Work Text:
Hadrian POV
Hadrian finished putting away the leftovers from lunch at the office. His hands itched to scrub the counters, but he paused and took a breath. Holding it, he counted backward, while practicing clearing his mind. When he let out the breath, he grabbed a pen and paper, his therapist encouraged him to write out his anxieties when his OCD was triggered.
Too much had happened lately and Hadrian needed to process it.
Before sitting down, he checked on the boys in the living room, making sure they were tucked in and watching a movie. The boys were obsessed with Treasure Planet, and had watched it for almost every nap time for a month. Tucking them in, gently pulling Jack’s finger from his mouth, and smoothing both boys hair, he left the two sleeping snuggled with each other under blankets he had made them.
He rubbed his hand across his face and sat down at the kitchen table staring at the notepad in front of him before scrawling out anything that came to mind in point form.
- Seeing Blaise
- Fearing the wixen world finding him
- Kissing Aaron
- The boys attachment to each other
- His attachment to Aaron
- Teddy either exposing magic to Jack or Jack having his own
- Hiding magic from Aaron
Hadrian stopped writing. It was a lot to think about. He doodled on the page. His therapist encouraged him to break things down. The easiest thing to initially address is determining if Teddy had exposed magic, or if Jack was a new blood. He could have a conversation with Teddy during bathtime, that way they wouldn’t be overheard.
If Teddy exposed it, he would have to have a discussion about not showing his magic to other people, even Jack. He would have to continue to withhold that from Aaron.
If Jack had magic though…he could gently introduce Aaron. Hadrian’s breathing grew shallower and he had to consciously take deep breaths and hold. Aaron was nothing like his relatives. He loved Jack with everything in him. He wouldn’t do anything to mistreat his own son. He was fair and intelligent.
Calming, he looked at the points for Blaise. If he was honest with himself, it wasn’t just the fear of being found. It was seeing someone from that time that brought back memories. But, he couldn’t control Blaise’s actions, only his responses. Right now, there was nothing to respond to. And he could talk to Healer Monroe about the memories.
A relationship with Aaron.
This was the hardest part. The boys were so attached to each other, if he and Aaron didn’t have a successful relationship, where would that leave the boys? It seemed like a dangerous idea to engage in a relationship. So far, they had only kissed that night under the mistletoe, instead they both were cautiously getting to know each other. But there was just so much in Hadrian’s past to address. He feared he was too much.
He rubbed his temples, before wandlessly banishing the list. The urge to scrub the floor had abated, but he needed to do something with his hands.
Looks like Aaron is getting a new sweater.
Aaron POV
Aaron walked into Rossi’s office. He and his son were sitting in chairs next to each speaking softly in Italian.
“Excuse me, do you both have a moment?” Aaron spoke, stepping in and closing the door.
Zabini just nodded, and Rossi said, “Of course Aaron.”
”I just wanted to make sure it was understood, that Hadrian is a very private person and is trying to raise his son without harassment. He relocated for very good reasons, and I would ask that the knowledge of his wearabouts remain private.” His gaze focused on Zabini who was watching him quietly. He continued to look at the younger man, until he nodded.
“Yes, Hadrian has suffered much. Our community did not treat him with kindness. They will not find his location from me.” Zabini’s voice was soft and melodic, but Aaron could feel the truth in the words. “May I ask… how is he?”
”He has a home here. He and his son are happy. He is loved by several people who care for his well being.”
Zabini nodded again. “This is good. I am glad he found a home.” He turned to Rossi, “Father, would there be a bagno near?”
Rossi nodded. “Out of the office, turn left, it’s down the hall and to the right, just past the break room.” Zabini nodded his thanks and left the office.
Aaron looked at Rossi, “He is a quiet one.”
Rossi chuckled, “Yes. His mother raised him to be the complete gentleman.” He looked sad for a moment.
Aaron asked, “Did you know before now?”
”Yes, Safia made me aware from the beginning. She has sent annual updates about him every year, with pictures. He’s a smart one.”
Aaron’s brow furrowed. “It doesn’t seem like you to not be involved.”
Rossi shrugged sadly. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice. They come from noble stock, there were circumstances that for their safety it was better no one knew I was his father. Now that he is older, that risk has lessened.”
Aaron reached out and grasped Rossi’s shoulder. “I’m glad you are allowed in his life now.”
Reid POV
Spencer came back from Garcia’s office, having gathered paperwork that Morgan left in there. He was mentally rolling his eyes. It would be faster if he did the reports, Morgan would take all day due to his moving back and forth from Garcia’s office.
He stopped short when he realized a man was standing at his desk, holding one of his books. Approaching cautiously he asked, “May I help you?”
The man turned and Spencer could see he was holding the copy of Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle, a book he planned to read to his mother when he visited her soon. Tristan and Isolde was always one of her favorite stories.
“Ciao, is this yours?”
”It is, do you have business with the BAU?”
The man’s dark eyes sparkled and his lips twitched slightly. “I am here visiting my father, David Rossi. Are you Dottore Reid?”
Spencer felt intrigued that while Rossi had a child he was unaware of, the man seemed to know of Spencer. “I am, and your name is?”
”I am Blaise Zabini. It is a pleasure to meet you. Father speaks highly of you.” Blaise gently placed the book back in its place.
“Have you read it?” Spencer chose to ignore the compliment.
“True Lovers may never know what love means. A man may love a woman out of his reach. She does not know he loves her, and he will never speak of it.” Blaise’s voice was almost musical in its quality as he quoted the book.
