Chapter Text
And thus, on the 7th of October, Jack’s birthday party was held in Rossi’s back garden. He truly was the cool – cool and filthy rich – uncle.
It was overcast but not heavy enough to start raining. Streamers and bunting flew across the garden and through the trees, all screaming about the celebrations about to happen. A colossal bouncy castle with a slide as requested was blown up and tested out by Jack, Sebastian, and Jack’s cousin Daisy before his guests arrived.
“Come on, Aaron!” Sebastian called out as his seat drop launched Jack and Daisy above his head, “I bet you could send us into space if you jumped with us!”
Hotch declined, helping Rossi prep the lunch instead. Jessica also denied their request as there were still balloons in need of being inflated. Sebastian felt a twang of guilt for not helping more. However, Hotch insisted that his job was to look after Jack and if he wanted to stay on the bouncy castle then so he should and with Sebastian in tow.
It was distraction enough for Sebastian. He was more nervous about meeting Hotch’s wider circle. Rossi was already intimidating enough. It was better to have started with Hotch, leader of the Behavioural Analysis Unit, then Rossi, the founder of the Unit.
That still didn’t detract from the pressure factor Sebastian felt when he was introduced to Jennifer Jareau – or JJ as she introduced herself. He had just enough time to grab a spare napkin to wipe his forehead before Hotch brought him into the conversation. She was heavily pregnant and supported into a seat nearby by her husband Will. Their son Henry ran straight for the bouncy castle. Jack met him on the mat, embracing him before fighting with Henry’s shoelaces. It at least gave Sebastian an out, offering to go and help them out.
After that, things seemed to go a little smoother.
More kids arrived and immediately sprinted over to join Jack. Music blasted over the sound of air hissing out of the bouncy castle and the shrieks of delight that zoomed down the slide. Somewhere in the near distance, Hotch could hear Sebastian’s rendition of “Duel of the Fates” before he was “stabbed” by Jack’s invisible lightsaber and fell backwards down the slide.
Penelope appeared; her arms were laden with gift bags ready to spoil Jack. She added them to the narrow slope to the present mountain. Spencer popped over and Henry ushered him to the middle of a group of kids to perform some magic for them. Jessica and JJ sat at the table, Jessica setting out napkins as far as she could reach while still in her chair.
It was Rossi who announced at the top of his lungs that it was lunchtime. A hoard of children exited the bouncy castle, Sebastian the sheep dog herding them up to the table. His cheeks were shining like polished pine.
“Aaron, would it have killed you to come down the slide once?” He leant over a child’s head to pluck a mini pizza from the platter.
“Yes,” Hotch deadpanned. Then a grin broke out across his face, and Sebastian matched it before popping the pizza into his mouth, trying really hard not to look at Hotch’s arms in that polo shirt.
He eventually stuck with Penelope, the two of them getting on like a house on fire, their eyesores of clothes somehow matching in their wild variety. A lot of the girls Jack had invited to the party were rather enamoured.
“What’s Hotch like at home then? What does he do to unwind?” Penelope nudged Sebastian as Hotch set about refilling empty cups.
“Uh, a lot of the time he’s about, he just likes being with Jack.”
“How often does he smile?”
“Uh, I mean I haven’t been counting. But he definitely does smile.”
His statement was supported by his expression as he brought out the birthday cake, starting the baritone line for everyone else to join in on. Jack’s cake was iced like a soccer ball and illuminated with player-shaped candles. The little guy’s grin brought more delight to the table as the party sang to him. He couldn’t wait until the end of the song to make his birthday wish, taking one long gust and one short burst.
Returning to the chaos of the bouncy castle
When Sebastian interrupted the mild peace of the kitchen, Hotch was busy cutting the cake to wrap up slices. At Sebastian’s side, one of Jack’s friends Lilly stood with a hand on her tummy.
“She’s feeling a bit sick,” Sebastian explained, “Gonna chill in here for a bit. It’s probably just a stitch.”
Still, he sat next to her at the island after he’d retrieved a glass of water. Hotch left them alone to check on how Rossi was handling all the kids. He was instantly met with Henry shouting at the top of his lungs.
“When’s Sebastian coming out again?”
“When Lilly’s feeling better,” Hotch guided him over to Will who looked like he was regretting the decision to allow Henry that many party rings. He made his excuses that JJ was getting tired and carted his son off to the car.
Hotch was soon distracted again with talking with the parents while their kids put their shoes on as slow as possible, delaying their goodbye by a few minutes. Jack was content running back and forth between the bouncy castle and handing his guests their party bags. The remaining children were caught up in a game where Sebastian hid around the back of the bouncy castle and pretended to be a werewolf. When the kids crept around to find him, he would roar and chase all of them back onto the safety of the bouncy castle as they screamed their little lungs out.
Those screams dissipated one by one until at long last it was just Jack at the top of the bouncy castle.
“Daddy!” He hollered, “Please!”
Hotch’s head tilted back to look at his son waving him up. As it righted, it caught Sebastian’s eye, which was peeking around the back.
“It is his birthday.”
With a sigh that wasn’t nearly as reluctant as Hotch made it seem, he dropped the paper plates into the recycling and made a light jog over to the slide. He flipped his trainers off and onto the mat, already inelegantly climbing up the stairway.
