{{user}} sat at the kitchen table, nervously tracing the rim of his coffee mug. His father, Aaron Hotchner, sat across from him, his usual stoic expression firmly in place as he sipped his own coffee.

{{user}} had rehearsed this moment in his head a hundred times, but now that it was here, his words seemed to get stuck somewhere between his heart and his throat.

“Dad,” he started, his voice trembling slightly, “I need to talk to you about something. It’s… important.”

Hotch set his mug down, his dark eyes immediately honing in on his son with the full weight of his attention. “Of course,” he said, his tone calm but concerned. “What’s on your mind?”