A/N: Hello my beautiful girls, gays, and theys! I just wanted to let y'all know I won't be posting for about 10 days bc I'll be taking a break for my mental health. Love you all💙
Aaron took in the fresh Costa Rican air as he looked out at the beach. For the first time in years, he was able to relax a bit. Due to his overworking, Strauss had put him on a mandatory leave for three weeks out of the year to completely reorient himself with the world. He didn't like it, but deep down he knew that she was right.
He watched as people of all ages walked around the beach and played in the water. As a profiler, it was in his nature to observe the behavior of others, and he couldn't help it most of the time. He did this often on dates which usually resulted in a slap in the face and the date promptly leaving. With all the horrible things he saw, it was no surprise his view of reality had become skewed.
Aaron took a sip of his beer, letting out an uneasy sigh as he watched a couple walking across the beach. Then someone caught his eye. Coming out of the water, he saw a beautiful brunette emerge from the salty, clear water as if she were some sort of mythical creature from the ocean. Her dark hair fell a few inches below her shoulders and was slick back from the water. Her body gleamed from the droplets of water that fell from her body.
She wore an olive green bikini and it accentuated her figure perfectly. She appeared confident in herself and Aaron could easily understand why. She had nicely toned legs and arms, as well as large breasts that he could barely take his eyes off. Her facial features complimented one another nicely as well. As Aaron's eyes raked over her body, his gaze fell on her toned stomach. He noticed a large scar on the right side of her stomach that stretched about half way across her torso. He wondered about its origin but was even more impressed about how much confidence she exuded as if she didn't have a care in the world.
Aaron immediately looked away when he saw the woman come towards him with a sheer coverup wrapped around her hips and some sunglasses covering her eyes. He quickly took another sip of beer and she stood next to him, leaning over the bar counter slightly as she gave the bartender a friendly smile. "¡Hola! ¿Puedo conseguir una margarita de jalapeño y piña, por favor? (Hi! Can I get a jalapeño and pineapple margarita please?)" She asked in Spanish.
"Tiene un español excelente, señorita. (You have excellent Spanish, miss)." The bartender replied turning around to make Emily her drink.
Aaron was taken aback. Initially, the woman had appeared Caucasian to him, based on her facial features and pale complexion. But her Spanish was perfect, which made Aaron second guess his "physical profile" of the woman.
He hadn't realized what he was doing until the woman turned to him with a slightly baffled but amused expression. She lightly chuckled, showing off her beautiful smile once again. Based off her embarrassment, Aaron realized that he had been staring at her, and she had caught him. He gave her a small smile in return. His Spanish was rusty, but he decided to see if he could speak any conversational Spanish whatsoever. He inhaled deeply before speaking. "Hola. Me llamo Aaron. ¿Cuanto...uh...tiempo has uh...vivido aqui? (Hi I'm Aaron. How long have you lived here?)." Aaron asked nervously.
The woman laughed again, looking down at her feet before looking Aaron in his dark brown eyes. "Nice to meet you, Aaron. I'm Emily Prentiss." She said holding out her hand.
Aaron firmly shook her hand and smiled at her. "You're American?" He asked, his throat slightly dry.
"It appears that way doesn't it?" She asked sarcastically.
Emily's attention was briefly turned away when the bartender handed her her drink. "Gracias." She said with a smile.
"De nada." The bartender nodded.
She took a long sip of it and sighed in contentment. She pulled her sunglasses off her eyes, relieving her chocolate brown orbs to Aaron. "So Aaron, why are you here down in Costa Rica?" Emily asked taking a seat on a barstool.
"I'm just here on vacation. You?" He asked taking a sip of his beer.
"Same. It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked looking out at the beach and water.
"Yes. It is." Aaron replied. Unbeknownst to Emily, his response was directed towards her but she was none the wiser.
The brunette woman turned back towards Aaron. "Do you come here often?" She asked.
"No. This is actually my first time here. I really like it."
Emily titled her head slightly before a charming rim appeared on her face. "What hotel are you staying at?"
"Hotel Del Rey." Hotch pointed at the hotel down the street.
Emily looked at him in shock. "Really? I'm staying there too. How have we not run into each other yet?"
"I just got here a few days ago. I was in Mexico before this. How long have you been here?"
"A little over a week. I'm long overdue for a vacation."
The two chuckled lightly before falling into a slightly awkward silence. Emily was tracing the rim of her now empty glass with her finger. Aaron watched in amusement before grabbing Emily's attention once again. "Would you like to go out with me tonight?" He asked, mentally preparing himself for rejection.
As Aaron looked up, he saw a smile spread across Emily's face. "I'd love to. Pick me up at 8:00?" She asked.
