#bi Emily prentiss

[criminalmindsmoodrn]

If we can’t have Jemily in CME18 at least please let Emily be canonically queer…for the love of all let pookie kiss a beautiful woman

[magewritesstories]

these two are pretty much the atla post i made about my two types being badass women who can and will kick ass and boys with awkward ner rizz but criminal minds edition.

[blackbird-brewster]

TARA LEWIS + Meeting the Women of the BAU

[Belated post for Bi Visibility Day!]

[emberfrostlovesloki]

11:11 [Emily x Reader]

Photo Credits: Left (@cheekycatlady) Center (@lockscreens-n-shit) Right (@@viciousclothing)

Prompt: Penelope and Derek play matchmaker after Emily meets the captivating and alternative reader who’s allegedly off the market at a shop where Prentiss is buying a gift for Garcia. A few weeks later, Emily and the reader have the chance to have what they’ve dreamed of for so long, a relationship, but will their differences and fears be too much to overcome? 

Pairing: Emily x Non-BAU!Reader, Fem!Reader, Alnterative-Goth!Reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns 

Category: Fluff/comfort

Word Count: 8.9K 

Content Warnings: Language, unwanted attention (reader and Emily), if I missed any, please let me know. 

A/N: Hi all! I hope you are all doing very well! This fic is for the amazing @imagining-in-the-margins’s Pride Writing Challenge! I used the dialog prompt “Are they… flirting?” “Big time.” This fic is a lot more fluffy than my usual stuff, but it was nice to just write something romantic for Emily. The reader is described as a goth and a fan of horror, but if those are not your aesthetics, you can swap those parts out for what you like. I do mention a horror film scholar, but I try to explain her ideas accurately. Emily is a gem of a character and I hope I captured her well in this fic. Please be kind to yourselves this week and do something you love, you are so special. If you enjoy this fic, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! Love Levi - ❤️

List with all stories 

y/n = your name 

y/c = your complexion 

y/f/d = your favorite drink (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, soda, you decide) 

Emily pulled into the small strip mall a thirty-minute drive from her house. It wasn’t what she’d expected exactly. It seemed… boring. Em sighed and thought, ‘Aren’t all strip malls boring? This is a strip mall, not a strip club, and you're here for Penelope, not you.’ With a hint of a smile, Prentiss got out of her car and pulled her purse and iced coffee from the front seat cup holder. She yawned and put her glasses on as the mid-afternoon sun glared down on her. She had stayed up late from another mid-date last night, thus the tiredness. It hadn’t been bad per se, just boring. After talking about shared interests, the man she’d seen started talking about his exes and how Emily reminded him of each of them. The only good thing about the man was that he’d taken them to a nice bar and promised to pay the tab. So Emily had gone overboard with her drinks. When she’d gotten a glass of the nicest champagne on the menu, she realized she could just sit and listen to this man ramble on and call it performance art the next day. However, even the Advil she’d popped last night after she’d gotten home hadn’t cured her hangover. 

The little bell on the door rang as Emily entered the store. It took a second for her to put down her coffee on a small table by the door with some pamphlets encouraging a yarn crawl next month and remove her sunglasses to see the inside of the store properly. Prentiss was here to get Penelope a small gift after she’d admitted to feeling down after a rough case. It seemed Garcia’s girlhood hobby of crochet had come back to life after she’d seen a cute sweater online, so Em was going to get her some good quality supplies, or at least a gift card if she couldn’t pick out what felt right in the store. The fiber arts weren’t really her thing, and as she saw the front display, pastel rainbows of yarn skeins, and a sample shawl to celebrate Pride Month along with a variety of needles and hooks on the adjacent wall, she felt lost. More lost than if she was at a crime scene. 

The soft, “Can I help you find something?” had Prentiss whip around on her heel and see the woman she hadn’t noticed as she walked into the store. Em blamed her hangover, but couldn’t say the same for when she opened and closed her mouth once or twice as she took in the employee behind the counter. Perhaps Emily had expected a little old lady or a mom type to work at a place like this, but she hadn’t expected a young woman standing in all black and what could only be described as vampiric-looking makeup and accessories. The words, whatever she was trying to say or might have said to this type of person escaped her. 

The woman behind the counter seemed to flush, but it was hard to tell with her dark blush, given her y/c and intentionally washed-out tired look. It was the type of look Spencer had unintentionally. The employee looked behind the counter to get the pretty woman’s eyes off of her for a moment. y/n hadn’t expected to be visually dissected this afternoon. She wondered if she had something in her teeth and how embarrassing that would be in front of someone as pretty as the statuesque woman on the other side of the counter. 

Emily finally recovered and coughed slightly, now her blush of embarrassment flooded her cheeks as she said, “I’m sorry. I suppose I didn’t see you there when I walked in. I haven’t been to a place like this before. I’m trying to get some things for my friend. She’s into crocheting I think. I googled yarn stores in town and apart from the big craft store this is the only one that came up…” Em stopped talking when she realized that she was rambling and the woman moved from behind the counter letting out a chuckle. It looked strange on someone who dressed so severely. y/n said, “Well, welcome in. I can show you around and make some recommendations if you’d like. Does your friend have a favorite color? Do you know if she wants to make something in particular?” Emily let out a sigh, relieved that her behavior and lack of knowledge weren’t mocked. She guessed that there wasn’t a ton of gatekeeping in the crochet community, but she didn’t know. Em swallowed and said, “Well my friend loves pink or any bright colors. As for her projects, I only know she likes working with bigger threads. She says it makes the projects go faster?” 

y/n nodded. This poor, but beautiful woman was out of her depth here. However, y/n never judged. Knitting and crocheting wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Often people just thought it was for the geriatric, though that was far from the truth. y/n had to correct the woman, she couldn’t stop herself as she said, “Yarn.” The customer looked up and said, “Huh?” softly, and y/n felt herself heating up again as she said, “It’s yarn, not thread. Sorry I can’t stop myself from correcting people when they say that. I’m, y/n. What’s your name?” y/n didn’t mean to sound condescending as she corrected the woman, it just slipped out. She tried to recover herself by asking the woman’s name; she was striking. 

Thankfully, after a split second, Emily extended her hand and said, “Emily. I’m Emily. It’s nice to meet you y/n, and don’t apologize. I’m sure I sound like an idiot, so correct me as much as you need or feel like it. I won’t be offended.” y/n smiled and shook Em’s hand twice already enjoying her sense of humor. Emily couldn’t help but look at y/n’s long dark nails that matched her clear glossed, blood colored lips. y/n let Emily’s hand go and pointed toward the back right side of the store and said, “I think this side of the store is what you’ll be looking for. It’s our DK and bulky weight yarn section.” Em nodded like she understood what that meant and followed behind y/n looking at all the pretty skeins and knit and crochet samples on display. Even though Prentiss never thought this would be her niche, it was a very calming and pretty environment. It helped that the playlist that was on in the background had already played music she liked. Emily looked back for a moment at the comfy-looking chairs by the window and could picture herself sitting there for a few hours. 

Emily came back to the moment and realized she was getting distracted. She was firmly in the right section now as the yarn on the shelves looked like Penelope would love them. There was hot pink, yellow, and some purple yarn with sequins already threaded in the yarn. Emiy’s eyes looked around and y/n said, “I’ll let you look around for a bit. The yarn on the middle shelf is our most popular, but if you’re looking for something that’s a bit more affordable, because this stuff can get expensive pretty fast, is on the left and it’s still good quality too.” Emily nodded. She hadn’t even looked at a price tag yet. Money hadn’t crossed her mind. She had been too busy looking at the pretty colors, chairs, and sales assistant. y/n brushed past Em and back up toward the counter and said over her shoulder, “Hollar if you have any questions or if you need anything.” Prentiss turned her head and said, “Thanks,” as she watched y/n move back toward the front counter, her high-top Doc Martens giving her an inch in height that she didn’t have naturally.  

Em tore her eyes away once y/n was just out of sight. It wasn’t a big store, but the shelves that housed the yarn made it impossible for her to see y/n. Emily now turned to the skeins of yarn and picked up the hot pink skein that had first caught her eye. y/n’s comment about price made her look at the price tag, and Prentiss whistled under her breath. ‘$35.00 for some yarn?’ she thought. ‘What are they doing hand-picking sheep and making them eat strawberries until they turn pink?’ That sarcastic line of thinking did take her to the real conclusion, however, that unless yarn was cheap and mass-manufactured in a store, it must take a lot of time and effort to get that kind of color and quality. With the prices in mind now, Emily picked between five yarn colors that looked like Garcia’s favorites and picked her top three from the bunch. She decided on the hot pink, the purple sequined yarn, and a lime green tucked in the corner of a shelf. Happy with her choices, Emily moved around the store to look at the rest of what was there. As was natural for Prentiss, she was drawn to the jewel tones and more delicate yarn. The deep and rich colors reminded her of fall, her favorite sweaters, and hot lattes. She let out a sigh of longing for it to be cool again. For a second she felt eyes on the back of her neck, and she turned her face up sharply to see y/n just move her head toward the front door as if she was expecting someone to walk in. Emily turned her head again and bit the inside of her mouth. Why was y/n so cool? She tried to pinpoint why the woman at the front was having such an effect on her. 

She attributed it to three things. The first was the attitude. y/n had a very nonchalant attitude -- one that said that anything could happen and she wouldn’t be phased. Secondly, there was the confidence to wear what she wanted. Not that Emily had a choice, she was forced into the confines of business casual, but even if she wasn’t, she wasn’t sure she’d have the confidence to wear what y/n was. Lastly, y/n just seemed to be a really good person. It was based only on a feeling, but being an FBI profiler did have its advantages like getting a good reading on people. Prentiss let out a sigh, she was being silly and she knew it. She took one last look at some of the items displaying what the yarn could make and do before she moved to the counter. y/n smiled at Em and said, “Those are some pretty colors, I bet your friend will love them!” Prentiss nodded and said, “I’m sure she will. I’m happy I know about this place now, this could be good for gifts for some people I know.” Emily paused before asking, “Do you own the shop.” y/n chuckled and nodded her head no replying, “No. I just work here part time. I kind of grew up here though. It’s very special to me.” Em could tell. She wanted to ask more, but it would be awkward, so she didn’t. 

y/n sensed the shift in conversation and said, “Alright, well do you want these wound into cakes, or do you want to keep them in skeins?” The look of incredulity on Emily’s face had y/n laugh, pick up the pink yarn, and say, “So see how this is twisted into something that’s easy to hold?” Prentiss nodded yes, not having even thought about that. y/n continued, “So in order to work with this yarn, you have to unwind and rewind it into a ball, or you can use a machine to create what’s called a yarn cake. It’s easier to work with, but you, or your friend, can to this at home too.” Emily bit the side of her mouth and couldn’t think about what Garcia would want. She went on the safe side and said, “I think I’ll just take them as they are for now. If she brings them back would you still wind them for her?” y/n replied, “Yes, of course. I’d be happy to. She or you can come in anytime.” Prentiss looked up at y/n a bit surprised by the woman’s tone, and y/n winked at her. Again, Emily found herself a bit speechless and y/n continued like nothing had happened, “Okay, can I get anything else for you? Some hooks of needles, or is it just the yarn today?” 

Emily recovered just a bit out of breath, and said, “Um, that’s it. Thanks. You helped me a lot.” y/n smiled and said, “I’m happy to help. It is literally my job, as much as I’d like to just sit here and knit or read, life seems to have other plans.” There was a pause, like y/n was thinking about something and continued putting the yarn in a plastic bag before saying, “Because it’s your first time here I’m going to give you some free stitch markers and a crochet hook size gauge.” Emily nodded her appriciation. She could guess what the stitch markers were for, as for the guage device, she didn’t, but she was sure that Penelope would. Em took a closer look at y/n who was looking at the screen to ring up her total. The shape of y/n’s face and lips were alluring. Her dark eye shadow and long lashes fluttered open and closed as she concentrated. y/n caught Emily looking for a split second but looked back at the computer, a ghost of a smile on the edges of her lips. The small interactions between the two of them sent a thrill through Em. When y/n had given Prentiss her total, she handed over her card and in a moment, they were done. y/n handed Emily her bag and said, “Thanks for stopping in. I hope I see you again soon.” Prentiss nodded, moved toward the door, and said, “Thanks. Me too, y/n.” With that, Emily left the small shop and walked back into the sun. Prentiss made it to her car and sat down, putting her sunglasses back on. As she turned the key in the ignition, in the very back recesses of her mind, she hoped she’d see y/n again tonight in her dreams. Em heaved a sigh and decided she’d grab a smoothie or a juice on the way home, her hangover long forgotten. 

Penelope was thrilled when she opened her impromptu gift from Emily the next week. Garcia’s smiles, thanks, and hugs would make anyone feel good, Em believed. This was helpful to Em as she felt the loneliness of life creeping back into her bones. She really wasn’t one to believe in biological determinism, but the more old friends and co-workers from school that started getting married, or more likely, having babies, the harder it was to come home alone all the time. Alone to an empty apartment, and an even emptier bed. She sighed into Penny’s hug, hoping the feelings would stick for a while. It’s not that she was desperate for attention, or heaven forbid a child, but she wanted someone to be with, to share her bad jokes with, or rest her head on. Of course, Emily knew she could do this, life, by herself, she just didn’t want to. Emily pulled back as Garcia asked, “Where did you get these, there’re so beautiful. I want to get like twenty more skeins. God the color saturation is perfect, p e r f e c t, Em. you know me so well.” Emily smiled and said, “It’s this small shop on my side of town. I was shocked that you hadn’t been there before.” Pen sighed and said, “Well to be honest I have a huge yarn stash already, so I decided to just try and use up what I had a home, but now that you’ve gotten me this stuff, I have an excuse to go and get enough new yarn in the same colors so make a sweater.” Prentiss chuckled at her ability to influence Penelope’s financial choices, but it was all in good fun. 

