It hadn’t taken much to convince the team to head out on the town for a night, a chance to celebrate the changes that were happening within their team. They hadn’t celebrated Pen’s pregnancy and they hadn’t celebrated Strauss’ decision to keep the team as they were. They hadn’t had a chance or the opportunity to celebrate anything in a long while and so when the chance arose, all seven of them grabbed on with both hands.
So they took to the chosen bar laughing together, Emily’s arms linked with Pen and JJ’s as they made their way through the door and picked out a table big enough for all of them. Morrow slid into the large booth after her colleagues, leaving the men to have the edges.
“When was the last time we did this?” Penelope asked with a bright smile as she looked around at her family.
“More than six months, I can tell you that,” Emily groused, poking her blond friend.
Penelope stuck her tongue out in reply. “I blame Derek.”
“Hey!” Derek protested. “I’ll have you know-“
“No, no you won’t,” JJ interrupted wrinkling her nose. “Whatever you were about to say… just… keep it to yourself.”
They ordered drinks quickly, the women striking up a conversation almost immediately. It left the others to watch, more specifically, it left Aaron to watch. It was always fun to watch his team and even more so when they were so relaxed and laid back. It had been too long since he’d had the opportunity to simply watch Emily with her friends. He had to admit, he much preferred her away from the office, away from the stress and death.
Derek was in a similar position. Because it had been so long since the whole team had been out, it had been a long time since he’d gotten to see Pen away from everything. He had no idea how on earth he’d missed the changes in her body. She was his best friend, the woman whom he went to when things fell apart. He probably watched her closer than he ever watched Emily or JJ. So why on earth hadn’t he seen the changes pregnancy had reeked on her body?
At least she looked relaxed in the booth, surrounded by the people that cared about her the most. She was carefree, hair down and flowing in curls around her shoulders. She looked beautiful beside him and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from settling his hand against the back of the booth so his fingers could ghost through her hair.
“Hey Jane, can you go see what’s taking so long?” Emily asked. There was a smile playing at the corner of her mouth that had all of the others nervous. She was up to something.
Jane raised an eyebrow. “Is this an initiation thing?”
Emily laughed. “Not quite.” Her eyes were sparkling as they glanced quickly around the room. “I figured now would be as good of an opportunity as any to ask that guy at the bar why he’s been staring at you all night.”
Jane blushed heavily and looked away, glancing only for a split second at the man Emily had indicated. “He’s not staring at me.”
“Honey, go for it,” Penelope encouraged. “Get out there, have some fun.”
“Are you-“
“Go!” Emily exclaimed, shoving her slightly. “Have fun! Just let us know when you’re heading out.”
“Safety, got it. Um…”
“GO!” All three women exclaimed laughing. Spencer moved out of the way to let the other woman pass and they all watched as she headed to the bar. Sure enough, not thirty seconds after Jane’s hands had alighted on the wood did the man approach her.
“I didn’t take you for the matchmaking type,” Derek groused.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Hey, I’ll have you know I can play the game with the best of ‘em, okay?”
Derek held up his hands in surrender. “Far be it for me to question.”
“Awe Pen! You’ve got him well-trained already,” JJ teased. She felt light and happy as she sat between her best friends. It was tempered only by the way she filled with guilt and sadness when she looked at Spence. In the few days since her conversation with Emily, JJ hadn’t come to any sort of conclusion at all. In fact, she had no idea what to do about her relationship with Spencer Reid.
She hadn’t been completely honest with Emily when they’d been talking. There were so many unknowns in her relationship with Spence, almost too many for JJ to handle at once. Unlike Emily and Hotch, there was no guarantee that she and Spence would be allowed to work together if their relationship came out. Unlike Emily and Hotch, who seemed to fit each other perfectly, JJ and Spence didn’t talk about their problems and rarely fought. Of course, that was probably partially JJ’s fault since for the last six months she’d wrapped herself up in Pen’s pregnancy.
