Unexpected Circumstances part 6
Title: unexpected circumstances part 6/?
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Archiving - passion and perfection if you would like it let me know layla
Summary - Emily and JJ find a case hitting too close to home for both of them, in more ways than one.
Rating - could get to R
Disclaimers: I don't own Criminal Minds, except my own
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
“Garcia, it’s JJ,” having the tech goddess a phone call away was better than a call to information any day.
“Hey girl, what can I do ya for?” Garcia had long ago learned to adapt her schedule to take into account the time differences between Quantico and wherever the team was at a given moment.
“Nothing too critical, Emily and I are looking for dinner,” JJ couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto her lips, talking with her friend always helped her feel better, even if it was only a few words.
“And you, of course, were lost without me.” As she spoke Garcia began typing, “so what are you in the mood for? Since you are on the west coast I’m thinking sushi.”
“That sounds perfect,” JJ knew both she and Emily shared eclectic food tastes.
“I am sending you a list of the top sushi restaurants around your current location as we speak. You may offer all worship to the goddess.”
“Thank you Garcia, you are better than Google,” JJ was feeling better by the minute she could feel the day’s worth of tension and anger easing in minute steps. The world was still a dark place and they all had much more evil to deal with before this was over but in this brief moment things were looking a little better.
“You bet your ass I am,” Garcia’s smile could be heard over the phone. “Have a good night, talk to you tomorrow.”
“So you up for sushi?” JJ turned to Emily as she hung up her phone and accessed the message Garcia had sent.
“Sounds great,” Emily was glad to see JJ smile for the first time that evening. “I’ll drive, you just tell me where to go.”
“Perfect,” with that JJ and Emily climbed in either side of the waiting SUV.
___________________
The ride to the restaurant had been relatively uneventful. The conversation had consisted primarily of trying to traverse the seemingly excessive number of one way streets and still arrive at their intended location. JJ was exceedingly grateful for the need for directions and the relatively short distance they had to travel. Such realities allowed the air between them to be filled with utilitarian chatter with no room for real conversation. JJ kept hoping that at any moment she would be struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration and suddenly all the right words would fall gracefully from her tongue. As Emily maneuvered the SUV into a parking spot, it became increasingly obvious divine intervention was not going to happen.
Garcia’s taste in restaurants had proven, once again, to be fantastic. The décor and lighting were subtle, warm colors and clean lines. The crowd was fairly sparse allowing JJ and Emily to get a table quickly. JJ still had no clear idea what sort of conversation to have with Emily. She also knew that in a very few minutes there would be no more stalling and this dinner would become painfully awkward if she didn’t come up with something by the time their waiter brought the tea.
Emily was fully aware they were soon going to be faced with just the stretch of table between them, no more convenient and useful things to focus on. It would be her, and JJ, and the warm golden light that cast a glow around the other woman that Emily found decidedly distracting. She couldn’t bring herself to make direct eye contact; she was so terrified that if she did all of the things she kept under such tight control would be read there. For as long as she could remember Emily Prentiss had been able to present herself as whatever anyone wanted her to be. Presenting the appropriate face to the world was second nature to her and yet there was something about those piercing blue eyes that made Emily fear they would see right through her.
JJ could feel the silence stretching out between them, the sound of it was almost deafening. She could also read the obvious signs of fear in the woman across the table from her. Emily’s dark eyes were cast downward to take in the patterns of wood in the tabletop, her hands were wrapped around the ceramic cup of green tea the waiter had placed in front of her but it seemed it was more to give herself something to do rather than any actual desire to drink the contents. JJ could read all the signs of avoidance, of anxiousness, and she knew with certainty if the silence was going to break it was up to her to do it. Tamping the fear in her own heart down JJ reached a tentative hand across the chasm for the second time that night.
Small strong fingers came to rest on Emily’s slender, pale wrist. “I’m sorry.”
