Hips
Emily was so glad to be out of the office and with people. She looked around the bar at the happy faces and the laughter. It lifted her heart to see that the world went on, that the horror she saw day after day hadn't leaked into the world at large.
She slipped into a stool at the bar. "Corona Please" the bar tender was waiting for her order. He smiled widely, obviously taken with her. Maybe the fact that she had unbuttoned her grey work shirt down to the button between her breasts had something to do with it. She smiled to herself. It boosted her ego to know that she could still pull them in. It had been a long time since someone had looked at her like that, hadn't it? It was a shame that he was entirely the wrong gender.
She grasped the cold beverage between her hands and swivelled the chair to face the crowd. She loved the feeling of the condensation trickling over her fingers from the cold bottle. She savoured the first taste of the amber liquid. It seemed to wash the day from her.
The music filled the room; Emily wasn't familiar with the tune. Her job meant that she didn't have the time to keep up with current music. She liked it, it wasn't overwhelming and the beat allowed you to move your body easily.
Bodies were swaying all around her and she longed to move with them. Emily was mesmerised by the swishing of hips in time with the music. Her eyes lingered on a particular pair of hips. Their owner was moving them seductively while talking animatedly.
Emily unconsciously licked her lips. She knew those hips didn't she? They were definitely familiar. A smile tore across her face. "JJ" she whispered. She had spent enough time watching those hips to recognise them anywhere. Her eyes raked up the form in front of her, from delicious hips, to a thin waste, to soft shoulders and finally to her golden locks.
She pondered her options. It didn't take long for her to decide. Despite all that had happened in Miami she still couldn't resist being near the woman at every opportunity. She slid off the stool, her long legs carrying her across the room. To the bartender, who was still watching her, she looked like a lioness on the prowl.
Prowl indeed, she stalked toward her target.
Emily knew she needed to be casual so she shelved her initial impulse to slide her arms around that waist and encompass her. She opted instead for tapping her on the shoulder.
Emily noticed JJ’s smile drop immediately when she turned to face her. It was not the reaction she wanted or expected. She became very confused, until she noticed the companion JJ was talking so animatedly to before she walked up. It was like looking into a mirror. Sure she had longer hair and her nose wasn't as severe, but Emily was sure this was what she looked like if you squinted.
The older profiler was not too distracted not to notice the reaction JJ had to her realisation. "Em! Hi...um...This is Paula" Emily was now staring at JJ, only removing her eyes from the woman to stare at her companion. She was completely caught off guard when the woman stuck out her hand in a greeting.
"Hi, nice to meet you"
She was polite in response of course. Emily Prentiss was schooled in courtesy from a young age.
"So how do you know JJ?" Emily watched awestruck as Paula ran her hand from JJ's shoulder down her arm to clasp her hand. She almost didn't hear the question she was so entranced. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It didn't take a profiler to recognise the intimate gesture.
"From work" was all Emily could get out. A few things started to dawn on her all at once. Their location was the first. This was not the usual bar that JJ went to; this was a lot trendier than her usual relaxed taste. "What about Will?" tore into her mind. It rang in her head deafening her. She barely followed the conversation going on before her.
"The BAU? I know a little about it. It was ages before JJ told me where she worked." The self satisfied grin that Paula gave JJ made her stomach lurch. JJ wasn't looking at her.
The brunette’s chest began to tighten. She couldn't believe this was happening. How could it be? She questioned her skills as a profiler. But it was obvious; Paula kept touching her, smiling at her. There was an ease there that was very telling.
The fact that JJ was here without Will barely registered in her mind. All Emily could think was that if JJ was going to be with someone other than Will, a woman for God's sake, shouldn't it be her?
"Where's Will?" She didn't mean for it to come out as harshly as it did. Emily was spiralling.
She immediately regretted asking as soon as it left her mouth. JJ looked like she slapped her. It was clear that she was carefully considering her answer. Emily watched her nervously look between Paula and herself.
"Will and I are over" It came out as abruptly as the question that prompted it.
"Oh" She was freefalling now. She started to feel nauseas as Paula squeezed JJ's hand. It wasn't the gesture; it could have simply been friendly, if not for the fact that they had been holding hands this entire time.
"They have been apart for a while now" The possessive tone in Paula's voice infuriated Emily.
She was dumbfounded; her mouth was agape, her eyes moving from one woman to another. "I didn't know” she mumbled. The truth of that statement stung almost as much as watching JJ run towards Will in Miami. She couldn't believe that JJ didn't even tell her about the break-up. Even worse she was standing in front of her, avoiding eye contact, grasping the hand of the woman who was the splitting image of herself. It was a kick in the gut.