Spencer grinned, always happy to discuss a book.
“My mother loves the tale of Tristan and Isolde, I thought she would enjoy this. It hasn’t been out long, I am surprised to meet someone else who has read it.”
Blaise smiled almost sadly at him. “Sì, my Madre also loves the story, though it hurts her heart. She loved once and was kept from him. Her heart never belonged to another.”
Spencer felt compassion for the woman he never met. He hadn’t been in love, but he imagined it would hurt to not be allowed to be with the person he did love. “I am sorry. That is terrible.”
Blaise shrugged gracefully. He stepped closer to Spencer, almost close enough to touch. “Dottore, I am in town for a time. Maybe one evening you could show me around?”
Spencer swallowed nervously, not sure exactly how to respond. “I might not be the best one to show you around, I tend to like the museums and libraries, Derek or Garcia could probably tell you were the nightlife is…” He trailed off as Blaise trailed a finger across his shoulder.
“No, I think you would be best to show me. I like the museums and libraries as well. I think we would go well together.” Blaise smiled at him, this close Spencer could see his eyes were not black like he initially thought, but such a dark blue they appeared black.
“Uh - “ his voice cracked, “Yeah, ok yeah, we could do that.”
”Meraviglioso. I must go now, but I will see you soon, Sì?” Blaise tucked a piece of paper in his shirt pocket.
“Yeah. Yes. Ok. Sounds good.” Spencer cleared his throat nervously, standing stiffly as he watched Blaise walk from the room, tossing a smile over his shoulder.
When he had left the bullpen entirely, Spencer collapsed into his chair, pulling out the paper. A phone number was written in perfect calligraphy. He didn’t even see him write it down.
”Yo, pretty boy, you ok?” Morgan startled Spencer when he popped up next to his desk.
In a shell shocked voice Spencer asked, “Uh, Derek, how do you know if you have been asked on a date?”
Aaron POV
Aaron sat in his study responding to some emails that he forgot to before he left the office. The boys had been put to bed half an hour ago, and if Hadrian kept to his routine, he would be in his office shortly, and either read or crochet quietly. Aaron enjoyed the quiet evenings together. Hadrian was soft and gentle and it was easy to be around him. Even if they didn’t talk, the pressure from the day seemed to ease.
When Hadrian quietly stepped in the room, wringing his hands, he realized tonight might not be as relaxing, but found he didn’t mind. Hadrian asked for so little, nothing actually, helping the man with the symptoms of his anxiety and OCD was no hardship, he was glad he was able to help him in some way.
“Aaron, are you finished with work for the day?” His voice was always so soft, Aaron thought, as he closed out his email and locked the computer giving Hadrian his full attention.
”Yes, I am. Did you want to speak about today?”
Hadrian watched him for a long moment, before stepping closer and sitting in the chair across from his desk. “I do need to speak to you, about something that happened today, but not about seeing Zabini. I don’t want you to worry or be scared, but I realized something about Jack.”
Aaron’s eyebrows furrowed, worry itching the back of his mind despite what the man said. Hadrian was clearly trying to manage his reaction to whatever he wanted to tell him. Straightening, he nodded at him. “Ok, did something happen?”
Hadrian took a deep breath, and Aaron noticed his hands were shaking, making the worry increase.
“Before I tell you, I need to show you something.” At Aaron’s nod, he pulled out a stick from his sleeve. He watched Aaron closely again, before waving it, murmuring something, and suddenly Aaron’s world was upside down. Everything in his office was floating. Hadrian waved again, and everything gently floated back down. Looking closely at his face, Hadrian then waved his wand again and the lamp on his desk turned into a bright green raven, that flapped its wings and shook itself ruffling its feathers. Hadrian frowned.
“That was supposed to be black not green.” He flicked his wand again and the bird turned black. One more flick, and it was a lamp again.
Stopping, Hadrian was back to watching Aaron’s face very closely. Aaron realized then that he was anxious about his reaction.
“Ok. So…magic?” Hadrian nodded. “Magic is…real. You have magic.”
Hadrian released a breath. “Yes. I have magic.”
”And Teddy?”
”Yes, Teddy too.”
Aaron nodded. “Ok, so is this because Jack saw? Were you worried about him finding out?”
Hadrian seemed to brace himself again, “Jack didn’t see magic. Jack did magic. Teddy saw him. Apparently they spent the entire morning using it in their excitement.”
”How is that possible? I don’t have magic, I would assume it has a genetic component?”
”It does. Magic runs in blood lines. Sometimes, a bloodline becomes corrupted, due to inbreeding typically, but sometimes the gene just skips, and a child is born without magic to a magic family. When that happens, some families, send the children away to the non-magical communities. They grow, marry, have children, grandchildren, etc and eventually, a child with magic is born. A new blood.”
Aaron sits and thinks about this for a moment, about what he knows of his parents.
“My mother, grew up in the foster system. She was never adopted.”
”It’s possible. Likely. We could do genealogy testing in my community to find out what line she came from, where Jack came from.”
”Her name was Selena Graves. She passed a few years back.”
Hadrian blew a breath out. “Yes, ok, Graves is a well known name in America. A Perceval Graves was one of the best Auroras- our law enforcement- in the department. He disappeared in the twenties I believe. I could find out more.”
Aaron nodded. “Alright. So, you have magic. My son has magic. What do I need to know?”