Emily’s dark head shot up at the words making eye contact with JJ for the first time since they had been seated. There was something so sincere and open in that deep blue gaze Emily could feel herself falling into it. The heat that radiated from the spot JJ’s hand rested seemed to be spreading up Emily’s arm and the warmth of their joined gazes seemed to be spreading downward. It made no sense, this feeling of combustibility that seemed to be building within the dark haired agent. She opened her mouth to try and speak, to perhaps vent some of her internal pressure, but JJ’s soft voice continued, keeping Emily silent.
“Em, I know how difficult today has been,” JJ was trying to select her words in such a way to mend the rift that seemed to have formed between them today and still skirt the edges of her own secrets. “In fact, it has well and truly sucked,” a soft chuckle escaped at the words.
“Yes, it certainly has,” Emily let a small smile appear at once glad to be sitting here with JJ. It would seem that in all the confusion and tumult she had lost touch with the simple fact that JJ was, above all else, her friend. At that thought some of the tension that had taken up residence in her neck and shoulders seemed to loosen. Somewhere within her heart Emily decided not to resist the comfort contact with JJ brought, it was just too difficult.
JJ’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly on Emily’s wrist a move meant to reassure both of them of the reality of the touch. JJ could sense the change in Emily’s demeanor and felt a rush of happiness as the dark haired woman visibly relaxed for the first time in what felt like days.
“Let’s make a deal,” JJ let some of the new happiness she felt enter her voice. “For the rest of the evening no work talk.” They both needed a break. JJ knew her emotions were far too close to the surface. She also knew that if Emily was allowing even the slightest bit of her emotional struggle to be visible the reality of it must be nearly overwhelming.
“You are officially a genius,” Emily didn’t think she could possibly be more grateful to JJ for that suggestion. There was no better way Emily could think of spending the rest of the evening than in conversation with JJ over what promised to be excellent food. If she had spent more time thinking about it the whole situation would probably be surprising. That was probably why she didn’t allow herself to think about it. There was no reason to dwell on exactly why sharing this intimate moment with JJ seemed the least emotionally complicated choice she could make, not when just doing so was so damned inviting.
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Archiving - passion and perfection if you would like it let me know layla
Summary - Emily and JJ find a case hitting too close to home for both of them, in more ways than one.
Rating - could get to R
Disclaimers: I don't own Criminal Minds, except my own
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
“Garcia, it’s JJ,” having the tech goddess a phone call away was better than a call to information any day.
“Hey girl, what can I do ya for?” Garcia had long ago learned to adapt her schedule to take into account the time differences between Quantico and wherever the team was at a given moment.
“Nothing too critical, Emily and I are looking for dinner,” JJ couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto her lips, talking with her friend always helped her feel better, even if it was only a few words.
“And you, of course, were lost without me.” As she spoke Garcia began typing, “so what are you in the mood for? Since you are on the west coast I’m thinking sushi.”
“That sounds perfect,” JJ knew both she and Emily shared eclectic food tastes.
“I am sending you a list of the top sushi restaurants around your current location as we speak. You may offer all worship to the goddess.”
“Thank you Garcia, you are better than Google,” JJ was feeling better by the minute she could feel the day’s worth of tension and anger easing in minute steps. The world was still a dark place and they all had much more evil to deal with before this was over but in this brief moment things were looking a little better.
“You bet your ass I am,” Garcia’s smile could be heard over the phone. “Have a good night, talk to you tomorrow.”
“So you up for sushi?” JJ turned to Emily as she hung up her phone and accessed the message Garcia had sent.
“Sounds great,” Emily was glad to see JJ smile for the first time that evening. “I’ll drive, you just tell me where to go.”
“Perfect,” with that JJ and Emily climbed in either side of the waiting SUV.
___________________
The ride to the restaurant had been relatively uneventful. The conversation had consisted primarily of trying to traverse the seemingly excessive number of one way streets and still arrive at their intended location. JJ was exceedingly grateful for the need for directions and the relatively short distance they had to travel. Such realities allowed the air between them to be filled with utilitarian chatter with no room for real conversation. JJ kept hoping that at any moment she would be struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration and suddenly all the right words would fall gracefully from her tongue. As Emily maneuvered the SUV into a parking spot, it became increasingly obvious divine intervention was not going to happen.