That good fun had Prentiss and Morgan in Garcia’s car two weeks later moving from brunch toward the yarn store. Prentiss’s thoughts flashed to y/n, and she wondered if the pretty woman would be working today. She hadn’t expected to be back to the store this shortly, but the idea of a space to just relax and be from her first time at the shop flashed in her mind, and of course, if y/n was there, it would be nice to see her again too. Emily was sure Penelope would take Derek around the shop for a good hour, much to Morgan’s faux chagrin at his ‘time being wasted.’ 

The trio arrived at the yarn store, Love and Needles, and Morgan made a quip about the kind of love the patrons got. He, as Em could tell, had very much made the assumption she had about knitting as a hobby before she’d gone into the store and seen y/n. That the clients were old. Emily was please when she stepped in to see y/n sitting at the desk. Penelope had already started a lively conversation with her and Derek was standing back a few steps his mouth open in shock. 

y/n looked past Garcia at Morgan and gave him a small smile, showing a flash of her teeth which had the strong agent close his mouth quickly and stand up straighter. This made Emily duck her head as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She raised her head when y/n said, “It’s nice to see you again, Em,” with a small wave of her hand. Derek’s eyes danced between Emily and y/n and he tried to hide a small cough but didn’t do it well. Prentiss elbowed him in the ribs, and he stopped making noise. Emily rolled her eyes and Penelope retook over the conversation they had started and said to y/n, “Well I’ll come back and harass you about those shoes in about an hour. For now, I’m going to oooh and aaah at yarn, and probably spend my whole paycheck too.” Garcia took a split second to look at Emily and the blush that was still painting her face read and took Derek by the hand and said, “You, Mr. Morgan, with me. Maybe one day you’ll date a knitter, and you can impress her with your knowledge of the fiber arts.” Derek raised his hands in surrender and let Pen lead him farther into the store.

Emily looked after her friends, not sure to follow, stay planted, or maybe test out those comfy-looking couches by the window. She was pulled from her thoughts as y/n said, “So, how have you been? I think your friends are keen by the way. I wish I had some like that.” Em let out a small breath and replied, “Yeah, In terms of how friends go, they’re about the best you could ask for.” Prentiss cocked her head to the side, wondering why, and how it was possible for someone as magnetic as y/n to not make friends. Emily remembered the first half of y/n’s conversation starter and said, “And I’ve been okay. Nothing too exciting. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, and a few bad dates. How about you?” 

y/n gave off the vibe that she went to raves or drank red wine in a speak easy. y/n moved from behind the counter and leaned on the opposite side of where she’d just been. y/n studied Prentiss for a moment, taking in her outfit which consisted of a white shirt, corduroy pants, and a small kitten heel. It didn’t match y/n’s heavy-looking platform shoes, black tights, and dress. y/n was wearing the same makeup as the first time Em had seen her, except maybe the lips were darker today. After a moment y/n replied, “I’ve been fine. Nothing major to report.” There was another pause before y/n continued, “Maybe you could get off the apps for a bit? I found when I decided to take a hiatus it gave me some peace of mind. I had no hypothetical woman to please. I could just be me for once without any expectations.” y/n sighed and pivoted the conversation back to Emily, self-conscious to be talking about her struggles in front of someone as pretty as the tall brunette. Instead, she said, “I suppose I didn’t see you working a corporate job. I think I’d die if I had to do paperwork all the time.” Prentiss wanted to correct y/n, that she was more interesting than a corporate job. That she was a profiler in the FBI, that she knew how to shoot a gun, and spoke five languages. 

But Em stopped herself, even if y/n was on the dating market, which she had just said she’d taken herself out of, and even if she did date women, Emily could see herself pulling at strings. That her heart was moving faster than her head, and if she didn’t slow it down, she’d make a real fool of herself. She’d done that one too many times this year, losing both her sense of discretion and judgment sleeping with men most or women who gave the short time of day to fuck. They’d be gone by the morning, or she would be. Not wanting commitment, but not wanting to be alone either. It was the aloneness that she blamed the most for her choices, and she wasn’t going to repeat that now. So Emily replied, “Well it’s kind of a corporate job if you count working for the government as corporate.” y/n let out a low whistle and said, “That’s the most corporate of corporate. I don’t envy you.” There was a pause and y/n said slowly, “So, do you have any secrets you can share?” As hard as Emily tried to keep her mind off of y/n that way, she couldn’t stop herself from blushing again at how her statement could be interpreted provocatively. Just as Em was about to answer the question, the phone behind the counter rang and y/n moved to answer it. Emily could tell the way y/n was speaking, loudly and slowly, that it was an elderly client, and the conversation might take a long time, so she moved to the couches to sit down. 

Unknown to Emily and y/n, Penelope and Derek had been looking and listening to the pair for a few minutes now. When the phone call had interrupted their conversation Garcia motioned for Morgan to follow her to the far corner of the store. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Derek leaned down and whispered to Penelope, “Are they… flirting?” Pen nodded in an exaggerated manner and whispered back, “Big time.” They both leaned over to look past the displays of yarn to peak at y/n and Em and then hid again like teenagers behind a locker. Garcia said, “They aren’t even talking and you tell they're flirting. What type of Timewarp have we gotten ourselves into where Emily is openly making eyes at someone?” Derek sighed and rolled his eyes responding, “One where she probably doesn’t ever make a move. You know Em, she’s as stubborn as an ox if she wants to be.” Garcia dropped her eyes to the ground and said softly, “Yeah. It’s fun to imagine though.” Morgan nodded and replied, “Well, if it seems okay, maybe we can pull some strings? Nothing huge, but they could be friends at least. They seem to get along well, but I doubt they’d run into each other in other circles, so we might have to nudge them in the right direction?” Penelope feigned being shocked and said, “Mon Cheri, are you suggesting a blind date?” Morgan held up his hands and said, “Well not that drastic, but it Emily seems okay with a chance meeting then I don’t see how it can hurt.” Garcia faked a pout and said, “You’re no fun.” 

After another moment of snickering from the duo of friends, Morgan and Garcia moved back to the front of the store and like they’ve known each other for years, Penelope chatted with y/n sharing the best shoe, accessory, and makeup brands. Meanwhile, Derek moved to sit next to Emily. She smiled at him and asked, “So, are you ready to woo a woman with your knowledge of crochet?” Morgan smiled and said, “I’ve already done that. My mom crochets, so I at least know the difference between crochet and knitting, and that weaving in the ends is the worst part of a project which is more than most men I know.” Emily gave him a small smile and replied, “Morgan, you really are a lady's man.” Derek chuckled and gave a little salute of appreciation. 

After a few more minutes, the trio left the shop and it didn’t pass up Morgan or Garcia that after y/n had said goodbye to them, she said specifically to Em, “It was good to see you again, Em. I hope to catch you around sometime.” Everyone piled into Pen’s car with Emily taking the passenger seat while Derek smushed himself in the back. Once everyone was safely buckled up, they moved toward Morgan’s apartment first. As they sat and the Spotify played Garcia’s favorite playlist, Derek teased Emily by saying, “I didn’t know you went for the Abby from NCIS characters, Prentiss.” Em twisted in her seat and said, “Morgan give me a break. Even  you thought she was hot and you can’t deny it.” Derek let out one of his low laughs that reverberated though his chest. The kind that could make anyone laugh if they were having a bad day. Em loosened up as Derek replied, “I’m not denying it. She was hot. I just didn’t realize she was your type.” 

Emily sat back in her seat and closed her eyes as she said, “Neither did I.” She meant it to sound like a funny retort or quip, but in reality, there was a longing that neither Penelope nor Derek had heard from her before. Everyone remained quiet and just let the radio play until Penelope pulled up to Derek’s house. He hopped out of the car, then hugged Garcia though the driver’s side window, and then moved to Emily’s side and said, “Keep your chin up Em. You’re a real catch.” Prentiss thanked him; she knew she wasn’t teasing, or being facetious. When Morgan was real, he was real and that was why he was such a good friend. He was never afraid to be honest with his emotions which was a rarity in men. Derek waved at his friends and then moved into his house after calling out, “See you on Monday!”  

Once Derek was at this door, Garcia pulled away from the sidewalk and toward Emily’s apartment. There was a silence for a while before Penelope turned to Em and asked, “You doing okay? You know Morgan and I don’t mean anything cruel when we ask you about the people you like. You just hardly show interest anymore, and you used to be so excited to be going on dates, or when you found someone attractive.” Prentiss sighed and said, “Because I used to be excited about those things, Pen. I used to love the thrill of a first date, or seeing someone hot on the street, but I’ve tried so much and I just don’t seem to be anyone’s someone. I’m too bitter, or busy, or gay. I’ve been fetishized for being bi and shamed for having dated men. I just, feel like I’ve lost that spark, that rush that I used to get. To be honest, I gave myself away so much this year, that I think I need a break, and besides that, I don’t know if I’m y/n’s cup of tea either. She’s alternative, and that makes her stand out, I do think it’s very attractive, but I don’t want to fetishize that part of her either. I don’t want to put her in a stressful positon. She told me she’d taken herself off the dating market today at the store, so asking her out seems like pressing her boundaries, even if it is fun to have her wink at me.” Emily ran her hands through her hair in frustration and said, “I mean listen to me. I sound like a high school cheerleader trying to date the budding artist. It just sounds silly.” 

Penelope looked over at her friend and said, “Yeah, well it might feel and sound silly, but your feelings still matter. You feeling lonely and wanting someone to be with still hurts. I know that as well as anyone, even if I’m good at hiding it with all my sparkle and banter with Morgan.” Emily nodded and looked at Penelope. As opposite as they were in demeanor, they both shared the deep long for belonging somewhere. They just hid that want in different ways. Em let a small smile cross her lips as she wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye before Penny could see, and she replied, “Thanks, Garcia. Thanks for being my friend and making me laugh. I don’t deserve you.” Pen let out a bright laugh and said, “You’ll never get rid of me girlfriend. And don’t give up hope. Things change, everything changes with time.” The rest of the ride was mostly quiet as both women thought about their feelings and shared in the mutual pain that most women felt at some point in their lives. When Garica pulled up to Emily’s house, the tall agent leaned over and hugged the Technical Analyst, holding her tight, then she pulled back and said, “Listen Pen, if I start adopting cats, promise you’ll still hang out with me?” Garcia smiled and said, “Darling, I’m already giving them a name.” With that, Emily got out of the car and went inside. She turned on her record player and poured a glass of wine. She’d just bought a new book and decided to relax and read for the rest of the day. 

It was a month later, and Penelope and y/n had started spending more time together. Like most people, y/n liked the brightness that Garcia brought to a friendship, and how real she was. It was safe to say that y/n was shocked when she found out what Emily and Derek did for work. As she and Garcia walked around an outdoor mall, boba in hand, y/n said, “Wait, Em’s in the FBI? You’re in the FBI! She told me she worked for the government. I thought she meant like the IRA or something.” Penelope nearly choked on her drink as y/n said this. After coughing a few times Penelope responded, “No wonder she doesn’t get close to anyone. She’s lying by omission about how awesome she is.” y/n gave Pen a pat on the back and they kept walking. y/n started asking more questions about the team. After more window shopping and trying things on, Penelope said, “I should tell Emily to be more honest. Really.” y/n stopped in her tracks and said quickly, “Please don’t. At least don’t say I was part of it.” Garcia stopped and looked up at y/n. y/n had the corner of her dark lip inside her mouth and was wearing a face of concern. It was the first time Penelope had seen her like this. The fluorescent lights of the store made her look more ghostly than ever, her darker tones striking against her makeup and dark hair. The shine on her black shoes glistened. Although Penelope wasn’t a profiler, she’d hung around the BAU long enough to know that the quick and urgent tone from y/n meant something more. It hadn’t gone past Pen that y/n seemed to casually bring Agent Prentiss up in conversation. y/n seemed to notice her new friend's change of attitude and said, “I mean, I assume that Em has a reason for not telling me that. Like I don’t want her to think she was holding out on me. I don’t tell everyone everything when I first meet them either. It’s like when douchebags ask me the meaning behind my tattoos in an attempt to get to know me. Am I supposed to tell them my whole life story or just lie and say it’s for aesthetics because honestly, both are true? And yeah, I just don’t want Emily to feel any pressure to explain herself, at least not to me.” y/n flushed. She hated that when she got flustered she used so many qualifying words, ‘but,’ ‘like,’ and ‘and’ flowed out of her mouth like she was sixteen and figuring out her sexuality again. 

