t even confidently take him on the weekend. I can’t promise I’ll be here.”
“I know.”
He squints at you. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” You give him a rueful smile. “What are you sorry to me for?”
“It’s not just Jack I’m letting down.”
“You haven’t let me down,” you say, practicing some of his softness. “Maybe you have let Jack down, I don’t know, I’m not Jack, but so long as you’re trying to do well by him, I think that’s probably enough. You… you and Haley, you’re not sure what’s happening.” You don’t like telling him he and Haley have a happy ending, because everything he’s told you so far doesn’t agree, but you don’t wanna kick him while he’s down either. “It’s okay to need time to like, get things straight. You have the apartment, you have the guest room, you’re offering to have him when you can. You do have to make the effort, but you know that already.”
“I know, but thanks, honey. You’ve listened to too much of my whining.”
“You listen to me whine all the time.”
He squeezes you to him. “I love listening to you.”
“I don’t mind listening to you, either.”
“The horrors of adulthood, listening to your deadbeat dad complain.”
“Shut up, you’re not a deadbeat. You’re stressing me out.”
“Sorry.” He rubs your arm again and lets you loose. “Oh, sweetheart, I got your snacks, if you’re hungry. They’re in the cabinet by the fridge.”
“I can wait.”
He sighs very deeply. You’re sure he’s gonna nod off, but he forces himself to stand. “Thank you for coming over. I couldn’t do this without you.”
“What, the sad bachelor thing?” You giggle to yourself as he stands up. “Where are you going? I’m just kidding.”
“I’m getting your snacks.”
You turn on the couch to watch him. He unveils a bunch of your favourite things from the cabinet. You can see Jack’s fruit snacks, his yogurt covered raisins, and it gives you a chest ache thinking about Aaron all alone this weekend. “You know I do love you, right?” you ask carefully.
He comes back, looking super tired but not so sad. “I know. I’m the luckiest man alive if I have you and your brother, you know that?”
“Okay.”
Aaron laughs, dropping your candies in your lap with a thunk. He got the big bag. “Okay. Tuck into those, and I’ll go see about your bother coming over tomorrow. Did you have pajamas in the laundry?”
“Uh…”
“I’ll look.”
You did not wanna get up. “Thanks!” you say, cracking open your bag of candy with a smile, missing the fond look he throws your way from behind.
University is just constantly looking for your braincell