Garcia’s taste in restaurants had proven, once again, to be fantastic. The décor and lighting were subtle, warm colors and clean lines. The crowd was fairly sparse allowing JJ and Emily to get a table quickly. JJ still had no clear idea what sort of conversation to have with Emily. She also knew that in a very few minutes there would be no more stalling and this dinner would become painfully awkward if she didn’t come up with something by the time their waiter brought the tea.
Emily was fully aware they were soon going to be faced with just the stretch of table between them, no more convenient and useful things to focus on. It would be her, and JJ, and the warm golden light that cast a glow around the other woman that Emily found decidedly distracting. She couldn’t bring herself to make direct eye contact; she was so terrified that if she did all of the things she kept under such tight control would be read there. For as long as she could remember Emily Prentiss had been able to present herself as whatever anyone wanted her to be. Presenting the appropriate face to the world was second nature to her and yet there was something about those piercing blue eyes that made Emily fear they would see right through her.
JJ could feel the silence stretching out between them, the sound of it was almost deafening. She could also read the obvious signs of fear in the woman across the table from her. Emily’s dark eyes were cast downward to take in the patterns of wood in the tabletop, her hands were wrapped around the ceramic cup of green tea the waiter had placed in front of her but it seemed it was more to give herself something to do rather than any actual desire to drink the contents. JJ could read all the signs of avoidance, of anxiousness, and she knew with certainty if the silence was going to break it was up to her to do it. Tamping the fear in her own heart down JJ reached a tentative hand across the chasm for the second time that night.
Small strong fingers came to rest on Emily’s slender, pale wrist. “I’m sorry.”
Emily’s dark head shot up at the words making eye contact with JJ for the first time since they had been seated. There was something so sincere and open in that deep blue gaze Emily could feel herself falling into it. The heat that radiated from the spot JJ’s hand rested seemed to be spreading up Emily’s arm and the warmth of their joined gazes seemed to be spreading downward. It made no sense, this feeling of combustibility that seemed to be building within the dark haired agent. She opened her mouth to try and speak, to perhaps vent some of her internal pressure, but JJ’s soft voice continued, keeping Emily silent.
“Em, I know how difficult today has been,” JJ was trying to select her words in such a way to mend the rift that seemed to have formed between them today and still skirt the edges of her own secrets. “In fact, it has well and truly sucked,” a soft chuckle escaped at the words.
“Yes, it certainly has,” Emily let a small smile appear at once glad to be sitting here with JJ. It would seem that in all the confusion and tumult she had lost touch with the simple fact that JJ was, above all else, her friend. At that thought some of the tension that had taken up residence in her neck and shoulders seemed to loosen. Somewhere within her heart Emily decided not to resist the comfort contact with JJ brought, it was just too difficult.
JJ’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly on Emily’s wrist a move meant to reassure both of them of the reality of the touch. JJ could sense the change in Emily’s demeanor and felt a rush of happiness as the dark haired woman visibly relaxed for the first time in what felt like days.
“Let’s make a deal,” JJ let some of the new happiness she felt enter her voice. “For the rest of the evening no work talk.” They both needed a break. JJ knew her emotions were far too close to the surface. She also knew that if Emily was allowing even the slightest bit of her emotional struggle to be visible the reality of it must be nearly overwhelming.
“You are officially a genius,” Emily didn’t think she could possibly be more grateful to JJ for that suggestion. There was no better way Emily could think of spending the rest of the evening than in conversation with JJ over what promised to be excellent food. If she had spent more time thinking about it the whole situation would probably be surprising. That was probably why she didn’t allow herself to think about it. There was no reason to dwell on exactly why sharing this intimate moment with JJ seemed the least emotionally complicated choice she could make, not when just doing so was so damned inviting.