y/n l/n sat with her head in her hands while the commotion around her seemed to drown out.

had she known letting her little sister out last night would result in her being in the middle of a serial killers game,

she would have never let her walk out the front door.

y/n was sick with guilt,

and had a pounding head from the lack of sleep and constant crying.

"are you beatrice l/n's guardian?"

she looked up to meet agent hotcher's look of inquiry,

and got to her feet.

"yeah, i am. we-we called her bea for short."

"ssa aaron hotchner with the behavioral analysis unit. how long has she been missing?"

"about...twenty-six hours."

y/n's eyes began to water,

and aaron could tell she was ridden with regret.

and though he had seen it many times before,

something about the woman before him awoke a strange urge to protect her within himself.

"we often blame ourselves in times like these. just know there is nothing you did wrong. bea just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"you don't..you don't think i messed up? letting her walk out alone?"

"not at all. but i do know you've done everything in your power to keep bea happy and well since the passing of your parents. and you've done an amazing job."

she nodded and blinked quickly to prevent the tears from falling,

"thank you, agent hotchner."

aaron laid a supportive hand to her shoulder and nodded,

"my team and i will be working nonstop to return your sister home to you. here,"

he began and handed her his card with his number on it,

"call me if you need anything."

***

aaron sat on the edge of the hotel bed and ran a frustrated hand down his face.

he knew time was running short,

and he needed to fulfill the promise he made to y/n earlier that day.

he wasn't sure why he carried the thought of her around all day.

it seemed deeper to him than the usual family member needing closure in the case worker.

he felt an instant responsibility for her well-being,

and oddly enough,

wanted to do everything he could to see her smile.

the thoughts felt childish,

and he was suddenly feeling like a high schooler all over again.

"get a grip, aaron,"

he mumbled to himself,

realizing he seemed to be preying on a grieving sister.

but when his phone began to ring beside him,

he found himself agreeing to dinner with y/n.

"thank you for meeting me. i know it might be unprofessional for you, but i-"

"there's no need for an explanation. i was getting rather hungry myself."

y/n laughed despite the sadness in her eyes,

and walked inside the restaurant.

aaron, when arriving to their table, pulled her seat out for her,

then walked over to sit in his own.

y/n finally felt a flicker of hope for the first time in days.

"so, you said you work with the behavioral analysis unit?"

"yeah, i do."

"and that means...?"

aaron chuckled,

"we observe the behaviors of serial killers by examining their choice of victims, ways they carry out their abuse, finding out how they release their urges, etcetera."

y/n nodded,

but aaron could tell by the way her eyes searched around the restaurant that she was worrying about her sister.

"bea's chances of coming home are high, y/n. my team and i are working hard to make sure of this."

"i know. i never doubted your ability."

the two skimmed over the conversation of bea,

and continued to talk about the lighter things in life.

the more aaron learned about y/n,

the more he found himself completely interested in her.

he knew, as long as he was on the case, he would have to suppress these feelings to prevent any tunnel vision that may occur while working.

but the way her laugh seemed to echo throughout the restaurant and brighten anyone who heard it,

aaron knew it would take an extensive amount of effort to do so.

"it seems like forever ago, doesn't it? being in love during high school?"

she giggled and took a sip of her water.

aaron nodded,

"i know. i can't even imagine jack growing up and bringing girls home. that's-that's gonna be quite the sight."

the two of them laughed together as one,

leaving aaron to notice just how harmonic they sounded when colliding as one.

"oh my god, i know. bea was on her way to a party to see this boy she likes. that would have been their first date."

"so, you two are pretty close?"

"mhm, always have been."

"do you know the boy she was meeting?"

"preston sales. they met at her most recent soccer game."

aaron's eyebrows furrowed as he began to think a little deeper about the boy involved.

"you don't...you don't think he's the one who took her, do you?"

"no, but i think you might have given us a new lead."

y/n felt her heart sink as aaron's team brought in their new suspect.

instantly,

she reached for aaron's arm and held it for support.

he couldn't help but stand a little taller in knowing she found comfort in him.

"why...why him?"

"we profiled the unsub would be around the same age as the victims, which makes it easy to lure them away. but he's also young and erratic, almost impulsive. as most teens are."

"and prestons brother did this...because he's jealous."

"we haven't figured out that much yet. why do you suppose?"

"bea always told me about this boy named sam she felt bad for. he was practically living in preston's shadow."

"...so he's making himself out to be better than preston."

"h-how?"

"by being able to lure these girls away, he's proving himself to be more charming, abducting and later killing them shows he's stronger, and avoiding detection and law enforcement, he think he's smarter."

"oh, god,"

y/n sighed and leaned the weight of her head to aaron's chest.

aaron wrapped his arms around y/n carefully,

and held her as tight as she would allow.

"i assure you, y/n, we're going to find her."

watching families find their way to one another through a truly tragic event had always been the most beautiful feeling to aaron.

y/n's cries of joy rang throughout the department as she wrapped her little sister in her arms.

aaron couldn't tear his eyes off of them.

he stood back with a smile against his lips,

and let the world around him drown out.

all that mattered was the sight before him.

rossi found himself standing next to aaron,

with his eyes on the l/n girls too.

"she's amazing, no?"

"yeah...she is."

"i mean, having to take in your little sister as your own at such a young age, then having her become an abductee? yet, she didn't cry once."

"she's strong."

"she's perfect for you, too. if i may add."

rossi made himself scarce once y/n began to walk towards aaron.

"thank you, aaron, for everything. none of this would have been possible without you or your team."

"you gave us the missing information, y/n. she has you to thank. i'm just glad to see she's okay."

"yeah...yeah, me too. we make quite the team, don't we?"

she laughed and nudged his shoulder playfully.

"i agree."

***

four months into their blossoming relationship,

aaron hotchner found himself completely in love with the woman before him.

she had been everything he was missing in this lifetime,

and aaron could only hope he made her just as happy as she did him.

he kissed the top of her head while she remained asleep in his arms,

and he couldn't fight the smile against his lips.

and y/n had been quite right after all,

they made the best team possible.