She knew the team approved. Heck, they’d been looking forward to it for how long now? So it was difficult for JJ when her heart was saying one thing and her friends were saying the other. Which was, ironically, why she’d turned to Emily. While the older woman definitely wanted them to stay together, she’d also been the only one to give JJ a chance to talk herself out and the one person JJ could trust to look out for JJ’s well being as well as for what Emily thought was right.
The bar filled up slowly, patrons, people the team worked with or around and people who were looking forward to the weekend ahead. Emily recognized at least a few people she’d seen around Quantico and even waved at her elevator buddy, Agent James Chip as he entered with his wife and teammates. Soon, it was more than crowded and she realized the glass of her second drink was empty. “Bar run. Anyone?”
Derek and Pen shook their heads where JJ shook her glass. Emily smiled as she prodded Spencer out of the way and headed up to the bar. She’d glimpsed Jane as she wove through the crowd and smiled at how much fun she seemed to be having. She knew the girls didn’t mind and though she’d been with the team a while, it had taken JJ and Penelope a little bit longer to accept Jane. Emily blamed it on the drama that seemed to permeate their lives.
She made it up to the bar and breathed a sigh of relief. She grinned as the bartender noticed her.
“Honey! You have not been here in ages.”
Emily laughed as she balanced herself on the bar. “Sorry, Stu. Things have been crazy.”
“That’s no excuse!” the man exclaimed as he poured a drink without looking, setting it on the tray of a nearby waitress. “Usual?”
“Yeah and a Sex on the Beach.”
“Oooh, bring the whole gang?”
“Of course,” Emily joked, smiling flirtatiously. She’d missed Stu. Since they were at a bar the team had frequented before the drama of the last little while, it came as no surprise that Stu knew exactly what she wanted. And he was so gay that flirting with him came easy.
“Alright, you’re going to have to give me a bit. Holly called in sick so I’m a little backlogged until they can get-“
“Just get to it,” Emily joked. She rested her elbows against the bar as she waited, turning around to observe the crowd. She shook her head as she noticed JJ dancing awkwardly with Spence in the middle of some of the more tipsy patrons. Whatever was going on between her colleagues, she certainly hoped they figured it out soon. It was becoming painful to watch.
“What’s a pretty lady like you doing here all by yourself?”
Emily almost groaned as her eyes darted to the man that had approached. He’d squeezed himself into the space between her and the person next to her, facing her directly. Not even half a step and he’d be pressed to her side.
“Graham Townsend. I work with Senator Davies.”
Emily knew the Senator from various functions in and around the DC area, but she wasn’t about to tell the guy that. “Hi.”
“No name?”
God, he was pushy. Why her? Why now? Why here? “Marie,” she offered. Usually, she hated her middle name, but it worked well for a bar name.
“Pleasure.”
Her manners kicked in against her better judgment and she shook the hand he offered.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“It’s okay, thanks,” Emily replied with a tight smile. Why the heck was Stu taking so long? Where was Aaron or Derek when you needed them? She felt a little bit better when she caught JJ’s eye across the room. Sure enough, it wasn’t much later that she felt her entire body tense in anticipation, even though her eyes were politely fixed on whatever-his-name-was. It was nice to have Aaron-radar. She turned her face to his as his hand wrapped around the firm muscle of her hip.
“You disappeared.” He knew his words were loud enough for the guy to hear and filled with enough passion to make the woman he was now pressed against shiver. And she did. He grinned.
“Backlog at the bar,” Emily offered in explanation as she tipped her face up.
She looked beautiful with her head tipped back like that and Aaron couldn’t resist leaning down to seal her lips to his in a passionate kiss. She whimpered when he pulled away and he had to remind himself that they were in public. He turned to the stunned man beside Emily. “Sorry. She makes it easy to forget we’re not at home. Arthur Durst.”
