Going back to five days ago,
Bruce, who had returned home from the hospital and had a good rest for the day, opened his eyes on the soft and comfortable bed in his bedroom,
Listening to the birds chirping outside the window,
He took a deep breath and sat up. This morning, he felt pretty good,
Unlike the day before, when his head was groggy because of the fever, he felt like he had recovered.
Speaking of which, his health had always been very good,
Not counting the injuries, he had not even had a minor illness in the past few years,
This might have something to do with his mutant ability,
It was also inseparable from a good schedule and living habits. Good habits were worth sticking to,
He changed his clothes,
Bruce went out for his morning exercise.
As usual, he went to the nearby park. The park was not very big. There was a main road around the park,
Even if it was the driveway, there were also bike paths and hiking paths past the woods and lakes. The path that Bruce chose for his morning run took about half an hour to run a lap.
However, there was a small incident this morning,
When he passed by a remote lakeside path, Bruce heard two sharp female cries for help, and then the voices quickly disappeared. He followed the sound,
He found a man with a gun threatening a woman to hand over her valuables.
The situation in front of him seemed quite familiar,
It was similar to the scene when they chased after the murderer at the end of many cases. Without thinking, Bruce pulled out the gun in the holster behind his waist,
He pointed the muzzle at the robber.
"FBI, put down your weapon." After he said that, he felt that something was wrong.
The man seemed to be a little confused. From his slightly flustered expression and cowering actions, Bruce knew that this was not a desperado,
He was not even familiar with the business of robbery,
He could almost be said to have easily convinced the man to put down his weapon,
He was captured without a fight.
On the way back, Bruce thought of the woman's repeated thanks and the depressed expression of the robber when he was sent to the police car and said, "The FBI even cares about this". He suddenly laughed out loud, and his laughter grew louder and louder. Even the passersby looked at him strangely.
Bruce realized that what he had just done was not out of a sense of justice or responsibility, but a habit. This job had indeed changed him a lot. Some things had become a part of his life, deep in his bones.
It was the same for solving cases and hunting down criminals. Was it the same for Hotch? Was he also a part of Hotch's life that he was used to?
oo00oo
"Why are you looking for me?" Seeing that Bruce only smiled at him and had no intention of speaking, Hotch could only ask first.
"Yes." Bruce tilted his head as if he was deep in thought. "Congratulations on your discharge?" He passed the bag in his hand to Hotch. There was a bottle of red wine inside.
Bruce's gaze never left Hotch's body. He studied the person in front of him carefully. Hotch's complexion looked better than before, but there was a limit to it. He was still a little pale. Even though Bruce had never seen Hotch's wound before, he knew that it wouldn't be so easy to heal after being stabbed nine times. Both physically and psychologically, Wang Chong's condition had improved.
Hotch frowned and took the bag. He walked to the door of his apartment, took out the key, and opened the door. Bruce glanced at the unit number on the door. It was 121. He followed Hotch and closed the door behind him.
Before this, he had never been to Hotch's apartment. Bruce quickly looked around and tried not to look particularly interested, although he was. It was a typical bachelor's apartment. Hotch had been living here since his divorce. After entering the apartment, there was a bookcase not far from the door. Next to the bookcase was a dark-colored couch. Further inside was the dining table and kitchen, as well as two rooms with closed doors.
Hotch placed the bottle of red wine that Bruce brought over on the cabinet opposite the kitchen. Bruce's gaze landed on the cabinet as well. There was another half-empty bottle of wine on the small cabinet. There was also a hot water bottle and a few glasses. Bruce suddenly froze. He saw a bullet hole in the wall above the cabinet. He clenched his hands into fists, his nails leaving deep imprints in his palms. He couldn't help but think about how Hotch had been attacked here. He couldn't help but think about how Hotch had been attacked here.
The apartment was clean and tidy. Other than the bullet hole, there were no other traces left behind. However, Bruce didn't miss Hotch's slight pause. His heart instantly ached.
"Do you want something to drink?" Hotch's voice sounded the same as usual.
"… Water is fine." Bruce cleared his throat to make his voice sound normal. "Thank you." He took the glass from Hotch.
Hotch moved the pillow on the couch away and the two of them sat on the couch. There was only one couch. Hotch looked sideways at Bruce and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
This question sounded a little stiff. Bruce wasn't sure if Hotch meant to chase him away. He smiled bitterly and said, "I really hope that the incident that day didn't happen. That way, it wouldn't be so … awkward between us." He knew that Hotch probably didn't know how to treat him, and he felt the same way.
However, it didn't matter. His goal now was to raise the level of awkwardness to LV.MAX, Bruce thought.
"Okay, I do have something to say." Bruce saw that Hotch didn't reply. He lowered his head slightly to avoid Hotch's gaze. "I just … had no choice …" He took a deep breath. "When I thought about you being attacked in your apartment and how you came back to this place … I …" He shook his head and realized that he was speaking incoherently. "I just wanted to visit my new neighbor. Yes, I'm right next to you, 122. "
He had been busy with this matter for the past few days. Fortunately, because of the case, the original owner of the apartment next door had the idea of moving to another place. Bruce didn't have to spend much effort to persuade him to transfer the apartment. He also took advantage of the few days Hotch was in the hospital to move his things in.
"I said that I love you, but this has nothing to do with you. I won't disturb your life. If you don't want to, you won't see me unless it's necessary. I just want to … make sure you're safe. "Bruce didn't dare to look at Hotch's expression.
After a moment of silence, Bruce heard Hotch's voice. "You don't have to do this." His voice seemed deeper than usual.
Was he dissatisfied? Bruce thought that if there was someone near him who made him feel troubled, he would feel the same way.
"I'm sorry, I … I just … couldn't control myself from doing that …"
"I mean, thank you." Bruce looked up at once and saw Hotch looking at him with a smile. "Thank you for doing this for me."
Bruce couldn't describe his feelings at that moment. It was as if he had planted a seed in his heart that was destined to be barren and unexpectedly saw the fruit of hope. No, no, no, this wasn't even a fruit. It was barely considered a sprout.
"Rossi said that you're hurting yourself again." Hotch suddenly thought of something and put on a stern face again. His gaze was still wandering around Bruce's arm as if he was trying to see which hand was injured.
"Uh, that's just an accident."
"You know what kind of work we do. We have a lot of experience in judging wounds. He said that the wound on your upper hand is shallow, but it's deeper below." Hotch's tone was a little harsh. "Or, do you want me to judge it myself?"
Bruce put his arm behind his back. "No need." He immediately realized that this was a sign of guilt and quickly tried to salvage the situation. "This is the last time, I promise." He was out of his mind to try to attract Hotch's attention.
What he wanted to see was never Hotch's worry, but a smile.
"I promise," Brosnan emphasized again as he looked at Hotch seriously.
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