you've gained an immunity to coffee. you must've, or the department's supply was straight decaf.
you attempted to pour another cup, it being your fourth, fifth? helping of the day. at this point, the days were colliding together; it was hard to tell where one ended and the next began. you, all of you, hadn't slept in at least thirty-five hours, and while everyone was seemingly managing their lack of sleep, you were close to delirious. you could barely hold yourself upright; a small yelp escaped you as a hot droplet scorched your skin, a swig of coffee missing your mug altogether.
abandoning your drink, you redirected yourself back to the department's conference room, where aaron and the rest of the team had been throwing ideas around for the past three hours. the past three, long hours.
aaron. you'd so much rather prefer to be tangled up in bed with him, sleeping comfortably in his arms. you'd be embedded into his side, a leg thrown across his waist, clutching onto him as if he were about to slip through your fingertips. maybe he would even be shirtless, allowing you to feel his muscles flex around you as he held you in his sleep, strong and secure. his skin was soft, much softer than anything you've ever encountered. that was much more tempting than discussing who-had-done-what and why-they-decided-to-do-it.
instead of opting to settle into your empty, waiting chair- it wasn't nearly as inviting- you stood behind aaron's chair. you draped your arms around his shoulders, hands falling in front of his chest, your face only a few inches away from the crook of his neck.
aaron froze slightly at the initial touch, but relaxed in his chair as he recognized it was you. he was still exhibiting a stiffness in his composure, as you were in front of your colleagues and officers could enter the room unannounced at any moment, but he didn't have the heart to push you away, especially not when his heart belonged to you. and besides, he wouldn't deprive himself the contact. he's missed you, despite the fact you hadn't been a few feet away all day.
he peeked back as much as he could manage, his eyebrows taking form in their signature furrow as he made an observation. he also immediately took note of your exhausted state, surprised that he hadn't already done so sooner.
"hm? oh, i must've forgotten." you murmured, taking a breath. your next words escaped you in a yawn, "you smell good."
aaron's ears immediately flushed at your words, and derek nearly snorted out a laugh, he had managed to cover his mouth just in time.
you were aware enough to know derek was making fun of you on some account as you heard his snicker, giving him the stink eye. "what?"
"nothing." derek's mouth formed in a line to prevent himself from smiling, skimming through the file placed in front of him. "nothing at all."
as everyone fell back into conversation, you could feel yourself beginning to nod off. you had been mindlessly tracing patterns along aaron's chest, and the repeated movements were enough to lull you to sleep, finding a relaxed, comforting ease within it, his dress shirt soft against your fingertips.
"aaron?" you whispered, loud enough only for him.
"i was thinking about you shirtless earlier."
aaron's jaw tightened, eyes quickly darting around the table to make sure no one heard you but him. "oh, were you?"
"yeah." you sighed out happily, the image coming easily to mind. "you're so pretty, you know that? i could look at you forever."
his lips pulled into a small smile, barely a laugh escaping him. "thank you sweetheart, i could say the same to you."
"no, don't say that just because i said that, you're only saying that because i said that." you whined gently, tiredness finally claiming your mind. you laid your head more so on his shoulder, the angle was awkward and strained your neck, but you were too tired to care. "let me compliment you. just you."
just as he was about to answer, spencer inquired for aaron's input, causing your conversation to cease. while aaron answered, you couldn't help but admire him; his prominent jawline, his long, dark, beautiful eyelashes, and his voice was like silk to your ears. soft, captivating and familiar.
sudden movement caused you to startle, knocking you back into the real world. the team had all begun packing up papers, exiting the room before you could put together what had just happened. not that you could to begin with, you had been oblivious to the entirety of the discussion.
"sweetheart." aaron stood up slowly, in attempt to prevent you from losing balance against his chair and reaching for you once he was on his feet. "i think it's about time you finally got some rest."
"no, 'm fine." a yawn betrayed your words, clutching onto the sleeve of his suit jacket. "i don't wanna leave you."
"get some sleep, for me, please. can you do that for me?"
"yeah, of course i can." you caved right away, easily persuaded as it was him, your words slurring a bit in sleepiness, "i can, just for you."
"thank you darling," he laughed softly, taking off his jacket to drape it over your shoulders.
"aaron? did i tell you that i love you today?" you asked as he guided you out, clumsily tripping over your own feet.
"every day sweetheart, you let me know every day.” there was a gentle look in his eyes, a hand on the small of your back. “now c'mon, i'll drive you to the hotel."