“Graham Townsend.” The name was all but mumbled. The man looked cheerful enough, but there was something else lurking in his dark eyes.
“Sorry about that, honey. Oh! Hey there Boss Man!”
“Hey Stu,” Aaron responded with a smile, throwing a few bills on the bar. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing.” He cocked his head to the side as he watched how close the dark-haired man was standing to Emily. “Have a good night.”
The heat in Aaron’s eyes made her shiver. “Thanks Stu. I’m sure we will.”
Aaron carried one drink, Emily the other as they made their way back to the table. He kept a tight hold on her hand as he all but dragged her though the crowd. JJ had been the one to tip him off to Emily’s discomfort at the bar and he most definitely didn’t mind play knight in shining armour. That didn’t mean his possessive instincts hadn’t kicked in when he saw how close the guy was to his Emily.
Derek had moved around the table with Pen, both of them settled deep in the booth, holding their place. They seemed deep in conversation so Aaron didn’t feel too badly when he sat and all but yanked Emily down into his lap. Not that it would have taken much effort to get her there by her own free will. Her head leaned against his as his hands snuck under the loose hem of her top to stroke at her stomach.
“Mmm, what are you doing?” she mumbled into his ear.
“You’re irresistible,” he mumbled back, nipping her earlobe then pulling the delicate skin into his mouth.
Emily giggled, her hands slipping under her shirt to rest with his. But Aaron did nothing inappropriate, simply stroked his fingertips up and down her sides, across her stomach, always just touching the line between appropriate and not. Still, it made her blood pump faster, her cheeks flush, if possible, even more in the hot room. She knew this kind of insistent touch, had dealt with it before. Their first Thanksgiving for one, and times since then he’d spent the night watching other men watch her, watch them. He was always more adventurous when his possessive instincts came out and almost always more aggressive. Emily always enjoyed it.
Aaron glanced back at Pen and Derek, then around the room for JJ and Reid. All of the team seemed wrapped up in their own things so he was sure no one would be paying any attention to him and Emily. He pushed her up, steadying her when her knees wouldn’t hold her own body weight. He grinned. He loved it when he had that kind of effect on her. His own heart was pounding when he led her out the door and into the cool dark night. He could feel his body humming, knew what that meant and until Emily protested, he was going to give his body what it wanted. And what it most definitely wanted was Emily Prentiss.
Sometimes, it surprised him how his desire for her hadn’t diminished in the slightest since they’d started seeing each other, since they’d started sleeping with each other. He couldn’t get enough of her every response, every touch. He couldn’t get enough of her skin, of her mouth, of her. It was always exponentially harder to resist his bodies urges when they were in public, when the possessiveness kicked in. Emily didn’t seem to mind and so he didn’t care.
“Aaron what are you-“
He cut her words off with a searing kiss as he pulled her around the corner into a dark alley. She all but melted against his body as the brick of the wall dug into his shoulder blades. What did he care? Everything that mattered was plastered against every inch of him. He broke away and pushed off the wall a little bit, turning to walk backwards into the dark. It was a dirty alley behind a bar, but he didn’t think he could resist her much longer. Alcohol, possessiveness and desire mixed in his blood throwing his caution to the wind without a backward glance or second thought.
So, as he pushed her back against the brick, hands straying under her shirt and up to touch her, he let his urges take over and grinned when she moaned. Sometimes throwing caution to the wind was endlessly rewarding.
It took them both a minute to come down from their high. Aaron moved first, trying to put himself back in some semblance of order. When they were both fully dressed again, though she knew she looked like she’d just been ravaged and he didn’t look much better, she kissed him slowly and thoroughly.
“What brought that on?” she asked, voice husky.
He kissed her again, briefly. “You. How beautiful you are.”
Emily chuckled against his mouth, pulling his body against hers by the still unbuttoned shirt. “Honey, you just took me against a wall. Sweet talk is cheap.”