Garcia smiled and nodded. Maybe y/n didn’t see it, but y/n was down bad for Emily, and it made Pen’s heart swim. It didn’t hurt that Emily asked every Monday afternoon, when Em made a pitstop at Garcia’s office with a soda to ask if she had seen y/n at all over the weekend. It was funnier because Prentiss was much worse at hiding her crush than y/n. It was still another week before y/n texted Garcia: Is Emily seeing anyone right now? Does she like… you know… women?” Penelope let out a squeal and moved to find Derek and share the news that y/n was asking about Prentiss. Even if Morgan had kept a further distance from Garcia’s matchmaking, he loved the drama of it. The pair spitballed responses, and they finally settled on, “No, she’s currently not seeing anyone. And yes. Solid yes.” They both waited giddily for another response from y/n. It wasn’t until the end of the day that y/n said, “I want to hang out with her, but I’ve only met her twice and I don’t know a lot about her. She doesn’t have much on social media. What are some things she’s into? Music? Movies? Food?” Penelope chuckled and sent a few options: “Books, Queer Films, Lectures, Good Wine and cheese.” y/n shot back a thank you and then asked if she could steal Emily’s number from Penelope, promising that she really wasn’t a stalker or serial killer in disguise. Garcia happily replied with Prentiss’s number. 

It took y/n a week of research and building herself up before she found something that she thought she and Emily would enjoy. A local college was hosting Carol Clover, author of Men, Women, and Chainsaws to give a talk about her famous construct of the Final Girl. This would meet Emily’s love of queer film and academia and give y/n a chance to hear about the horror genre, which she enjoyed. Then there was the fear of actually texting Emily. The FBI agent had seemed so kind, and yet at the same time intimidating. Surely she couldn’t like someone as non-tradition as her? Not when she got dirty looks in public, frowning parents shielding their child's eyes from her body. Was it so profane to want to be yourself? Pushing her doubts aside y/n texted Emily saying that she had gotten her number from Garcia and that she was interested in going to a lecture next weekend and if Em would be interested in joining her. 

When Penelope heard a knock on her doorframe, she looked up to see Emily holding her phone up. Before Garcia could read what was on the screen, Prentiss said, “Pen, did you give y/n my number?” Penelope nodded and said, “Yeah, did she text you?” Em seemed to relax and say, “Yeah. I think she’s asking me out, maybe? Or maybe I’m just reading into it? She said she was on a dating break the last time I saw her, which was like last month. I kind of assumed she might have forgotten about me. I don’t know why she’d be interested in someone as boring as me?” Garcia could see the doubt in Emily’s face. The want for it to be more than just hanging out. That feeling that she and Derek could feel in the yarn shop. Em was questioning that. Even if Penelope had a good idea that y/n liked, liked her friend, she didn’t want to set her up with false hope. So with a steadying breath, Garcia said, “Em. I don’t know y/n that well. We’re not at telepathy levels of friendship yet, but I will say I don’t think she’s asking you to hangout for nothing. Like I said, things change and you won’t know if she’s trying to get to know you that way unless you go and find out. Or, you could be a stick in the mud and just tell her no, which would send a pretty clear signal from your end.” Em sighed and knew that Garcia was saying if she wanted clarity, then she needed to be clear. To take a risk. However, the hesitation was still there. To be let down again would be so hard. So painful. But not knowing, that would kill her more. If she missed someone as charismatic as y/n, then she would have really missed, so she gave herself the day to make a choice, be a coward, or give it one last chance. That’s what Emily said to Pen, and frustratingly, Penelope didn’t think that she was going to hear more about it until much later that evening when y/n texted her: She said YES! It was safe to say that both y/n and Penny spent the next hour freaking out over the news. 

Emily looked around the lecture hall. It was big and fancy, and already filling with people. Prentiss had struggled to find parking and ended up having to go into a parking garage across the street. y/n had already texted her that she was inside and had saved them seats. Em looked at the quickly filling seats. There was an odd mixture of people assembled in the modern and sleek room. There were film bros, students, and more none-descript people milling around and looking for a spot to sit. Emily let out a relieved sigh that she hadn’t over, or underdressed. She had opted for a maroon shirt and a knee-length skirt with nude tights on underneath. Unlike the last two times, Emily was wearing heals. They were black and elongated her legs. She wasn’t trying to send any strong signals that she was more than excited that y/n had reached out. Prentiss was starting to get worried because she hadn’t seen y/n yet. Em’s past fears of being stood up creeping back in her. She clutched her purse strap fiddling with the zipper. Finally, a larger man moved into the aisle, and Emily caught sight of y/n. y/n was looking around for Emily as well with a nervous glance. When their eyes met, y/n’s face brightened and she smiled and waved. Prentiss let out a breath and moved toward y/n. 

y/n had felt the same anxiety Emily had. She’d dressed down a little. She didn’t want her style to stick out like a sore thumb. She’d opted for black mary-janes and tights along with some shorts, a black turtle neck that was too hot for the weather, her toned-down makeup with a blood-red lip, and lots of silver jewelry. She hoped it wasn’t too much. y/n was less worried about her appearance as she beamed at Em. She was glorious as normal. y/n might have dressed in an intimidating way, but Emily was the one with the confidence. The one that could move through a crowd seamlessly. The power she held with just her presence. y/n thought for a moment about Emily’s job. About what she did every day to keep people safe. y/n still hadn’t told Em that she knew about her real work, but y/n expected Emily would have figured out she knew by now. And if she didn’t, then she’d let Em bring it up on her own time. For now, y/n extended her arms slightly at her sides and she and Prentiss hugged lightly. y/n breathed in Emily’s scent for the first time, floral and bright. y/n pulled back and said, “Thanks for coming.” y/n wanted to ask how her day was, and if anything interesting had happened since they’d last laid eyes on each other. And maybe why did you agree to come out with me? But all of that was made impossible by the host of the lecture tapping on the mic and the lights being lowered in the hall. Em and y/n quieted, as did the rest of the audience and everyone took a set. 

y/n was excited for the lecture, she loved horror, so getting to spend this time sitting next to Emily had the blood rush in her ears and her heart beating in her chest, even though she wasn’t sure if Em liked her like that. There was a clear energy between the two women seated near the back left of the room, like an electric current passing between them. Both Em and y/n listened with rapt attention. Emily perhaps a bit more at y/n than Clover. She loved to see y/n, so excited and happy. Plus the content was interesting even if she didn’t understand all of it. Every so often Prentiss would lean down and ask y/n a clarifying question which y/n happily answered in a whisper. There was one moment in the lecture where Clover mentioned the other characters in horror films apart from the Final Girl, the ones that die, stating, “The Final girl is chaste and tom-boyish. But the first victims are often popular or outcasts. The loner, the cheerleader having sex with the football player. And unfortunately, the queer characters. Remember, this was the 80s and even if the trope of ‘bury your gays’ hadn’t been coined yet, it was still heavily used.” At hearing this, y/n couldn’t help herself but lean over to Emily and whisper, “Wait, is this fucking play about us?” Emily almost choked trying to hold in her laughter, and y/n had to pat her on the back to help her calm down. Em was beet red at the comment and her reaction, and they both got a tut-tut from the people sitting next to them. y/n smiled and didn’t make any more comments, however, she did move her right hand out on her leg turning her hand palm up, and when Emily took it in her own, she was filled with a warmth that no turtle neck or sweater could give her. 

After the lecturer, y/n and Emily moved to a bar because they hadn’t had any time to talk before hand. Emily drove them there in her car, but it was y/n’s recommendation. As soon as Emily walked into a bar with y/n holding her hand, she knew it was a gay bar. Not that that was a bad thing, in fact, it was comforting. Emily didn’t go out much, and if she did, she hadn’t really thought to go to a place like this. On her dates, she did coffee or dinner, and no one, not even the women she’d seen had recommended a gay bar. So Prentiss drank it in. Not that it was very different from other bars, but there was more space on the floor for dancing, plus the music choices were different. While Emily was looking around, y/n led her to the bar and the bartender said, “Hey, y/n. How’ve you been. I haven’t seen you in months,” over the music. y/n smiled, and in her normal nonchalant manner, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “You know, alright I guess. How about you, Blaine? You holding up?” The man smiled and replied, “Oh, I’m good. It’s good to know you’re well. Now, what will you and your friend be drinking tonight?” y/n turned to Emily and got her order for a cosmo, and she got y/f/d. The cold glasses were ready in a few minutes, and y/n started a tab before heading to a table. 

The surface of the table was slightly sticky, but neither woman cared. They set their drinks on napkins and talked about their days, what they liked, and just life as a woman. As a woman wanting things. y/n looked past Emily for a moment as she said, “Sometimes I think wanting as a woman is a curse. Is there anything I can desire without being shamed, guilted, or ignored?” Emily frowned slightly. They were both two drinks in, and she could feel a slight buzz making her body warm and flushed. Not overthinking it, Em moved her hand across the table and placed it on y/n’s cheek, brushing the pad of her thumb down her jaw. y/n swallowed at the feeling as her stomach did somersaults. Emily watched y/n’s pupils dilate and she said, “You shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting things. Even if other people make you feel that way.” Em paused and took a breath before saying, “I, I want to spend time with you. I have since the first day that I saw you. And I felt bad for that, and I feel bad because you said you weren’t looking, and I wasn’t honest. And even though I feel bad about that, I still wanted that and I’m not going to beat myself up about it. It’s okay to want. I’ve kept things from you too.” y/n looked at the table and then back up to Emily saying, “I wanted to be with you too. To know who you are. What makes you such a good person, so strong? And it’s okay to keep things hidden. Maybe not forever, but there’s a comfort in that. I understand.” The tone with which y/n said she ‘understood’ told Emily that y/n knew what she’d kept hidden. Her job. It felt silly now, but y/n seemed to get it and would indulge her for now. Em would tell her for sure if they kept seeing each other after tonight, but it was nice to feel so free. 

After a moment, Prentiss asked, “So is there something you want now, y/n?” y/n nodded, suddenly shy, and replied, “How about a dance?” Emily smiled and nodded, extending her hand out for y/n, which she took. The pair moved on to the dance floor which was crowded, but the bodies felt less pressed together than at a normal bar. There just seemed to be less pressure to be so close, instead Em and y/n just let loose and let their inhibitions let them move close to each other. At one point y/n helped Emily do a little twirl which she loved. After Em had straightened from being dipped down, a man tapped her on the shoulder and asked, “Might I cut in?” The fun Emily was having was instantly cut short as she said, “No. You can’t. I’m with someone right now.” Prentiss watched y/n change her face to one of disdain, it looked natural on her, pretty, ethereal even. And y/n leveled that look at the man who had cut off their shared joy. The man didn’t seem intimidated by y/n and he scoffed brushing harshly past Emily he asked y/n, “how about you, Babe? You down for a dance. You look like you need to lighten up. Maybe get laid by a real man?” y/n rolled her eyes, unimpressed and said, “In your dreams, Babe, Now if you don’t mind, you can fuck off.” The man puffed his chest, offended to be rebuffed twice, but y/n didn’t back down with her glare and finally, the man moved away muttering something about ‘stuck up bitches,’ under his breath. 

y/n moved closer to Emily and took her hands in hers, checking in. “Hey, sorry about that. I swear to God I’m like the worst man magnet. Would you check and see if there’s a sign on my back that reads, ‘Lesbian, step right up?’” y/n turned around and Emily let out a laugh, turning y/n around by the shoulders leaning in and kissing her. y/n’s eyes opened in shock, but the warmth and scent of Emily so close to her had her relax and lean into the kiss. It wasn’t super long, but Chappel Roan was playing in the background, and for y/n and Emily it was like all the hurt they’d felt for not being wanted for whatever reason washed away. y/n moved her hands to Emily’s back and preseed herself closer to Em taking in the moment so she could keep it forever in her mind. When y/n and Prentiss pulled away, Emily’s phone went off with a chirp. She flushed and pulled it from her purse. y/n was still close to Prentiss when she pulled out her phone, she stepped back to give Em some privacy. Emily looked up at her and said, “You don’t need to worry. It’s nothing super personal. Just Penelope being nosy and asking how it’s going.” y/n pursed her lips playfully and asked, “And… what are you going to tell her?” Emily shook her head and replied, “Well, I’ll let you know when I have an answer. So far, pretty good” Em was going to say “don’t you think,” but stopped herself when she saw the time. It was 11:11 and she continued speaking, changing her train of thought saying, “Quick y/n, it’s 11:11, make a wish?” 

y/n titled her head to the side and asked, “What?” Emily moved forward took y/n’s hands in hers and said, “close your eyes and make a wish, quick.” y/n did as she was told and closed her eyes. She scrunched her face in concentration as she made a wish. y/n opened her eyes and said, “Well I did it. I haven’t done that since I was a kid.” Em smiled and said, “I’m kind of neurotic about it. Like a superstition. If I see it’s 11:11, I have to make a wish.” y/n nodded and they stood for a moment before Prentiss asked, “So, what did you wish for.” y/n chuckled and replied, “Come on now Em. you know if you say your wish out loud it doesn’t come true.” Prentiss smiled and said, “Well now I’m interested, how about you write it out for me?” y/n felt her chest constrict with excitement and apprehension. Could she? She wanted to, desperately, but it was so fast, too fast for someone like Emily. y/n looked at the woman she’d been brave enough to ask out and it was like she already knew. Em gave her a reassuring nod, and y/n moved back to their table. She pulled out a pen and wrote on her palm. y/n took a deep breath before placing the pen back in her purse and lifting her hand. 

The room was dark, the lights low as the light on the ceiling reflected off several disco balls. Emily had to lean in a bit to read the all-caps, slightly smudged: WILL YOU GO HOME WITH ME? Prentiss felt her heart swell, as she nodded her head. It was fast, yes, but it also felt right for the first time in so, so very long, Emily had waited for that, and she knew now was the time. y/n was smiling now and it wasn’t until she put her hand down that Em noticed that her nails were cut short. She moved in again and kissed y/n, her tongue sliding over y/n’s lower lip. y/n let her in, sucking in air while she could before their mouths closed around each other in a more passionate kiss. y/n let out a hum as they parted. She was half-breathless taking in air as she said, “How about we get out of here?” Em nodded, pecking y/n on the nose before taking her hand. They both grabbed their things from the table. They stepped out the door just as Teenage Dream started playing. Wish on hand, Em and y/n moved toward Em’s car, ready to find a place just for them. A place that was accepting and forgiving unlike how life had been for them before. Together, they could make that place.

