Chapter Text
“Can I pet your puppy?”
You look up from your book to see a little boy smiling at you. He’s the first friendly face you’ve seen in the two weeks since you’ve moved to DC. “Of course, Moose loves attention.”
The boy giggles at the name, “He’s not a moose.”
“No, but when he was little he had these long legs and big paws, and he just reminded me of a moose.” He laughs at that explanation and moves in to pet your dog. He’s extremely gentle for a child, and Moose, the attention whore that he is, eats up every moment of it.
“He’s really fluffy.”
You smile, and lower your voice as though you’re going to tell him a secret, “You know what Moose loves more than anything in the world?”
“What?”
“Treats.”
At the word your goofy dog becomes fully alert, and starts to do a full body shimmy. The boy laughs again and you pull out one of Moose's treats. “Do you want to give it to him?”
He nods and you give him instructions on how to give it. You watch as the boy does exactly as instructed, it’s the best moment you’ve had in weeks.
“Jack!”
Your head snaps up at the sound of a frantic voice. The boy smiles and waves his hand, “Hi daddy.”
The man comes towards the two of you at a full run, and when he reaches you he immediately starts checking the boy over for any injuries. When he seems satisfied that the boy is safe, he pulls him into a hug. “You can’t walk away like that buddy. You scared me.”
“I saw a puppy.”
The man’s eyes close and lets out a gentle laugh, “Just let me know next time, and we’ll go see the puppy together.”
The boy, Jack, nodds, and very excitedly starts telling his dad all about Moose. The man listens with rapt attention and when Jack is done he turns to you and his dad and asks, “Can I play with Moose?”
You can tell his dad is struggling with what to say, so you step in, “As long as it’s okay with your dad, I don’t mind.”
The man looks at you and you reassure him, “Moose is very gentle, he has all his shots, and honestly if your son doesn’t mind tiring him out some more I won’t object.”
The man smiles, “Sounds good to me.”
Jack and Moose can’t go too far. You have a long lead for him but not long enough for him to leave your sight. The man settles on the bench next to you, “Thank you for watching him until I found him. I took a phone call, I looked away for a second . . . it was stupid.”
You shake your head, “Sounds human to me, and to be honest I didn’t even think about his lack of guardian. He was so excited about Moose, it was really cute.”
He raises an eyebrow at that, and then he smiles, “In my not so humble opinion, Jack is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen.”
You laugh at that show of fatherly pride, but you can’t help but agree. You hold out your hand and introduce yourself, “I’m Y/F/N Lance. It’s nice to meet you.”
He takes your hand, it’s nice and warm, and sends the smallest tingle through you, “Aaron Hotchner.”
The two of you watch Moose and Jack play for a minute before he asks, “Are you from around here?”
“Just moved here two weeks ago, under protest.”
“Military?”
You shake your head, “No. I do website design and some photography on the side. I moved here at the request of my best friend. She got a new job here, and needed a roommate. She didn’t like the idea of rooming with someone she didn’t know, so she hounded me until I said yes.”
“That sounds . . .”
“Like torture? No. She means well, and to be honest it’s probably good to get away.”
“You don’t sound like you believe that.”
You laugh, “Is this an interrogation?”
His lips quirk and he shakes his head, “Not at all. It’s a side effect of the job I suppose.”
“Cop?”
“Something like that.”
Before the conversation can go any further, Moose and Jack are back. Your dog, ever the dramatic, makes a scene out of lying down on his side and panting. Jack is quick to follow his lead, and climbs into Aaron’s arms.
You watch as he adjusts the boy, and stands up, “Well, it looks like you have a tired dog and I have a tired kid. I’d say with the exception of a close heart attack, this was a successful outing.”
You smile and nod, while pouring some water into Moose’s collapsible dish. “It was nice meeting you Aaron. And it was wonderful meeting you Jack.”
The boy smiles and buries his head in his father’s neck. And it’s with a little bit of sadness that you watch them go. You give Moose a few minutes to get ready to walk again. The walk back to your apartment building is less than a mile, but it’s not like you have anywhere to be; you’d finished unpacking everything within three days, your home office was set up, and you’d started getting Moose’s new schedule under control.
You pick up pizza, wings, and anything else that you’re crazing. The leftovers will mean no cooking for a few days, and that honestly sounds like heaven. The pizza place is less than a block from your place and you make it home in record time.
You’re just walking into the lobby when you bump into someone. You apologize as you regain your footing and look up into a familiar set of eyes. Aaron is quick to steady you, and ask, “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Stupid for trying to manuver a dog and food at the same time, but I’m fine.”
He smiles, “You live in this building?”
You nod, and give him your apartment number, he laughs, “That’s right next to Jack and me.”
This time you laugh with him, “Here, let me help you with that.” Before you can protest he’s taken the majority of the food out of your arms, and all you can say is thank you.
“It’s really not a problem. We’re going in the same direction.”
The elevator ride is silent for a minute before he says, “Jack is going to be ecstatic that Moose lives next door.” Moose wags his tail at the mention of his name, “He’s all Jack could talk about on the way home. He told Jessica all about him on the phone.”
“His mom?”
“Aunt. His mother passed away about two years ago.”
There's sadness in his voice, but you don’t say you’re sorry. You’d always hated those words in times of grief, “It’s never easy to lose a loved one.”
“No, it’s not.”
There’s another moment of silence before you get the nerve to ask, “Have you an Jack eaten yet?”
“What?”
“I ordered too much food. That should teach me to order before I’m starving. So if you and Jack haven’t eaten yet, why don’t you guys come over.”
You watch him consider it for a moment, before he agrees, “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
You drop Moose’s leash when the elevator doors open, and he goes straight for the apartment door. “We’ll be over in about five minutes, is that okay?”
“Perfect.”
Sure enough, five minutes later, right on the dot, there’s a knock on the door. On the other side is a very excited Jack, and an amused looking Aaron. The boy breaks out of his father’s hold and makes a mad dash for Moose. A second later he’s curled up on the dog bed too.
Aaron looks flummoxed, and you reassure him, “I just washed the dog bed if that’s any comfort.”
“It is, but I think I may have been replaced by a dog.”
Jack has no interest in food at the moment, instead he’s telling Moose about everything he knows. So you and Aaron eat together, “How long ago did you move in again?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“And you’re all unpacked and everything. I had boxes around my place for months.”
It was something to do in between work times. The two of you fall into an easy conversation. You talk about your small hometown, he tells you about his life. He’s quick to explain that he travels a lot for work, and his sister-in-law helps care for Jack. Jack eventually eats, before going back to lay next to Moose. It’s nearing ten o’clock when you both notice the time. Jack is conked out, one arm wrapped around Moose, while one of your dog’s paws rest on Jack.
You bring a finger to your lips to signal for silence, and sneak back to your office. You grab your camera, and take several shots. When you’re satisfied you turn back to Aaron and say, “I’ll send them to you, but it was too cute a moment to pass up on.” He just smiles, and you can’t help but think that maybe you’re not as alone as you originally thought.