Aaron felt a sense of happiness and accomplishment overwhelm him. He couldn't help but smile, showing off his dimples. "Sounds great." He replied happily.
"My room is 7033. I'll see you then." Emily waved before leaving her tip for the bartender. Aaron watched as Emily walked away, following the movement of her hips. As he stared, he saw that the scare on her abdomen had also made its way to the smallest bit of her lower back. He wondered what such a beautiful woman could've done to deserve such a horrible scar.
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A few hours later, as the sun was just setting over the clear ocean, Emily was finishing up getting ready. She did the final touches on her makeup and put her earrings in. As she did this, she looked at herself in the mirror and let out a nervous sigh. She hadn't been on a date in a long time. Her work was extremely time consuming leaving her little to no time for even herself, let alone another person.
She smoothed out the imaginary creases in her dress before slipping on her nude heels. Just as she slipped on her last heel, she heard a knock at the door. Her breath hitched slightly as she grabbed her clutch and opened the door. Aaron was on the other side wearing a navy blue button up shirt and maroon shorts. His dark brown hair was gelled slightly, but he looked very handsome nevertheless.
Aaron took in the sight before him. Emily was wearing a sky blue spaghetti strap dress with an asymmetrical skirt. It fit her curves perfectly and her long, toned legs were accentuated by the nude heels she wore. Her hair was done in a low, loose buns with curled pieces that framed her face. She looked absolutely gorgeous to say the least. "You look amazing." Aaron said with a smile as he looked Emily up and down.
Emily blushes, looking down at her feet. "Likewise. Where are we going?" She asked closing her hotel room door.
"I was just thinking the restaurant in our hotel. It looked really nice."
Emily simply nodded as they made their way to the hotel restaurant. The walk was silent until Aaron asked for their table and the waiter brought them to it. They sat down and began looking over their menus. After a few minutes, Emily looked up from her menu at Aaron. "Anything look good?" She asked, trying to break the tension.
Aaron looked up from his menu as well before setting it down. "I don't know yet. Everything looks amazing so far. Do you live in Costa Rica or are you just visiting?"
"I'm just on vacation. I live in Chicago right now." Emily responded sitting up slightly. "What about you? Where are you from?"
Aaron let out a light chuckle before looking at the beautiful brunette in front of him. "I was born in Manassas, Virginia but now I live in Washington D.C."
"Do you have family there or is it for work?"
"Unfortunately no. My parents are still in Manassas, and my younger brother lives in Seattle. Do you have any siblings?"
Although both parties found the conversation somewhat basic, neither wanted to talk about their jobs; they were afraid it would scare the other off. Despite the boring conversation, they enjoyed each other's company. Aaron found Emily stunning in her dress, and the way she had done her raven hair framed her face perfectly.
Emily let out a small sigh and gave Aaron a flat smile. "No. I'm an only child. I guess my parents figured it'd be easier to only travel with one kid." Emily shrugged.
Aaron's brow furrowed at Emily comment in confusion. "What do your parents do?"
"My mom is a U.S. Ambassador. We travelled around a lot when I was a kid."
The two nodded in unison as silence filled the air between them. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw their waiter coming towards them. Just then, a shrill yet muffled scream came from above. Everyone gasped and looked around for the source of the scream.
Aaron quickly got out of his chair, and Emily was fast to follow right behind him. Aaron noticed Emily following him and stopped her. "Stay here." He said in a stern voice.
"Like hell I am." She replied moving passed Aaron to the front desk.
He watched as the brunette woman quickly pulled something out of her clutch and held it up to the front desk. "Emily Prentiss, FBI. What happened?" She asked with a sense of authority and empathy that shocked and impressed Aaron.
He was taken aback when he heard the word "FBI" come out of her mouth. He knew she exuded power; that much was evident in the way she walked and talked, but it all made sense to him now. Snapping back into reality, Aaron pulls out his badge as well. "Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI." He said coldly.
Like Aaron, Emily was shocked by what he said. But she was more shocked by the change in demeanor in his voice when he spoke. It was clear he separated his personal and professional life. With a shaky hand, the woman at the front test grabbed her phone and walked around the front desk. "Follow me, agents." She said quietly.
"What happened?" Emily asked walking surprisingly fast for the heels she was wearing.
"A man was murdered in room 1022. One of our kitchen staff found him when he didn't answer the door for his room service." The woman said leading them to the room.
Emily fell back slightly to walk next to Aaron. He leaned towards her ear as they walked. "When were you going to tell me you worked for the FBI?" He whispered in her ear.
"I could ask you the same thing." Emily replied somewhat coldly.
When he asked her that question, she noticed a sudden change in his behavior. He was far more serious and frankly cold towards her. "You didn't think it was important to tell me what your job is?"