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[a-timely-problem]

Emily: "You don't choose who you fall in love with"

JJ, a repressed bisexual: "Watch me motherfucker"

[five-bi-five-mind]

request where you’re rossi’s daughter and work for the BAU and you and emily start dating but keep it a secret until you get hurt on the job and she won’t leave your side and saying that she loves you and when you wake up she kisses you in front of the team and everyone is like, “yes!!” and rossi is just confused

Overprotective

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x fem!Reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt & Comfort

Words: 7k+

Summary: Ever since you and Emily entered a relationship, she got a little too protective of you. It didn't help that she was also your boss, but still you didn't love that she was holding you back from doing your job. It also didn't help that your father figure worked with you, that was two people holding you back from your job. So when you finally put your foot down with Emily and got out in the field once more, none of you expected what would happen next...

Warnings: Blood mention; hospital scenes; mentions of car accidents; mentions of head trauma.

A/N: I'm so bad at descriptions... Anyways, this is my own take on the request. And also proud of myself for kinda posting three fics back to back. This one is a lil late but still one a day so far. Yayyyy 1k celebration continues lol

Emily was an overworrier. She always had been, but when it came to you.. well, she took things to a whole new level.

To say she was protective of you was an understatement and honestly it caused some tension in your relationship. She had been in the BAU far longer than you, but you were an agent too and had been for a few years now. Either way, even if Emily was your girlfriend, in the workplace she treated you like a rookie. 

Most of the team just thought she was hard on you. No one really knew that you two were a little more than colleagues. It hasn’t even been long since you two realized you had feelings for each other, but as soon as you did everything just clicked. You both fell fast and hard to say the least. 

And in that time Emily got more and more protective. There were some curious eyes, people had their suspicions. One person in particular changed the way he looked at your interactions and any time he was near, it made your palms sweat and your stomach twist. Rossi was always one to keep a close eye on you. He was protective too, just like Emily, if not even more so. It wasn’t like you could blame either of them though. 

Rossi was the closest thing to a father you ever knew; he watched you grow up and make your way to your position at the BAU. He never pulled strings, he never asked for favors. Rossi made it clear that you earned this position and everyone who worked with you saw just how true that was. So of course, he was a proud and protective man when it came to you. Just as Emily was a proud and protective girlfriend.

But as you and Emily got closer you could tell it piqued his interest. He would linger in a room if you two were left behind by the rest of the team. He'd stop and peek around a corner if he saw Emily get a little too close when she needed to discuss a case. You weren’t blind either, you were trained to notice things and you definitely noticed the way his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on.

He even asked you about it once, approaching you with innocent curiosity to which you tried your best to shrug off.

His question was simple, he had you trapped in a car as he was driving you home so his timing was perfect. You literally couldn’t avoid him without jumping out. So when he said “do you want to tell me what’s going on between you and Emily?”  All you could think to answer was “it’s complicated” and, yeah, that was true. 

Luckily for you he just gave you a skeptical “alright, kid.” Before turning his attention back to the road. The amount of relief you felt when he didn’t pry any further was immense. 

You told Emily that night over the phone that he questioned you and she tried her best to keep her distance from you in public ever since. The overprotectiveness was still there, but so was this awkward silence that happened whenever another member of the team was alone with the two of you.

Not only was Emily’s overprotective nature a problem, but now so was all this secretiveness. Something which you point blank told Emily needed to change. She was hesitant, worried about how it may look for both of you, but especially you. The man who raised you was on your team and now you were dating the boss. Yeah, some people might point to nepotism, but your work spoke for itself. Plus, the team knows and respects you enough to understand that wasn’t the case. 

Emily still refused and insisted you both wait a bit longer, to which you begrudgingly agreed. You didn’t love being a secret but you also weren’t about to leave the woman you were head over heels for just because of a tricky situation. 

So when you agreed to wait you still let Emily know you both couldn’t hide forever. Her overprotective nature would get her busted, or Rossi would see something he shouldn’t, or hell maybe another member of the BAU would put the pieces together. Both of you were, after all, surrounded by profilers. It was everyone’s job to be perceptive. 

Emily still exuded confidence when she said she was sure it would happen on both of your terms. Of course, not everything is that simple. Especially not after today. 

—————————————————————-

This case was brutal. Many people had gotten injured in their past pursuit of the unsub and each time the unsub slipped away. The team had been on this case longer than most and was following as best they could. 

You were deep in this case too, following every development and giving your insight as best you could. Emily was not happy. She insisted you stay back at the police station you were helping rather than be out in the field. Even more, she had tried to convince you to stay all the way back at Quantico, but of course that wasn't going to fly. You won that fight by convincing Emily if you stayed back her exaggerated concern for your safety would be evident and people would get suspicious. She was frustrated, but she agreed. 

But even then as you two made your way to the precinct for this case, you both argued back and forth. Emily begged you to stay still and work behind the scenes, but you weren’t going to do that when the rest of the team was putting themselves in direct danger. That included both Emily and Rossi. 

“It’s not like you wouldn’t be helping! We need a member there, to keep an eye on what comes in.” Emily was so stubbornly insistent. 

“Okay, but that’s what the general police force is for.” You tried your best to stand your ground. “I’m going out in the field with the rest of you, Emily. I’m tired of being sidelined, because you don’t think I’m capable.” 

“It’s not that!” Emily’s voice was raised as she tried to defend her position. Lucky for the both of you, this fight escalated in the privacy of your own hotel room. One that you very sneakily and strategically booked right next to Emily and no one else. “Even Rossi would say this is a bad idea.”

“Don’t bring Rossi into this! Of course, he’d say that he’s almost as bad as you are.” Saying Rossi would back anything up for Emily was just another sign that your girlfriend and your father figure were way too protective of you. It was starting to get very old very fast. “You know, Emily, this whole protective girlfriend thing is really not working out if it’s also interfering with my work here as part of the team.” 

“What are you saying?” Emily looked at you with skepticism in her eyes. You knew you were taking this argument one step further, but you couldn’t help it. 

“I’m saying that if we’re to have a relationship this has to be an equal partnership.” Emily was full on glaring at you now, but you weren’t finished. “We can’t have that if you shield me from everything like a child!” 

“I am not shielding you!” Emily threw back with clear frustration written all over your face. 

“Yes, Emily, you are.” 

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” Emily’s frustration dropped immediately at that and you almost felt sorry for the way you were putting your foot down. She looked vulnerable at that moment and genuinely concerned. You knew she was; you knew the thought of anything happening to you killed her because it did the same for you when you thought about her being in direct danger. Still, you were part of the team and you needed to pull your weight. You were not going to be sidelined just because you were the boss’ girlfriend. 

“I know that,” you sighed. “But you have to trust that I’m capable of taking care of myself while we work. It’s part of the job. I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t.” 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“Then what is it? Really, Emily, what is it?” You felt that frustration bubble up in you again. “If it’s about worrying if I’d get hurt, don’t you think I have that same worry about you? But I don’t try to convince you to stay back. If you really trust my abilities as part of this team you wouldn’t be so up in arms about the idea of me actively working on this case. So do you? Do you really trust me as a member of this team?” 

“I do, but…” Emily trailed off. That “but” said it all for you and you just nodded. It told you she didn’t think you were as capable as the rest of the team, as skilled. You worked your ass off to get here and even your own girlfriend didn’t think you were ready for this position. That stung. 

“I think you should go,” you nodded towards the door to your hotel room. “I need time alone.”

Emily went to speak but stopped herself when you gave her a pleading look to at least respect your need for space. She looked almost like a sad puppy with her head hung low as she walked out the door. 

It wasn’t a great way to end the night, and the tension between you two was certainly palpable throughout the rest of the day. That is, until the accident happened. 

—————————————————————

No one saw it coming. How could they? The MO of the unsub was calculation, even when backed into a corner. So when the team got so close they found the unsubs home and you got the call to come quick, no one expected him to take off full speed in a hijacked car. And what was worse was the lack of eyes on where he went as he sped through a suburb to escape. 

You were riding shotgun while Alvez swerved the car around and whipped through the streets upon being informed that the unsub was on the run. What you were looking for was a man on foot, not even aware of his hot wiring abilities. So when a car rammed straight into the passenger side of Alvez’s SUV at top speed, shock flooded both your systems right before everything went dark.  

When you regained consciousness, if you could even really say that you did, all you heard were sirens and yelling. Hands were yanking at you and with each moment they jostled you, sharp pain shot through your entire body. There were sounds of gurgled coughs that hit your ears closer than the yelling that surrounded you and eventually, as you felt warm liquid drip from your lips, you realized those sounds were coming from you. The taste of iron in your mouth mixed with the horrible pounding of your head was making you nauseous.

Your eyes cracked open, but everything around you was a blur. You managed to turn your head, wincing in pain at that simple movement, and saw who was tugging at you. Even if your vision was severely hindered, you knew who it was.

When the accident happened, most of the team wasn’t far behind, leaving everyone chasing the unsub watch helplessly as he smashed into the car Alvez drove. When that happened, Emily made a mad dash out of her own SUV straight to where you were. Now, Emily was trying her best to tug the seat belt strapped to your body, her hands trying to check your whole torso. Your eyes moved to her hands, your head lulling further down with your gaze than you meant to move it as you tried to look. The blurred form of her fingertips were covered in a crimson red and it just confirmed your suspicion that you were losing blood. 

“Hold on, just– Just hold on, okay?” Emily’s voice felt like an echo in a tunnel, so far away from you. Still, though it only faintly hit your ears, you could hear her worry. Your heart squeezed, knowing that you were somehow the cause. You tried to will your hands to cover hers, not sure if they were actually moving for you like you wished. 

Emily stopped her frantic check of your body. “Help is coming soon, okay?” Her hands pressed to your face, your own blood smeared to your cheeks as she held your head up for you. “Stay with me, you have to stay with me. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

The words felt like they were getting further and further away, even if you were aware of the fingertips pressed to your cheeks. Your eyes squinted, as if you thought that would clear the fog that clouded your vision. It didn’t, but still you tried to hear Emily and to will yourself to listen. 

At this point, Emily’s hands were the only thing that was keeping your head from falling back. The strength to keep your eyes open and your head up was way too much for you. Your limbs were feeling heavier too, and your body was feeling cold, as if your veins turned to ice. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Emily’s voice was pleading. “Keep those eyes on me, okay love? Keep them on me.” They were slipping; you were slipping. You could feel the heaviness of your eyelids as you gave all your remaining strength to keep them open. 

In the distance, you thought maybe you could hear the sound of heavy footsteps rushing up towards the both of you. Hands were on you again, this time rougher, as the ones on your cheeks were pried away.

“Ma’am, step back,” a voice ordered. You didn’t hear a reply, the horrible jostling of your body had another anguished groan rip from your lips. A sob followed, but you thought it couldn’t possibly be you. Your body didn’t feel like it was capable of doing anything else other than succumb to the pain. Before you could feel your body be fully removed from the mangled car, your eyes slipped shut. The last thought you had was of Emily’s request and your guilt for not being able to fulfill it. Consciousness quickly slipped from your body the minute your eyes fell shut, your head finally falling back. 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was a mess. The way you looked, so broken and bleeding in that car had been forever burned into her brain. The last conversation she had with you was replaying through her mind as her foot anxiously tapped on the hospital’s dull white floors. 

Half the team sat next to her. Each one of them looked the exact same as her, just as worried. Rossi was going through many different stages of emotions. Anger at what had happened, denial that you could even possibly be teetering on the edge of death, and then worry that he might never see your bright smile again. 

The car had been totaled, your side crunched in with many different injures scattering your body. When the paramedics came they dragged you away so fast without giving Emily the chance to come with you. Luckily, Alvez wasn’t too badly injured, a mild concussion and some cuts from the broken glass. Minimal stitches needed, so Emily didn’t have to worry about it. It was you that she was spiraling over. She had never hopped in her car and sped faster than she did today. The worst thoughts were going through her head all the while. 

What would happen if you died before she got to the hospital? What would happen if you died on the table? The worry that ensnared her made her hands tremble as she sat and kept rubbing anxiously at her knuckles. 

Your blood still stained her clothes too, but she had long washed it off her fingertips. Tara had recommended she get a change of clothes from the hotel, but she had adamantly refused. To most of the team, they thought she was just feeling guilty for giving in to your insistence on being in the field. Although, how anyone, even Reid, could see this incident coming, would’ve been impossible. 

Another good thing, if Emily could even call it good, was that the accident incapacitated the unsub. This easily allowed Reid and JJ to apprehend him and make the arrest. Meanwhile, Emily was busy running to you and desperately trying to find some possible way to help you from dying right there in front of her. There was a lot of blood, a lot of glass that shattered and slashed through your skin on almost all of your body. From small cuts, to large ones, from the few moments she had with you, it looked pretty brutal. Not to mention, now that someone had talked to her once she arrived at the hospital, that there was internal bleeding and you had quite the head injury. 