“Would you rather me tell you how hot you look?” he growled. “How… annoying it was to see another man pressed against you.”
She laughed again. “No. That’ll lead to more of what we just did.”
He kissed her, tongue thrusting into her mouth, claiming her. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t,” she agreed with a wide grin. “When we get home-“
He cut her off with another growl and another kiss that left her mind almost blank. “Which home?” His lips moved to her neck again, unable to resist her.
“Don’t care,” she said, her breath speeding up.
“You know, one day we’re going to have to choose where ‘home’ is,” he mumbled against her neck.
Emily froze. She pulled his head up, away from her neck, searching his eyes. “What did you just say?”
Aaron blinked, going back over the words. He hadn’t even realized they’d come out, but now that they had, he realized that it had been what had been chewing at the back of his mind for months. His hands moved out from under her shirt to rest against her waist over the fabric.
“Is it a surprise?” It had been to him, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.
She chuckled, though the sound was shaky. “A little bit.”
He pushed himself away from her slightly, just enough to straighten his arms. He wanted contact with her, but if he stayed too close, he’d lose his focus. “It’s been coming.”
“It’s the next logical step,” she agreed. “I just… I didn’t…” She didn’t know how to put the jumble of emotions into words.
Now that the subject was out there, now that he knew it had been this that had been bothering him, he had no problem putting the sentiment into words. “Move in with me.”
Emily’s mind was a whirling vortex. She’d been wondering when they’d be broaching this particular subject. “Are you-“
“Yes,” he interrupted. “Very sure.”
“Aaron we just got the go-ahead from Strauss-“ She met his eyes and could feel herself caving. It was what she’d wanted for a while now. “I want to be sure.”
“You’re not?”
“I want to, Aaron, God do I want to.”
“Then there’s nothing to stop us.” He’d known it was going to take time to convince her, known he was probably going to have to fight insecurities and disbelief.
“I just…”
Aaron cupped her cheeks in his palms. “I want to come home to you every night, Emily. I want to come home with you. I don’t want to have to keep up appearances in the office. I don’t want to worry about whether I have a clean suit at your place or if you have casual clothes at mine. I want to have coffee with you at home instead of in the office because you’ve had to rush home to shower and change your clothes. I want to sleep beside you every night and not send you home when Jack’s over.”
That brought up an entirely new topic of conversation. “Have you talked to Jack about it?”
“Emily, he’s almost five and you’ve been in his life for over a year. He’s not a stupid child.”
She whacked his shoulder. “I know that.”
“We’ve been together almost a year and a half. We’ve already lived together. This should be just a formality.”
She was arguing against her better judgment, against her heart. “This makes things so incredibly real.”
“They were real from the beginning,” Aaron pointed out, taking a step closer. “They were real from the minute you told me you loved me.”
“I do,” she said, a smile starting to stretch across her face. “I do love you. A lot.”
He knew that smile and kissed her gently. “I love you too,” he told her. “So?”
“Yes. Of course I’ll move in with you.”
His grin was wide and so incredibly genuine the second before he leaned in to kiss her. “When?”
She laughed at his eagerness. “I don’t know. Bit by bit? We’ll set a massive move in date later when I figure out what to do with all of my furniture.” She kissed him again, giddiness welling up in her stomach. “But I’m not going to talk about this with you in a dark alley behind a bar.”
“Text Garcia. Tell her we’re leaving.”
She arched a graceful eyebrow. “Is that an order, Agent Hotchner.”
His eyes turned heated again, the fire that had died to an ember coming to life again. “It’s a request.”
She never could say no to that fire. She followed him out of the alley, pulling her phone from her pocket and quickly sending the message to Penelope while he flagged a cab. Her brain was still trying to absorb what had just happened as she climbed into the waiting cab and snuggled against him.
“You okay?”
She sighed. “It’s so surreal.”
He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her temple. “On the contrary, sweetheart, it is very real.”
She leaned up and kissed him. So very real indeed.