Noticing that they were close to the crime scene, Emily spoke up again. "Can we please talk about this later?" She asked, trying not to sound annoyed.
Aaron simply nodded before the front desk woman stopped at a door. It was already opened and filled with Costa Rican authorities. The woman refused to look in the room; she simply stood outside it with a terrified face, trying her best not to shake. Emily gently rubbed the woman's shoulder. "Thank you," Emily trailed off looking at the woman's name tag. "Adriana."
The woman simply nodded before quickly wandering off. The two agents flashed the badges at a crime scene tech, and they handed Emily and Aaron each a pair of gloves. "Gracias." Emily said with a nod before observing the crime scene further.
As they looked at the crime scene, they realized it was far more gruesome and bloody than they thought. A man was tied down to his bed with rope. Blood splattered the walls behind the head board of the bed. Emily noticed a pillow with a hole in it and feathers everywhere, indicating that a pillow had been placed over his face to muffle the sound of the gunshot. Cigarettes burns were scattered all along his body but were mainly centered in the torso.
Aaron and Emily noticed a young, attractive man with dark brown hair, tan skin, and a light dusting of a beard on his face. A light layer of sweat gleamed on his forehead as he turned his attention towards the two Americans. He immediately noticed Emily and looked her up and down. Aaron noticed the look he was giving Emily and immediately frowned. The man showed Emily a charming smile as he walked up to them. "Hola detective. Soy la agente Emily Prentiss del FBI. Este es el agente Aaron Hotchner." Emily said shaking the detective's hand.
"Encantado de conocer a su agente Prentiss. Tengo que admitir que nunca he visto a una mujer tan hermosa como tú. (Nice to meet you agent Prentiss. I have to admit, I've never met a woman as beautiful as you)" The detective replied as his hand dropped from Emily's.
Emily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled. "¡Wow! ¿Ni siquiera sé tu nombre y ya estás coqueteando conmigo? ¿Tiene nombre, detective? (Wow. I don't even know your name and you're already flirting with me? Do you have a name detective?)."
"Detective Sebastián González." The detective finally said in English. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you two here? We didn't call the FBI."
"We just happened to be in the same hotel. We heard the scream." Aaron explained in a voice cold that even took Emily by surprise. She could tell Aaron already didn't like the detective, but she didn't know why. He quickly turned his attention back to the crime scene. "This murder was clearly personal. The deep cigarette burns indicate severe signs of torture."
Emily turned towards a forensic scientist who was taking pictures of the crime scene. "¿Fueron estas quemaduras de cigarrillos post mortem? (Were these cigarettes burns post mortem)."
"No, agente Prentiss. Los coágulos de sangre muestran signos de que el hombre aún estaba vivo (No, agent Prentiss. The blood clotting indicates that these marks were made while the man was still alive)." The forensic scientist responded.
The brunette woman turned back towards Aaron. "The blood clots from the cigarette burns were done while the man was still alive. The sexual bonds and position of the man most likely mean the killer is a woman who lured him in here with the promise of sex." Emily walked around the crime scene slowly, making sure not to disturb it too badly.
"Cigarette burns also indicate that the unsub was physically abused by some close male figure in her life. Her father or an ex boyfriend maybe?" Aaron said walking around the crime scene.
González furrowed his brow at Aaron. "Unsub?" He questioned.
"Unknown subject." Aaron replied quietly.
"How do you know the killer was physically abused?"
Emily let out a sigh as if she understood the unsub personally. Aaron watched at Emily subtly brushed her hand over her side. He remembered the scar on her side he saw earlier that day. "The amount of cigarette burns on the body show that there are high levels of torture. The single gunshot wound to the head means that the killer has shows no signs of remorse for the man. She wishes to erase them from society, believing that any and all men who resemble the male figure in her life who abused her deserve to die."
Aaron was taken aback by Emily's words. Her profile of the unsub was correct. He was shocked by the accuracy of the profile she had created from the scene. He knew she had a personal connection to this case, but he knew that it would be best to not bring it up. It was clearly a sensitive subject for her, one that was closer to her than she'd care to admit.
González cleared his throat to break the tension. "So, why are you two all dressed up?"
Emily and Aaron exchanged an awkward glance. Aaron finally spoke up to cover for them. "Would you mind showing us to the local police station so we can connect with them?" He asked in a cold tone.
"I'll see what I can do." González nodded coldly at Arron before looking over at Emily, winking at her with a smirk.
Emily gave him a flat smile. She noticed Aaron glare at González as he walked away. The raven haired woman walked passed Aaron with a slight smirk in her face, noticing the jealousy burning in him. "What?" She asked with a chuckle. "Jealous?"
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