They had rushed you into surgery the minute the EMTs made it in with your broken body. Emily was informed of everything first, then Alvez since he was already at the hospital getting checked out. Maybe about twenty minutes had gone by since Emily was informed about everything before Rossi came bursting in. 

Rossi was definitely on a warpath when he arrived too, his worry for you turning into anger. At first he blamed Alvez for not being a better vigilant driver, then Emily convinced him to turn his anger towards her. After all, she was the one who let you go out in the field, but then when Tara came in during his tirade towards Emily, she was the key to keeping the peace. She was surprisingly calming for everyone that waited at the hospital for you. With Rossi, she redirected his anger towards the unsub until he settled down into his quiet worry that he was currently exhibiting now. Then, with Emily, Tara just urged her to sit down before sitting right next to her.

When Tara saw the way Emily was angrily rubbing at the skin of her knuckles, she placed a gentle hand over Emily’s. “I know,” Tara spoke softly. “But she’s a fighter, you know that.”

Emily looked up at Tara as she spoke, her eyes searching the other woman’s. Tara looked back at her with a knowing look, but one that also showed conviction for her own words. 

All Emily could muster at that was a nod, but her words did help. Emily knew you were strong, even if she was doing a shitty job of showing you that she thought that. Truth is, she knew deep down that no one could have guessed that this would happen. She knew you were right, she couldn’t keep shielding you from everything if you were part of her team. It wasn’t like she could’ve ever tried to shield you from this. It could’ve happened to anyone, not just a member of her team. The worst part was that, of course, it had to happen to you. 

Even if she knew she couldn’t shield you from what happened, even if she understood that it could’ve been anyone’s car that the unsub rammed head first into, there was still a harrowing part of her that told her this was her fault. If she had listened to you and put you in the field maybe you would’ve been fine. It surely would guarantee you were in a different place than that damned car. You’d be with Reid and JJ, two other capable members of the team, and not in a car completely oblivious to the dangers that hit you head on before you even arrived. Emily knew she couldn’t think like that, but she couldn’t help that she did. Usually she was rational, collected, she had to be in her position. Except, she never thought she would fall for a co-worker and she certainly didn’t predict her overbearing need to protect you that came with all of it.

But now, as Emily sat and helplessly waited for any updates on you, she began to bargain with herself. If you pulled out of this Emily would never stop you from going out in the field again. It was clear that her actions to keep you safe by keeping you behind were futile, so if you were in the field at least you would be with other members of the team. Capable members who had your back the same way you wanted to have theirs. To agree with you and let you go out, if anything, would stop you from ever looking at her with such hurt and disappointment ever again. That look, when you kicked her out of your hotel room the night before, haunted her.

Emily refused to believe that could possibly be the last conversation you had with her, the last look she got from you. Usually, you looked at her with such love and joy, but this was different. Emily had spent that whole night, barely sleeping, her thoughts wrapped up in the way you looked so utterly betrayed. If that was her last conversation with you, how would you ever know that she did trust you, that she did know you were strong and capable? It was just that you were the most meaningful thing she’s ever had in her life and she was still learning how to handle that. But she would do better if you pulled through. You had to pull through so she could get the chance to do better.

Luckily for Emily, she was pulled out of her thoughts by a doctor approaching the group. Emily shot up immediately when she realized she was about to be approached with news on your condition. Her body stood rigid, her hands still trembling and balled into fists at her side. Tara put a reassuring hand on Emily’s shoulder and Emily took a deep, grounding breath, able to calm herself a bit with Tara’s supportive presence.

“How is she?” Emily’s voice sounded raw as she spoke. Tears hadn’t been shed since she was ripped from your crumpled body, as she had stopped herself before she entered the hospital. Yet she was still a wreck with how many emotions were flowing through her and with how hard she was being on herself. 

“She’s stable,” the doctor reassured. “We found the cause of the bleeding and now she’s in recovery.”

“Oh, thank god,” Emily breathed out. It felt like her whole body deflated, all the fear she was holding finally washing away. There was still guilt and worry there, but now she had more reassurance that you would be okay. 

“Can we see her?” Tara spoke up, her eyes flicking to Emily for a brief second before they turned back to the doctor. Emily looked back at Tara, knowing that Tara was asking the question for Emily rather than herself or the rest of the team. So, it seemed your worries were right, at least one member of the team noticed the two of you. Although, Emily didn’t really care at this moment. They could all know after this, Emily wasn’t ready to hide her care for you, not when she almost lost you. Screw anyone who was watching, Emily just needed to see you and somehow, Tara understood that. 

“Soon,” the doctor replied. “She’s being set up with a room. She’ll need to stay and be monitored for at least a few days.” 

Tara nodded at this. “Thank you, doctor,” she responded before turning back to Emily. “I’m going to go get you a change of clothes and something to eat for all of us, okay?”

“You don’t have to-” Emily was cut off by Tara’s gentle hand placed to her forearm. 

“I don’t think you want to leave right now.” Tara gave Emily a knowing smile. “Go tell Rossi and Alvez the news, I think I saw Rossi switch to pacing down that hall,” she pointed to where Rossi had waltzed off to. “And then text me with her room number. I’ll be back.”

“Thank you,” Emily whispered. Tara just nodded and turned, leaving Emily alone to grab the two others. When the news was broken to Rossi, his whole demeanor changed. Just like Emily, all the fear fled his body, and he was left to sit next to Emily and wait. 

It was silent between them all as they waited for an update on when they could see you. Emily was trying her best to sit as still as possible, what with Rossi glancing over at her every once in a while. His gaze was scrutinizing now, rather than angry, but Emily still wondered if he blamed her for the position you were in. 

When they were finally told they could go see you, Emily didn’t hide her anxious scurrying. It wasn’t a race, but if anyone who didn’t know them saw the way both Emily and Rossi hurried down the hospital halls, Alvez in tow, they’d think they were competing for first place. Rossi got their first, Emily backing off since she figured she already did enough to anger him for one day. After all, he was practically your father, he should be the one to confirm you were okay first. 

As he got into the room, Emily heard him take a deep breath before exhaling in relief. Emily, however, did not feel any relief when her eyes settled on your unconscious form. There were angry bruises across your skin on any part of your body that was visible to her. Bandages wrapped around random parts of your arms, some small ones stuck to your face. The way you looked almost lifeless had Emily swallowing hard. It was only the steady rhythm of your heart monitor that reassured her, you were still alive. 

Rossi seemed to be in way better spirits as he pulled up a hospital chair to your bed and placed his hand on yours. “That’s my girl,” he said to your sleeping form. “Knew you were a fighter.” 

Emily’s heart clenched at the love he was showing for you. More guilt flooded her mind as she watched him look at you with all the love a father would have for his daughter. Emily swallowed hard again, her nerves spiking for some reason as she took a few steps closer to your sleeping form. 

Alvez was kind enough to pull a chair closer to your hospital bed for both himself and Emily. They both sat at the opposite side of Rossi and Emily couldn’t help but keep her eyes glued to him for a minute. Part of her wondered, as she watched him gently stroke the top of your hand, if he’d ever accept her as your partner now. There was a suspicion he held for her since you started at the BAU and got closer to Emily that made her nervous to go public. She trusted Rossi with her life and she knew he felt the same, but did he trust her with you? Would he ever after this? 

Her eyes fell back down to your face, noticing a lock of your hair fallen on your cheek. With a shaking hand, Emily brushed the hair from your face, her fingertips brushing your skin as she did. Your face twitched for a moment and Emily retreated her hand, her body perking up. This was the first time you’ve moved. Another reminder that you were pulling through, Emily cherished that tiny twitch of your cheek like it held all the meaning in the world. No one else seemed to notice, but this small movement made Emily think touch might be the key to having you open your eyes. And, while Emily understood you needed time to wake up from the whole ordeal, she also so desperately needed to see you open her eyes. 

Unfortunately for her, you didn’t wake up any time soon. The remainder of the evening, you stayed asleep, something that the doctors reassured all of you was absolutely to be expected. For hours, Emily held one hand while Rossi held the other. Eventually, Tara came back with a change of clothes, to which Emily begrudgingly agreed to rip herself away from you and change. They were also all given food, to which Rossi and Alvez gladly took, but Emily refused. Tara opted to just leave it by her, in hopes she would feel up to eating soon. 

When it was becoming quite late, Tara, Alvez, and even Rossi planned to return to the hotel. However, Emily insisted on staying right there, in that chair, for the rest of the night. There was no way in hell you were going to wake up alone in that hospital room, she decided. Tara urged Emily to reconsider, saying she needed rest, but Emily insisted she would be fine sleeping right there on that hospital chair. Rossi remained quiet the whole time, eyeing the two of them discussing Emily’s decision, before Tara finally gave in and left with the others.

Emily didn’t really sleep, her eyes were glued to you the whole time. Her hand left yours, only to stroke your cheek as you slept. She whispered different things to you, talking about how much she loved you and how badly she felt. It was heartbreaking for her to sit here with you, even if you were going to be okay, there was still part of Emily that wouldn’t trust that until she could look into your eyes and hear your voice. 

When the sun rose and you still hadn’t opened your eyes, Emily’s anxiety was through the roof. A doctor eventually came in to check on you and as he did, Emily couldn’t stop the flood of questions she forced onto him about your condition. She was reassured over and over again this was to be expected, you’d wake up when you were ready, and that you were just fine as far as they knew. What she didn’t like hearing was the last comment, “we’ll know more when she’s awake.” As if there was some hidden threat to your health and wellbeing that none of the doctors knew yet. She dwelled on that thought for far too long. So long, in fact, that when afternoon came and the team all filed in to see you, she was still chewing on that piece of information.

Rossi, upon arrival, sat right back where he was the night before. This time a little more relaxed, his hands cradling a cup of coffee rather than your own like he did the night before. He seemed more confident, less shaken. Emily wished she could say the same about herself. 

When Tara came in to see you, she stopped next to Emily, her hand placed gently on yours with a pitying smile on her face as she looked down at your unconscious form. “You need to wake up soon,” she whispered to you. “Emily’s worried sick and I know you wouldn’t want her to worry.” Emily watched, knowing that you probably didn’t hear any of those words, but hearing Tara say them gave her an odd sense of reassurance that it was okay to be more open about her feelings for you. Maybe if Tara knew, the others did too. And if they didn’t, well at least it seemed like Tara was in Emily’s corner. 

“As for you,” Tara turned towards Emily. “Have you left this room?”

Emily looked up at Tara sheepishly. She was busted. Of course she hadn’t left. What if she missed it when you finally opened your eyes? Or worse. What if she missed it if your condition unexpectedly took a turn? 

“I’m sure you haven’t slept either,” Tara continued. “You need to at least eat something and maybe also walk around a little. It will be good for you.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Emily insisted. “Not yet.”

“She’ll be right here when you get back.” This time it was Rossi who spoke. Emily was shocked at this, he hadn’t really said much to her since he blew up when you were in critical condition. Emily didn’t blame him for that, but she did think it would take awhile before he felt okay about her again. “She’s okay now, Emily. I wouldn’t have left if she wasn’t.” 

Rossi’s words hit Emily hard. It seemed like he knew more too, but Emily didn’t question it right now either. He would know eventually, especially after her behavior surrounding this ordeal. “Okay,” Emily’s voice broke as she spoke. “Okay, I could use some coffee.” 

Rossi nodded his approval and Emily stood on shaky legs. Her whole being screamed at her not to leave, but she knew she would be no help to anyone if she passed out from exhaustion. Plus, it did feel good to finally stretch her body after being hunched over you in that uncomfortable chair overnight. 

“But if anything happens,” Emily turned to speak again, “you call me immediately.” 

“Of course,” Tara reassured and Emily willed her legs again to move as she exited your room. 

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily hated to admit they were all right. It felt good to stretch her legs and as she made her way back from the hospital cafeteria, the taste of warm coffee was comforting. She was already exhausted, practically running on empty before any of the team had returned to your hospital room. Hopefully, the coffee would give her a much needed boost. Or, at the very least, keep her awake long enough to see you open your eyes again. She really hoped it would happen soon. At this point, with each passing minute, it was getting more painful to see your unconscious body lying barely patched together in that hospital room. 

What Emily didn’t expect was that she didn’t have to wait much longer. As she rounded the corner to your hospital room, she heard louder, more animated talking than when the team first arrived to see you. She thought it was curious and her steps hastened as she made her way to the room. When she got to the doorway, she stopped in her tracks, her coffee slipping from her hands. 

The coffee hit the floor with a splatter, causing everyone to pause and look over to her, but she didn’t care at all. Right in front of her, she finally saw you, barely sitting up, but still in a different position than she had left you. More importantly, as she took in your form, her eyes moving from where your body had shifted all the way up to your face, she saw them. Curious, open eyes peering back at her. The eyes of the woman she loved so much, finally open and looking straight at her.

“Oh, thank god,” Emily whispered, taking long strides towards you. She practically pushed Reid out of the way to get to you, and then Alvez too, who was standing right at your side. “You’re awake,” Emily exhaled as she stopped right next to your bed. Her body was moving without her even thinking. Trembling fingers pressed themselves to either side of your face, much like they had when she found you trapped and bleeding in that car. This time, with gentle care, despite all her haste, she turned your face to hers and pressed her lips against yours for a long, but gentle kiss. 

“You’re awake,” she mumbled against your lips. “You’re awake, you’re awake.” Her lips pressed to yours again and you weakly kissed back. As much as you wanted to kiss her with as much emotion as she was giving you, you were still a bit dazed from everything. Still, relief flooded your body when her lips pressed to yours. The first thought when you woke, and were told of what happened, was how angry Emily might be. After all, she had insisted you stayed back to keep from getting hurt. And here you were, in a hospital room, recovering from a major surgery as a direct result of getting hurt on the job. 