Emily was struggling to maintain her composure, her mask was slipping. Even she, the famous Emily Prentiss, was having trouble compartmentalising this.
"I have to go" Her brain was screaming at her to get out. She couldn't take it, not again. The only impulse she could follow was the desire for air.
She turned and strode out of the bar, banging into a few revellers in her wake. The air hit her face when she crashed out of the bar. She sucked in as much of it as she could, her lungs burning from the effort. Her eyes were closed to prevent the tears that filled her eyes from falling. She faced the sky as if in silent prayer.
All she could focus on was her next breath. She didn't know how long she had been standing there. She didn't even register the woman behind her, didn't realise how long she watched her unsure what to do.
She opted for clearing her throat. Emily instinctively knew it was JJ and she was too furious to be polite any longer.
"What JJ? What is it that you need to say to me? I thought if nothing else I was your friend. You didn't even tell me about Will! After everything, after Miami and everything since, I find you here with..." she pondered what she had seen "Emily 2.0!"
The brunette wondered if she was Emily 2.0. Faster, better, stronger? She didn't have time to ponder it; she saw 2.0 walking toward her.
"JJ, is everything ok?" Paula's eyes were on Emily clearly uneasy with the tension in the air.
"Everything is as it always was, isn't it JJ? Yet again, you have made your choice." She knew her voice was cold, she didn't care. It was about self preservation now.
Their eyes were locked for what seemed an eternity. Emily seemed to be challenging JJ to prove her wrong. Without saying another word the older profiler turned and walked away. 'She can watch me walk away from her this time.' She thought to herself as she made her way to her car. The thought was not as comforting as it should have been.
OoOoOoO
The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock. She had thrown herself on the couch and hadn't moved since. She had her hand over her eyes, willing away the images that flicked across her mind.
She sighed when she heard the knock at her door. It was likely that she would come, wanting to work it all out between them. Emily wondered if she could just ignore it, pretend that she wasn't home. She knew better. They had to work together, so unless she wanted to transfer they needed to be able to tolerate each other at least.
"You mentioned Miami!" It hit her when she opened the door. She could see that JJ was still mad. She was too tired to deal with this.
"You told me to go to him Emily." Her body hit the edge of the door frame as JJ pushed past her into the apartment. 'Come on in" Emily thought to herself.
"I was standing there, with you, after all the flirting and the touches, and you were telling me to go to him! What was I supposed to think?" Emily was so confused now. 'Is she saying that she was flirting with me? I mean I thought she was but I didn't know for sure.'
"You were flirting with me?" She could hear the hope in her voice and it scared her.
"Of course I was! I wasn't sure about a relationship with someone at work so I tried to deny it. That was where Will came in. It was never the same Em. The most benign boring moments with you made me happier than the most romantic moments with Will!" JJ was crying and all Emily wanted to do was hold her.
Despite this urge, there was still something plaguing her. "So you went out with my look-alike?"
"When you say it like that it sounds crazy. I wasn't looking for someone who looked like you. When you told me to go with Will I was so hurt. I tried to make it work and it just didn't. All I could think of was you. After I broke it off with him I met Paula. I thought you didn't want me and in some way I thought being with her was like getting you back." JJ was leaning against the dining table. She couldn't make eye contact with Emily when explaining the stupid situation she got herself in.
Emily could tell that JJ wanted her to say something but she was still processing. 'She thinks that I rejected her?'
The blonde couldn't stand the silence any longer. "She wasn't you Em. She didn't understand what we do. She's nice, but she doesn't watch foreign films and correct the subtitles, she doesn't get excited about comics and I don't get that feeling in my stomach when she smiles at me." JJ just wanted her to understand. "I ended it Emily. It was always you. I have been kidding myself."
That was all Emily needed to hear. She had waited too long to hear those words, she couldn't deny her desire for the blonde any longer. She crossed the room in two quick strides. She swept JJ into a bone crushing hug. JJ's tears were soaking through her shirt.
She needed JJ to understand, but now that she had her in her arms she couldn't bear to let her go.
"I never rejected you JJ. If I had known that you felt something for me I would never have told you to go to Will. I thought it was what you wanted." At that she pulled back just enough to look JJ in the eyes. The smile that she saw was infectious. JJ's eyes were dancing.
Emily couldn't deny herself any longer; she brought their lips together, pressing a feather light kiss on those lips she had fantasized about so many times. It wasn't long before she felt JJ's tongue trace a line along her lips demanding entry and their kiss deepened. JJ moaned as she felt Emily's hands grip her hips and pull her tighter against her body.
The brunette smiled into the kiss. 'I would definitely know those hips anywhere!'
- Fin -