Work Text:
Aaron is many things. Smart, strong, kind, calculating, and the list goes on. Yet when asked what the first word you think of when you think of him, you think of stress . As composed as he may appear to most, you can tell that he is far more paranoid than people give him credit for. Aside from the rest of his team, you’re one of the few who truly understand that paranoia. And you’re one of the two in his life who somehow has found ways to ease that fear for him.
Life seemed so simple and mundane a mere three years ago when you think back. That same stressed man had bumped into you with his sweet son while you were at the library. After apologizing, Aaron noticed you holding one of Rossi’s books and made light conversation over it. You were always interested in criminology on a small level, leading to you being an avid reader of Rossi’s. So meeting one of his coworkers was very exciting, and hearing that he was as intelligent and humorous as he seems in interviews and book signings was very exciting.
As pleased as he was at talking to someone with an interest in criminology who wasn’t an agent for once, it irked him deep down that someone as breathtaking as you was a fan of Rossi of all people. He could already hear his eccentric colleague’s ego inflating when he brought this up later.
After a few minutes of chatting and playful banter, Jack interrupted with a smile. “Are you gonna go on a date with my dad?” He asked you, making you laugh, and Aaron lightly scolded him with a deep blush dusting his face. However, you surprised him (and yourself) when you said, “Sure! If your dad wants, of course.” He was almost certain that he had heard you wrong, or that maybe you were just being polite. But to his delight, you weren’t.
One date became two, then three, and so on. And now, you and he have been together for three long years of love. Of course, it wasn’t always perfect.
It started out with just him being a little clingy in public, and how he was very reluctant to leave you by yourself when you were out somewhere together. At first, you just shrugged it off as him being a little protective of you. But then you noticed how it got worse when he finished a case. He could hardly bring himself to let go of you after he’d get home, even if it was just to go to the bathroom or put Jack to bed. While you understood that he was naturally paranoid after he lost his ex-wife, you worried that he would give himself a heart attack at this rate.
When you confronted him about it, he confessed that he couldn’t help it. “I don’t know how to stop worrying. I’ve tried meditation, journaling, and breathing exercises, but none of them work. Journaling almost makes it worse somehow, since it just makes me focus on my anxiety even more.” He said, and your heart broke a little for him. Surely there was something that could help him relax, even when you weren’t there to spend time with him, right?
When you initially bought it for him, he was hesitant to try it. He seemed more inclined to give it to Jack, since it seemed more his speed, and Aaron didn’t really have any interest in video games. But after a little bit of encouragement, you got him to try playing one of your favorite games: Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
At first, he only played it once a week or so. Usually when you were there to help him get the hang of the game. But over time, he slowly got the hang of the game and started packing his switch in his go-bag for cases. He didn’t have much spare time during investigations, but he found himself becoming drawn to playing whenever he was alone in his hotel room. Something about befriending his villagers and doing simple tasks to earn money was very fulfilling. What made him even happier was when you both would play online together while he was away. You’d always send him letters with cute gifts like fruit, clothes, or furniture. Even cuter, he’d be wearing the clothes and displaying the furniture somewhere on his island next time you visited.
It felt like a way to spend time together and bond, even when he was far away. It made him feel less guilty about being away all the time, since you both still had a way to keep your connection alive. You were happy with this and considered it a good compromise that he and Haley never had when they were together. And even though it didn’t erase the painful memories or make his problems go away, it at least made his worries a little easier to handle. It made the brutality of cases slightly less upsetting, and his anxious fears about something happening to you a little easier to ignore.
And as he turned on his switch and started up the game to find a letter from you in his mailbox, he smiled as he read it.
Hi, honey! Hope all is well!
Me and Jack picked this out for you, hope you love it!
We miss you!
Opening the gift, he audibly laughed to himself when he saw that it was a Viking helmet. But even so, he happily put it on. Because as long as you kept sending him things like this while he was away, he knew you were safe and still waiting for him when he came home.