Emily left another lingering kiss on your lips. “I love you,” she whispered between soft kisses. “I’m so sorry, I love you.”

A throat was cleared in the room and Emily snapped out of her stupor. She pulled back, guilty eyes looking over to Rossi, but hands never leaving you, just dropping to rest on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Emily repeated, this time to the whole room. “It’s just-”

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” you interrupted Emily before she could spiral. Your voice was hoarse as you spoke, trying your best to clear it, you knew you had some apologies to make. “I should’ve listened and stayed behind. I am so sorry, Emily.”

At this point, you honestly weren’t going to hide anymore of your emotions from the group. The cat was already out of the bag, what with Emily striding in, kissing you, and declaring her love for you in front of everyone. Plus, you were stuck hooked up to an IV and other odd wires, so you couldn’t move. It was rude to kick everyone out of the hospital room so you two could talk, but this couldn’t wait. She had to know how sorry you were.

“I know I worried you,” you continued. 

Emily was shaking her head furiously. “No, it’s not your fault and you’re right. I’m too overprotective.”

“That’s an understatement,” you heard Alvez snort from the back of the room. 

Emily turned back to glare, the tension in the room leaving when a few others chimed in with a chuckle. Now that you were awake, it was like everyone was able to breathe out. You seemed fine, the doctor that Tara grabbed when she noticed your eyes flutter open, promised you were fine. Emily was probably going to need a lot of convincing before she could truly trust that you were fine. Especially since she was out getting coffee when the doctor came, but it seemed some of her tension was even finally leaving. 

The whole group talked for a little bit, with Emily seated by your side again. Her hand gently and carefully trailed over your arm as all of you spoke. When requesting water, both Emily and Rossi jumped at the chance to get it for you. It was honestly a little endearing to see them act like this, but you couldn’t stop the roll of your eyes when Rossi beat her to get up and fetch a nurse for your request. 

When water was brought to you, Emily helped you sit up, a strong hand on your back as you winced while trying to move. The flash of pain in your face didn’t go unnoticed by Emily and a large frown was written on her face as she brought the cup of water to your lips. Rossi stayed silent, his eyes glued to the two of you, switching back and forth from watching your face and Emily’s.

“I figured it out yesterday,” he finally broke his own silence. “So, you and Emily are together then?”

You nodded hesitantly, Emily’s hand withdrawing from you for a moment in hesitation. 

“I knew there was something. How long have you two…” Rossi trailed off, letting either of you put a label to what you two were, not wanting to be too presumptuous himself.

“Oh!” Reid chimed in. “We have bets on- oof!” He was cut off by a strong elbow to the rib from Alvez, effectively shutting himself up. 

“Maybe about a month since I started at the BAU,” you said sheepishly, looking back at Rossi like you were a child who just got busted for cutting class. In the back of the room, you heard some whispering between some of the team, a couple of disappointed voices in who was wrong and who was right. It didn’t matter what they were saying though, both you and Emily had your eyes glued to Rossi, waiting for any sort of reaction.

His brow furrowed for a minute, a small frown playing on his lips. It was embarrassing that the heart monitor was giving away the increase in your heart rate, but no one seemed to comment.

“I wish you would’ve told me sooner,” Rossi finally sighed. “But if anyone were to date you,” he looked up at the two of you, “I’m glad it’s you, Emily. You’ll take good care of her.”

Emily nodded, her hand squeezing your arm where it rested. She looked down at you and you met her eyes, seeing all of the love she had for you fill them the instant they met. It seemed that everyone had approved of the two of you. Emily honestly felt a little silly and even more guilty about trying to keep the relationship a secret, but she also had never felt more relief in her life.

You were okay. The team and, more importantly, your father figure, knew about the two of you. Rossi was right, she would take care of you. She would make sure she didn’t hold you back, and she knew she still had some making up to do from that last fight in your hotel room, but she would do better. She had the second chance and you didn’t seem upset about it all. Instead, you both were just relieved to have each other. When you were healed and ready to get back to work, you both would talk, but Emily promised herself she would find a way to trust your capability a little more. You, meanwhile, promised yourself you would find more patience and understanding for her worry over you. 

This whole situation was terrifying for everyone involved, but you and Emily had to admit that you grew from it. As you regained your strength, your body wasn’t the only thing healing and strengthening. Your relationship was healing from the fight too and your love for each other, now that it was out in the open, was stronger than ever.

Taglist: @geekyandgay98 @desperate-gay @finleyfray @natashamaximoff69 @high--power @demonicbaby666 @storiesofsvu

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[mx-loar-tev]

If I had money I would hire some thug to find the producers or whatever head honchos that got to decide that making some character or another canonically queer was a bad idea for whatever bullshit reasons and the thug would just shake them like a fruit tree until the guys in charge would admit being homophobic assholes and they would promise to let writers make same-gender characters fall in love with each other if the comedians had enough chemistry, but also to include more diverse identities. The thug would force them to write it all down and sign it.

If I could do that a few times, imagine how different TV shows would become.

If I had money I would spend it all to please the gays and queers.

[youbutstupid]

CBS: JJ loves Reid and Emily and Morgan have a crush on eachother as seen in a season 2 deleted scene

Fans: no, die <3

CBS: oh okay

[0o-junebug-o0]

My criminal minds sexuality headcanons (for the characters I’ve met so far)

[carisc4pshaw]

Hidden hearts and Hickey’s

In which Elle and JJ have been secretly dating for half a year and Elle comes to work not knowing she has hickeys on her which sparks the team to try and guess who Elle has been seeing. Elle gets injured during the case and doesn’t tell JJ. (18+ for smut)

word count: 4.4k

tags: fluff, smut (later on) , jelle, hickeys, dating, romance, secret dating, flirting, date night, love, staying at each other for the night, hotels, on a case, new relationship, team scenes, bi spencer reid, lesbian emily prentiss, lesbian elle greenaway, bi jennifer jareau, bath, cuddling, physical touch

Warning: foreplay (teasing), fingering, dirty talk

notes: I hope yall enjoy this is my first fic im posting here, I’ll also be posting on ao3 where my other fics are posted. Let me know if you want dts on my posts.

———————————————————❦—————————————————

Elle and JJ had been up late, later than usual when it was likely they’d have a case to work the next day but the women were watching a movie and after that finished Elle was quick to put on the next one claiming they had barely watched anything since they were making out and she needed something to fall asleep too. JJ knew it was nonsense, the woman just wasn’t tired yet but she was and she couldn’t be bothered to argue that to her after their night snuggled up together.

—

Elle groaned when she heard both her and JJ’s phones ring.

“If that’s work shoot me,” Elle covered her head with her pillow.

“Don’t say things like that,” JJ answered her phone, “It’s Hotch,” she mouthed to her.

Elle’s phone rang again, she got out of bed taking the phone with her into the next room. Calling her was Gideon.

She sighed as she walked back into the bedroom, “I’m tired I want to sleep,” she pouted at her girlfriend.

“I’m sorry the serial killers didn’t take a break, today babe, get ready we have 30 minutes till round table.”

Elle pulled a black long-sleeve top with a scooped neck out of the closet with some grey suit pants and black boots and JJ took the pants she wore yesterday with one of Elle’s cream v-neck sweaters that was similar to one of hers.

Elle packed her makeup bag, pyjamas, two changes of clothes, a book, glasses and her journal into her overnight bag having no idea how long they’d be there. She didn’t usually like going to work with no makeup on, and the eye bags weren’t going to look good that morning especially due to the lack of sleep the last few nights but they needed to leave.

JJ packed the same things as Elle minus some of the things she didn’t have with her. She hoped no one would realise that most of her clothes were Elle’s.

When they arrived they went through the bullpen and straight to the round table. No one was even there yet.

“You lied to me,” Elle frowned, “We had longer didn’t we?”

“If I had told you longer you would have tried to get back in bed,” JJ rolled her eyes.

“How are you so pretty you didn’t sleep long either,” Elle groaned putting her head down on the table.

Once the rest of the team had joined them, JJ got up to present and Elle finally sat up. It was only once she was standing at the front looking at Elle she noticed a faint hickey in the middle of her neck and a more prominent one on the top part of her breast that wasn’t quite covered by her top.

JJ looked into Elle’s eyes then moved her head down to see if Elle would get the hint and look but she didn’t the older woman was just looking at her blankly and confused.

Derek picked up on the look JJ was giving her and looked down at her chest, “Long night Elle?”

“Huh?” Elle looked down at her chest and then around the room at her team. She looked down at the table as a faint blush covered her cheeks.

“Elle’s got a boyfriend?” Spencer asked.

“No, Elle dates women she’s got a girlfriend, right Elle?” Penelope smiled clasping her hands together, “I’m so happy for you sweet!”

“No I… Isn’t there a case? JJ? Talk.”

“Elle you can tell us we’re your friends,” Spencer said.

“Leave her alone, we don’t have much time,” Hotch said before looking at her and pointing at the mark, “Cover that.”

“Yes sir,” Elle mumbled looking up at him but meeting Gideon and Rossi’s stares, she groaned quietly looking back down they were both like father figures to her. How did both her and JJ not notice it was there?

JJ explained their case before Hotch let them know that wheels up would be in 15 minutes. Once everyone filtered out Elle and JJ stayed behind.

“I’m sorry Elle, I didn’t even notice we were so rushed this morning,” JJ played with a curl at the end of Elle’s hair that she didn’t have time to straighten which the younger woman was happy about, she loved Elle’s curls.

“What are you sorry about?” Spencer asked from the doorway making JJ and Elle jump apart from each other.

“Oh nothing, I just,” JJ paused trying to think of something believable, “I dropped her coffee on one of her files when we got here.”

“What didn’t you notice then?” Spencer asked.

“Genius go play nice with the others we will be out in a minute,” Elle gave him a warm smile.

—

“Guys, do you think maybe Elle is dating JJ?” Spencer asked the others while fiddling with a Rubix cube.

“I don’t think blondes are her type,” Emily said.

“What do you know?” Derek pointed at Emily.

“Elle and I hooked up in DC a long time ago,” Emily shrugged.

“Why does that mean she wouldn’t be with JJ maybe she doesn’t have a type,” Penelope stated.

“Elle likes blondes,” Derek said.

“And you know how?” Emily asked.

“We go out to bars together but before that she had turned me down for months.”

Garcia looked up at the small window that could be seen inside the room with the round table from the bullpen. It was a bad view but she could how close the two were and how JJ’s palm was resting on Elle’s face, “Guys,” she whispered pointing at the window, “Do you think they are?”

“I think you should give them some damn privacy,” Rossi spoke walking down the steps to where the team were standing.

“Do you know something?” Derek asked.

“Of course he does! Elle is like a daughter to him, tell us!” Penelope squealed.

“I know nothing and neither should you quit being gossips Hotch wants you on the jet,” he shook his head walking to the elevator.

“We could watch how they act with each other during the case?” Penelope suggested.

“If they want to keep it a secret chances are they will keep their usual domineering with each other hence why we haven’t noticed thus far. They share a room when we are on a case so they probably feel like they can go the day without any physical contact because once back at the hotel they can do as they please,” Spencer ‘observed.’

“Yeah we got that Genius,” Morgan ruffled his hair standing from Elle’s desk where he had perched himself.

“Emily and I will be next door to them, we could listen through the wall?” Penelope suggested.

“You by all means can do that PG but I won’t be it feels like we are breaking their trust and I do not want to hear something I don’t particularly want to hear,” Emily replied.

“You think they’ll have sex!” Penelope said rather loud causing a few people to look up from what they were doing and a blush to rise up Spencer’s neck and face.

“What are you guys talking about?” JJ asked as she and Elle came down the stairs, Elle’s hand resting over JJ’s shoulder.

“Nothing!”

“Well it’s not nothing since the whole floor just heard you,” Elle laughed but dropped it walking towards the elevator with JJ, the rest of them following.

—

The team, mainly Garcia observed JJ and Elle every time they were near each other whether it was just how they looked at each other as they spoke or the small touches they shared.

Once they had finished up for the day they took the SUVs to the hotel close by. Elle climbed out and went to the other side opening and holding the door open for JJ.

“Why thank you, what a gentlewoman,” JJ laughed, Elle joining in with her. She carried hers and JJ’s bags into the hotel as JJ held onto her arm.

At the reception desk the team checked into their rooms, “Could we have a bottle of champagne brought to our room in let’s say,” Elle paused to check her watch, “just over an hour please?”

“What are we celebrating?” JJ asked.

“6 months.”

“That’s today?” JJ frowned, “I’m sorry I forgot, I’ll make it up to you.”

Elle whispered in JJ’s ear, “I’m sure you will after dinner, I made a reservation and I plan on us drinking the champagne in the bath.”

JJ whispered back, “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

“What’s the whispering about dolls?” Penelope asked.

“Nothing,” JJ replied.

“A lot of nothing between you both recently sugar.”

“Sorry PG we need to get to the room I’m shattered,” Elle faked a yawn walking towards the elevator.

-

“What restaurant are we going to?” JJ asked flopping onto the bed as they entered the hotel room.

“The fanciest one I could find around here that was willing to seat two FBI agents last minute,” Elle perched next to her.

“Babe we have nothing fancy to wear.”