When he sat down beside Jack, Sebastian could hear them counting to three and their grins grew with each number. They pushed off together, air rushing through their hair, hands held and raised as they cheered their way down. It was a bumpy way down and the slide ended a little sooner under their shared weight, but Jack was laughing uproariously.
“Again!” He bounced on his bottom.
“Again? Alright!” Hotch scooped Jack up and under his arm like a football, Jack giggling hysterically and kicking his legs as Hotch began hiking up the steps again.
The cycle would continue another three times until the bouncy castle was set to deflate. In a rare moment of immaturity, Hotch declared a race between him and Jack to make it out of the castle collapsing around them. Tripping over their own feet, the buoyant ground betraying their balance, soon the two were crawling on their fronts and reach out of the shrinking opening for help. Roars that they were being eaten alive by the castle reached the few adults left tidying up.
The only witness was Sebastian who simply stood and watched, his phone dedicating a video to its memory.
It was safe to say that Jack’s birthday was a complete and utter success.
So naturally Sebastian felt very stressed when it came to ensuring that Hotch’s birthday – less than a month later – was equally as good.
He’d complained that it was way too close to Halloween to Rachael, who in turn had complained in vague detail about her current caseload. Comparing apples to oranges, but still, it was nice to hear and be heard. Sebastian was still anxious about it. Balancing calls with Rossi about their new plan – a not-so surprise party - whilst helping Jack prep his Batman costume and ignoring the implications of said costume filled the last few days in the run up to the end of October.
Jack was wide awake and standing in Sebastian’s doorway at the break of dawn November Second. It was his idea to wake Hotch up with pancakes for breakfast, but he wasn’t allowed near the stove so Sebastian had to do the heavy lifting. Gladly, of course.
As gladly as Hotch was to be dragged to his place at the table and take bites between presents being shoved into his lap. Over each gift, he poured affection and attention. He even wore the foam crown that Jack made for him. He looked like the happiest man on Earth, sat beneath the birthday banner.
Sebastian lingered in the kitchen and watched the father and son share the breakfast. All those presents he’d helped Jack and Jessica wrap up were spread across the rest of the table, hiding the crayon marks on the wood beneath bright green paper. There was one more gift, but that was already slipped into Hotch’s briefcase. It’d arrived just yesterday, much to Sebastian’s chagrin. Apparently, printing a calendar with 12 unique drawings was a lengthy process.
Hotch kissed Jack goodbye after he’d lifted him up in a hug. He sent an appreciative look to Sebastian over Jack’s shoulder. Sebastian was glad Hotch didn’t try to hug him; he wasn’t emotionally ready for that kind of contact with his boss.
On the back of his seat was Jack’s legs bouncing on the drive up to school. It only sped up when Sebastian reminded him that Jess would be the one to pick him up this afternoon.
The spare key Sebastian was gifted welcomed him into a gorgeous mansion. The kitchen with its white cupboards framed in marble countertops greeted him, the golden hour only highlighting how splendid Rossi liked to live. Sebastian pottered over to the fridge, feeling like a dirty dishcloth in this spick-and-span space. No matter. He was supposed to be prepping for the buffet.
Trying to keep his mess to a minimal failed miraculous. But at least he committed to doing his second least favourite chore – the washing up – while his sauce was bubbling quietly on the stove.
Rossi had said to make himself at home, but Sebastian brought a packed lunch anyway. For that, he was told off something awful when Rossi arrived after work. His punishment? Demoted to taster for the rest of the food Rossi was whipping up.
And while the host may have been biased towards having other caterers involved in his close friend’s birthday, he certainly was not averse to decorators setting up the garden under the clear night sky. The theme was a lot fancier than Jack’s superhero bouncy castle had set, but when Jack arrived, it got his seal of approval.
“This is top banana!” Jack craned his neck around to check in with Sebastian, who shot him a double thumbs up in response.
“Nice one, bud, we’ll make a right Manc outta you yet.”
Jack skipped out of his school clothes, ready for a party that was meant to be a surprise – but he got in there first, as soon as Hotch stepped out onto the lawn.
“Daddy!”
Everyone else behind Hotch whooped and cheered as son charged at father and met with a clinging embrace. Hotch thanked Rossi for setting this up, the rest of the BAU joining it. They all had to share the hug while Jack stuck at Hotch’s side. It was hard not to be happy; they had the same dimples.
Once the air had cleared and Hotch had placed Jack somewhere else, Sebastian awkwardly patted Hotch on the shoulder, “Give me a ring when he gets too tired to party anymore.”
Hotch’s smile was creased by his frown, “You’re not staying?”
Sebastian’s shoulders rose an inch and stayed there as he plunged his hands into his jacket pockets, “Ah, you don’t want your nanny hanging around, cramping your style.”
He was already in the process of leaving before Hotch could say anything else. He didn’t need that awkward silence where Hotch wouldn’t deny it but would try to make it seem like he did. But Hotch surprised him. Sebastian’s elbow was caught in Hotch’s hand and used to spin him around.
“Thank you for my gift,” Hotch said. His mouth twitched up into a sincere smile.
Sebastian’s brain had to wave an ugly memory in his head, about what Jack had told him. Was that already two months ago? That warm hand with the rough callouses and tender grip on his arm had killed a man.
A bad man though; a very bad man.
“Of course,” Sebastian nodded his head, “Happy birthday, Aaron.”