“You underestimate me,” Elle said taking a long satin cream skirt and light pink tight-fitted shirt from her overnight bag, “For you and mine is a surprise.”

“I love you,” JJ mumbled against Elle’s lips before kissing her.

JJ had her outfit on and was about to start her hair and makeup. The women took it in turns so they were never trying to do the same thing at once.

Elle stood from the small vanity in their room in just her underwear, her girlfriend was looking out of the window just while she waited for Elle to finish her last curl before she started. Elle crept up behind her, her hands sliding onto JJ’s hips gripping them firmly.

“Elle!” JJ shrieked placing a hand on her chest.

“Sorry baby, I’m sorry,” Elle moved her hands and used her arms to wrap around her in a hug from behind.

JJ held onto Elle’s arms for a few minutes both of them in silence before she turned to face as best she could, “Go get dressed.”

“Okay, one second,” Elle squeezed her a little tighter, “Now I will,” she let her go and went into the bathroom to change not wanting JJ to see her dress until they were both ready to leave.

JJ knocked on the bathroom door when she finished straightening her hair, “Babe are you alright?”

“Are you ready?” Elle asked back.

“Yeah I’m ready, are you?”

“Mhm, I’ve been waiting in here so you wouldn’t see my dress,” Elle said sliding the bathroom door open revealing the silky black skin-tight dress she had been waiting to show JJ.

“Wow baby,” JJ walked closer to her and kissed her lips, “You’re gorgeous.”

Elle blushed a little putting out her hand, “M’lady.”

JJ laughed taking Elle’s hand, “Let’s go.”

Their door hadn’t even closed properly before the door of the room beside them opened. Garcia poked her head out of the door looking them up and down.

“You guys are going out? I thought you were tired. Why aren’t Emily and I going to?”

“Leave them alone,” Emily called from inside the room.

“But Em look at them,” Penelope sulked as Emily came to the door, “They are so pretty.”

“Thanks, Pen,” Elle said and JJ just smiled at her, “We are just grabbing dinner, nothing fancy.”

“Nothing fancy? Sunshine have you seen what you’re both wearing?” Penelope pushed her glasses onto her face which had begun to fall down.

“What’s with the interrogating today?” Elle groaned, “We’ve got a reservation,” she placed her hand on the small of JJ’s back and they both walked in the direction of the elevator.

“They’re cute,” Emily shrugged.

“Do think she’s mad at me?” Penelope frowned.

“No, but you have been particularly stalker-y today, I know you just want them to be happy but you’re a gossip Pen. If they are together and haven’t told us there is obviously a reason.”

“They should trust us, we’re a team.”

“They could be separated if they told Strauss,” Emily said.

“Oh, right then we wouldn’t be a team.”

-

The restaurant Elle had picked was of course Italian, her favourite cuisine. Elle ordered a pasta dish and JJ ordered a pizza and they both shared each other’s food.

“It feels longer than six months,” JJ said.

“It does, I have loved every day a little bit more for the last six months,” Elle reached across the table holding her hand.

“They definitely know,” JJ said.

“I think we are going to have to say something after this case.”

“I love what we have with each other I wasn’t ready to share it yet,” JJ frowns.

“We don’t have to confirm anything yet if you aren’t ready.”

“But it’s silly not to it’s obvious they know.”

Elle just nodded running her fingertips on her hand.

The women finished dinner and headed back to the hotel hand in hand only letting each other go when they entered the hotel lobby. On the opposite side of the reception was a small bar area.

“Drink?” Elle asked JJ pointing over at the bar.

“Just one,” JJ smiled, “I want to take you back to our room,” she whispered.

Elle smirked, "Let's be quick then."

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” JJ said after they got their drinks leaving a discreet kiss on Elle’s cheek since Derek was across the bar flirting with two different women. “I’ll be two minutes don’t miss me too much,” She grabbed the key card and flashed her a smile before walking away, Elle watching her until she disappeared into the elevator.

“Is she good?”

“Excuse me?” Elle said turning to face the stool beside her where JJ was once sitting, the seat now taken by Derek.

“I know you and JJ are sleeping together baby girl,” Derek smirked.

“Who I sleep with is none of your business,” Elle sipped on her drink.

“You know who I sleep with,” Derek shrugged, “We are friends.”

Elle sighed, “Because you tell me, Derek.”

“You used to tell me everything.”

“Some things have to be kept a secret. If my partner doesn’t want to share something I will respect that.”

“So she’s your girlfriend?” Derek smiled, “Elle I want you to be happy if JJ makes you happy then that’s great.”

Elle mumbles, “Yes she makes me happy, please don’t tell anyone else now go away before she comes back.”

Derek stands up and kisses the top of Elle’s head, “I’m proud of you Elle.”

A few tears pricked in her eyes as she got up from the stool wrapping her arms around his stomach and burying her head in his neck a couple of the tears falling. No one had said that to her in a while but it was always him who reminded her, “I love you Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan,” she grinned at him when she looked up.

“I love you, Elle,” He rubbed his hand up and down her back.

“What’s going on? Is he your boyfriend?” The woman Derek had been talking to at the bar asked Elle.

She wiped her tears and laughed, “No he’s not my boyfriend, we are friends.”

“You better not be one of those steal-my-man friends,” she glared threatening Elle.

“Woah woah, settle down. Elle’s a lesbian,” Derek spoke to the woman.

“No, I’m not?” Elle replied.

“You’re not?” Derek asked.

“No… I don’t think so? I guess maybe I am.” Elle shrugged she never exactly labeled anything she just knew she liked women, “Whatever, I have a girlfriend I don’t want ‘your man’,” Elle rolled her eyes sitting back down just before JJ came back.

“Can we take our drinks to our room?” Elle asked the bartender.

He nodded in response.

“Care to join me?” Elle spoke in a husky voice to JJ.

“Oh, I’m so coming,” JJ smiled.

The women went back to their room with their drinks. Elle really needed to sleep with the lack of sleep from the night before and it was very likely they’d have to catch the killer tomorrow she needed sleep, and she needed to be on her A-game but she wanted more than anything to pleasure her girlfriend and take a warm bath with her.

“Bath?” Elle asked as they entered the room.

“Please baby,” JJ smiled Elle took such good care of her.

Elle ran them a warm bath it wasn’t as nice as the ones they’d have at her apartment with candles and lavender bubble bath but it was something. She clipped her hair up and slipped her dress off hanging it on the back of the bathroom door.

“Jay, it’s ready will you bring my drink through babe,” Elle called out.

JJ didn’t answer she just waltzed in a few minutes later having taken most of her clothes off in the bedroom with each of their cocktails in hand.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Elle said from the bath.

JJ took off all she was left in which was just her underwear, and climbed into the tub sitting in between Elle’s legs, her back against Elle’s chest.

Elle placed a kiss on JJ’s shoulder before moving all of her girlfriend’s light blonde hair over to one side so she’d have access to massage the woman’s shoulders.

JJ moaned, Elle was good at massages especially because she always knew where JJ was most tense in her shoulders and always hit the right spots.

Elle worked her way down her back as best she could considering how close to each other they were to one another.

JJ’s eyes were closed enjoying the feeling that Elle gave her. Her soft breaths made the brunette smile. She moved her hands to JJ’s thighs her thumbs pressing on the inside of her thighs as she massaged.

“Oh baby,” JJ let out a sigh of pleasure.

“Tell me I make you feel good Jay,” Elle whispered into her ear.

“You know you make me feel good, better than anyone ever has,” JJ replied.

Elle’s hands travelled further up on her thighs, “Keep going princess,” she ran her fingertips closer to her centre.

JJ’s breathing pattern began to change the more Elle was turning her on, “No one has ever touched me like you do Elle you make me come so fast.”

Elle’s lips found the side of JJ’s neck, “That’s right baby you deserve to be loved like that.”

“Thank you,” JJ’s voice trembled a little. Elle was intimidating and she wasn’t used to doing things like this before Elle she never would have said anything like that to anyone but she could see how much it turned the older woman on so she was always happy to do it for her.

Elle’s fingers found her centre, she was gentle and loving as she lightly ran her fingertips over her mound.

JJ moaned quietly, “That feels nice, Elle.”

“Good,” Elle slowly dragged her fingers in circles over her clit leaving kisses on her shoulder and neck at the same time.

Every so often Elle would circle JJ’s entrance with one finger but never push it in fully it was purely for the purpose of teasing the younger woman.

She kept at what she doing until it pushed JJ over the edge. The woman breathless and moaning softly finished gripping Elle’s arm.

“You were so good baby,” Elle tipped her head back and kissed her lips.

“But now we have to get out,” JJ pouted, “This always happens.”

“We can go in the shower,” Elle stood from the bath and climbed out before helping her girlfriend up and out with her legs still shaking a little.

Everyone was awake early the next morning to finish up and case and get back to Quantico before the afternoon. The case was closed by 11 am. The killer was shot in the field after he had lunged at Elle and Spencer with a knife.

Elle was trying to avoid JJ, not in a bad way just in an ‘I need some personal space way’ Derek had told her what happened in the field minus the part that the man had nicked a small cut on Elles's arm before he was shot down. She could easily hide the small bandage under her long-sleeved shirt but JJ was still upset that Elle was in danger today and she therefore didn’t want to leave her alone for a second.

On the plane, Elle had taken a seat on the long sofa, she would go to sleep soon but in roughly an hour she had to just check the cut.

JJ sat next to Elle almost on her lap and in the process leant on her arm.

“Ouch! fucking hell,” Elle rolled her eyes moving away from JJ a fraction.

“Ouch? What happened?” JJ grabbed Elle's arm lightly and tugged the sleeve of Elle’s top up to reveal the bandage with a small blood stain, “Explain.”

“It’s not that bad, when we caught the unsub, Derek told you he came towards Spencer and me with a knife but he didn’t tell you that the knife nicked me before he was shot, but it was only a scrape,” Elle said shrugging it off.

“Baby,” JJ whispered so no one else on the plane would hear the nickname, “Why didn’t you tell me?” She frowned.

“You were already so clingy Jay I just didn’t want to worry you more.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t like you being in danger or getting hurt.”

“I know,” Elle really wanted to throw a pet name on the end of that but Hotch was close by now at the kitchenette next to the sofa. She patted her lap and JJ laid her head down.

The brunette's fingers tangled into the blonde hair soothing her girlfriend while JJ’s fingers played with the hem of Elle’s shirt. It was a rather intimate moment for them despite the team being close by.

Penelope groaned, “Just tell everyone you’re dating!”

Elle glared at Derek her fingers coming to a standstill in JJ’s hair almost like she’d froze.

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Derek folded his arms.

“You knew something?!” Penelope’s mouth dropped open as she turned to Derek, “You’re a traitor Derek Morgan.”

JJ sat up leaning closer to Elle whispering in her ear, “Just tell them, we will deal with anything Hotch says later.”

Elle offered her a weak smile bringing her hands to her lips, “Yes, JJ and I are dating. We’ve been together for a while but we wanted to keep it a secret so it wouldn’t affect work.”

“How long?” Aaron asked his face remaining straight, not showing whether he was happy for them or angry at them.

“Half a year,” Elle replied.

“Seriously that long?” Penelope gasped, “Oh my babies I love you both so so much.”

JJ laughed, “It really doesn’t feel like that long but at the same time it feels like longer, we love you too Pen.”

Penelope hugged both of them tightly, “This must be why you both glow like the sunshine you’re both so happy and shiny.”

“Do you live together? I see you leave together sometime,” Emily asked suddenly rather interested in how she missed this.

JJ shook her head, “Not yet.”

Elle smiled edging closer to JJ. She leaned her head down and placed a small kiss on her shoulder.

“We will talk when we get back,” Gideon pointed at them and Hotch.

“Yes Dad,” Elle grinned. Elle called him dad so much now that Jason doesn’t even bother correcting her anymore.

JJ’s eyes landed on Spencer in the corner of the play his face scrunched in confusion, something that didn’t happen often, “What’s wrong Spence?”

“I was so sure Elle had a boyfriend.”

“Spencer, are you okay with me having a girlfriend?” Elle raised an eyebrow.

“Of course!” He said quickly, “I think I’m the same as you.. or similar? But I’m never wrong that’s the problem.”

“Man you probably just don’t pick up on how Elle stares at the ladies, no need to worry,” Derek laughed.

Elle rolled her eyes at Derek, “What do you mean you’re the same as me, Spence?”

“Oh,” his face flushed red.

“It’s fine we will talk later. Don’t think too much about it you’ll always be a genius.”

The rest of the flight, Hotch, Gideon and Rossi stared intensely at piles of paperwork they needed to fill out, Derek tried teasing Spencer to get him talking about what he had started to tell Elle, and Emily did sudokus with a coffee in her hand, Penelope drew kittens, rainbows and a few hearts with a ship name she had created for her friends inside and Elle and JJ cuddled against each other on the planes sofa, dozing off a few times.

Aaron, Dave and Jason waited in the office for Elle and JJ, they agreed to come through once everyone had gone home so as not to cause as much attention.

Once they had left, Elle and JJ went up the steps to the office. Elle’s hand was placed on JJ’s lower back as they went. The brunette held the door open while JJ walked inside, herself following close behind.

“I would like to start by saying, neither JJ nor I want to be moved. Our relationship hasn’t been a problem thus far and it will continue to not be a problem,” Elle said folding her arms.

“I understand Elle but you both should have come to me when this was starting up.”

“Then on your records, you pretend this is the start, no one besides us or the rest of the team will know otherwise,” Elle suggested.

“That would make sense,” JJ added.

“We will discuss it tonight, both of you go home. Talk about it together and if you want to continue with your relationship then you’ll have paperwork to sign first thing tomorrow,” Hotch said taking a seat behind his desk.

“Well I hope she wants to continue our relationship it’s been six months already,” Elle laughed looking down at JJ.

JJ looked up into her eyes, “Of course I do.”

“That’s sorted then we will be happy to sign your papers tomorrow,” Elle said before she and JJ headed for the door.

“And Elle,” Gideon called, “I’m glad JJ makes you happy.”

Elle smiled before Rossi added, “We are all happy for the both of you.”

[prentaway]

Lowkey go feral when one of them come on screen like omg they so hot smash mommy daddy mother father🥵

[abraincellandahalf]

Bisexual culture is not knowing which Criminal Minds character you're going to obsess over tomorrow, but also knowing it's probably not going to be the same one as today.

[multifandomangel]

the most genuine smiles i've seen from jj are ALWAYS directed at emily. like girl, your gay is showing!

[spencerreidswhore187]

Checkmate (The Final Part)

By @spencerreidswhore187 for @sackofpissandshit (who has been harassing me for this fic all week)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Summary: Spencer finds out that reader is not who he thought they were. (Lots of angst)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Unsub (g!n) Reader

Word Count: 3.1K

TW: Death, kidnapping, mentions of assault, blood, strong-ish language, mentions of suicide, mentions of self-harm, severing of a limb, fire.

A/N: Hi! Thank you to everyone who liked, commented, reblogged and followed Checkmate, it means the world to me. Sorry this has taken me a while to write, a fun fact about me is I currently have a kidney infection - my doctor told me this on the one year anniversary of my last kidney infection. Anyway, enjoy me, an extremely British person trying (and failing) to be American.

P.S. There is a Star Trek reference in this that killed me to write.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a foolish thing to fall in love with hope. Hope was dangerous. Hope was irresistible. Hope would inevitably kill you. 

You had hoped you'd survive this but knew it was impossible; as you ran, you felt it die - that spark, your soul. There was no Y/N, not anymore. Only the Phantom Menace remained.

Y/N will not be able to save Spencer, but the Phantom Menace could. 

You hated that name (not that it mattered) you had no say in it. You were a ghost Ben had told you, a monster. You needed a name that mirrored that. 

You were like a shadow all those years ago. You disguised yourself in the dark, letting gloom envelop you. You felt safe when you became the ghost. 

It was like you did not exist. All your problems went away and you allowed yourself to be someone else - something else. You had scaled the coarse brick wall of a manor house dreaming of your future. When you silently slipped through the window, you thought about love. 

It was unbecoming to believe a person could ever fall in love with someone like you - a killer, the creature that lurked under children’s beds, haunting their nightmares. 

Still, your mind chased the foolish fantasy. 

Love was what let you dissociate. Love was what let you drag a blade along a stranger’s neck. And, when you returned like clockwork to the Ivylands without a drop of crimson blood on you, you would walk alone through the woods to the cabin by the lake.

You had been instructed to go there after every mission. 

Ben would stroke your hair, calling you beautiful and shower you with praise. Once upon a time, you thought that was what love was...you knew better now. Thanks to Spencer.

Spencer was your everything and you would not let yourself lose him. 

That meant killing the gentle thing you’d become. You wished it was harder than it was to do so. 

“Left,” you murmured, heading to the cabin was like listening to your old favourite song: it had been so long, yet, you still knew every single word.

You knew this is where Beth had taken Spencer; She hated that place. She wasn’t like you, Ben’s rare, kind words did not fill her with life - they made her sick, they made her angry. You used to wish you were more like her: she was confident and proud, not some kid who did whatever was asked of them. Still, Beth would wipe away your tear after every kill. “Never let him see you hurting,” she would make you promise “because even if Ben tells you he feels bad for what he did, I need you to know that deep down he has a sadistic smile knowing he broke you. Don’t let him break you, Mouse.” 

Ben never saw you cry, not until he killed Beth. He laughed at his pretty little murderer as tears streamed down your cheeks. You stopped feeling that day - you became numb. That is, until, him. 

Spencer made your heart start beating again. 

At last, you stopped running. The cabin was ancient, constructed of rotting moss-stained wood. You had no idea how after all this time, it was still standing. 

The porch groaned as you hesitantly approached the door; you gripped the brass handle and twisted it. Your hands were shaking. 

It was useless trying to be discrete. Beth knew you were coming, she likely knew you were already here.

The door screeched as it opened, though, you could barely hear it - your heart was pounding in your ears. 

Nothing prepared you for the sight of Dr Spencer Reid handcuffed, sitting crossed-legged on the floor, with Beth aiming a gun at him. 

Beth had a warm smile plastered on her face as you walked through the threshold, “Hello, Mouse.” 

You hated the nostalgia that stupid nickname made you feel. All the others had called you that behind your back, you used to pretend like you didn’t hear. You like it when Beth said it, though. 

It made you feel special.

Not anymore.

You raised your gun at her, “Let him go.” You kept your gaze focused on her, not allowing it to slip back to Spencer, who you could see watching you out of your peripheral.

Part of you was shocked that he didn’t grimace at your appearance; blood and mud coated your entire body. But Spencer wasn’t like that, it did not matter who you were or what you looked like, to him you would always be the most beautiful person in the world. Sometimes, when he held you under the covers of your bed, whispering sweet nothings, you would believe him. 

“Put the gun down, Y/N,” Beth ordered. She pushed it against Spencer’s temple. 

You could hear Spencer’s rapid breathing. You didn’t let it distract you. Instead, you took a step closer to them. 

Beth didn’t like that. “Don’t fucking test me, Mouse. I will kill him.”

“No,” your voice was confident, steady, even, the Phantom Menace was talking now, “you won’t.”

You cocked the gun and fired without hesitation. 

Beth’s wicked cackle flooded the room as you missed, shattering the window behind her.

Shards of glass scattered across the floor, distracting you. Your idiotic mistake allowed Beth to steal your gun. 

You focused on Spencer’s hazel eyes as she roughly pulled your hands behind your back. As you felt the cool metal of handcuffs around your wrists, you mouthed to Spencer: “It’s okay.” 

Beth grabbed your hair, using it to pull you to the floor. You didn’t even wince as you fell onto a pile of jagged glass, you watched Spencer rapidly search you for open wounds. 

You sat opposite him as Beth sat down at the dining room table. She raised her gun again. 

“I have some questions for the two of you,” she taunted. “You are both going to do whatever I say, correct?”

Neither of you answered. This angered Beth; she fired the pistol twice, a few metres from where you lay. “Correct?” She repeated.

Spencer replied instantly, “Yes.”

You refused to look at Beth, “yes,” you muttered.

“Wonderful,” she laughed, “Checkmate.”

—————————————————————————————————---

When the unknown number started calling, Penelope Garcia was already on the phone. 

“Pen, Penelope. I need you to calm down okay?” Emily tried to reassure her.

“I don’t - I can’t breathe. Oh my god Luke. Emily! Please, I don’t know what to do. First Spencer and now my newbie? I-”

“He’s alive, Penelope. Y/N didn’t kill him, she missed his heart. Luke is on his way to the hospital, and Rossi and I are on our way back to headquarters.”

“I don’t understand, Emily, you saw Y/N L/N try and stop the bleeding?” 

“Yes?”

“Then how do you they shot him?”

“No one else was with them and Spencer is gone. I can’t explain why they did it. We know they poisoned and then tried to save Reid, perhaps they have a saviour complex…what is that ringing?”

Garcia spun around in her chair, reaching for her work phone.

“Some unknown number keeps calling.”

Emily’s voice filtered through the mobile instantly, “answer it. Now,” she ordered.

“…you don’t think it’s-”

“I do.”

Penelope answered immediately, placing her other phone on her desk. 

“Is this Agent Penelope Garcia of the BAU?” Asked a distorted voice.

Penelope replied anxiously, “Speaking.”

“I have something you might like to see.” The call disconnected as a hyperlink came through on her computer. 

Rossi and Emily entered the room as soon as Garcia clicked on the link. 

“What on earth…” She gasped.

A live video appeared on the screen showing Y/N and Reid both handcuffed, sat on a wooden floor.  

“Someone tell JJ to look for a log cabin. Immediately.” Instructed Emily. 

“Dr Reid,” a voice from offscreen purred, “why don’t you go first? Tell your dear girlfriend about Meave.” 

————————————————————————————————————-

Meave. You recognised that name but for the life of you could not figure out why. 

“Ignore her,” you pleaded.

Beth scoffed, making a show of cocking the gun, “wrong answer. Try again.”

Spencer inhaled deeply. “Meave died because of me.”

“You can do better than that, Reid.”

“She, um, was my girlfriend. She was being stalked by this girl Diane Turner. It was a murder-suicide.” 

“Don’t forget to tell our Y/N when this was,” Beth taunted. 

“N-nearly four years ago.”

Right before he met you. The grave you realised. It all made so much sense. She was why Spencer was in the cemetery, Meave was who he was coming to see. 

You could tell Beth wanted to make you jealous but you felt nothing at all. Your heart broke a little for Spence, you could see why he lied about being a doctor. 

If Beth was irritated by your silence, you couldn’t tell. “Your turn Mouse!” She sang, “If you answer honestly then you can ask me a question.”

You closed your eyes briefly, already knowing what she was going to ask.

“Who’s August?” 

“No,” you whispered.

Her hand slapped your cheek with a powerful force. You weren’t surprised, Ben had taught you how to inflict pain oh so well. 

“Who. Is. August.” She repeated. 

You corrected, “Was. Who was August.” You regretted ever telling Beth about them. 

You fidgeted against the restraints. “August was the first person I loved. They were kind and caring and I killed them anyway.” You turned your head towards Beth, “How did you survive?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to ask? It’s such a boring question.” 

“Answer it then.” Beth rolled her eyes. 

“The fucking bastard missed my heart when he shot me. Just like I missed SSA Luke Alvez’s. Ben’s assistants through my body into an open grave and left me there, didn’t even bother to check my pulse,” she sniffed, “Your turn again, Reid. What was it that you purchased last week when you pretended to be sick to avoid going to work?”

Spencer turned slightly, staring right at you as he said it.

“An engagement ring.”

“Spence…” You breathed.

Beth was beaming. Spencer looked like he was going to throw up. 

“It was a really beautiful ring, Mouse, so simple, so plain. Just like you,” she teased. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

Beth kissed her teeth, “It’s not your turn, honey. Now, explain why you poisoned your precious boyfriend, or, better yet, pretended to be his wife when you called for an ambulance.” 

“I don’t know why,” you lied.

“Yes, you do!” Spencer couldn’t breathe. “It’s because you do whatever your master, Ben, tells you.” Shouted Beth.

“Then it’s a good thing you killed him,” you spat. 

You repeated your earlier question. “Why are you doing this.”

Making sure Beth was distracted, you slowly, discretely, reached for the jagged shard of glass on the left of your right hand. 

“It’s not fair,” she seethed, “I trusted you and you fell in love with one of them. You hated police officers, remember? They are the reasons we became monsters! If they hadn’t stopped looking for us, we never would have ended up here, in this house, in this cabin. If-if it wasn’t for them, my family would still be alive.” 

You grasped the glass shard tightly, blood trickling down your palm. 

“If my family has to be dead, then so does yours. There’s only one person you care about…him.” Beth gestured at him with the gun. 

“Last question before I kill you both-”

“Y/N,” Spencer edged towards you.

“Enough, pig. Do you love them?” Beth tapped the gun against his head. 

Spencer didn’t bother hiding the truth, if you were both going to die, he needed you to know. He looked into your eyes, Spencer would happily drown in the [your eye colour] of your eyes. “I love you,” He vowed. 

“Even now? She is a murderer, after all, the very thing you’re hired to destroy.” 

“You are the knife I turn inside myself; that is love. That, my dear, is love.” He quoted. 

 Spencer must have read Kafka’s ‘Letters to Milena’ a thousand times since you met, every time he opened the cover of the novel, he was brought back to the day he met the love of his life. 

“You are poetry material, Spence; You are full of cloudy subtleties I am willing to spend a lifetime figuring out. Words burst in your essence and you carry their dust in the pores of your ethereal individuality.” Immediately you were engulfed by pain, you pressed the glass shard against the base of your pinky finger and pushed and pushed. You tried your hardest to keep your breathing steady when finally you severed the finger. 

You saw Spencer notice the blood pooling behind you. You subtly shook your head as he opened his mouth to protest. Angling your hand just right, you were able to agonisingly force your hand out of one of the cuffs. 

Beth slowly walked towards you, “Well wasn’t that romantic. Oh, wait, I mean pathetic.” 

Without hesitation, you tackled her to the ground, reaching for the gun in her hand. 

“Y/N!” You heard Spencer cry as Beth’s elbow collided with your chin. You were blinded by pain but that did not matter, you needed that weapon. You notice a small triangle of glass to your right, you reached for it and plunged it into Beth’s side. 

Beth screamed, immediately reaching to pull the glass out. This allowed you to capture the gun.

How the tables turn, you thought, as you pressed the barrel against her temple.

“Spencer,” you instructed slowly, “go.”

He stood up and took one step towards you, “Spence, please,” your voice cracked, “I need you to go.”

“I’m not going to leave you Y/N.” 

“Please, Spence.”

“Y/N-”

“I love you. Promise me you’ll run as fast as you can. Don’t turn back. I’ll be right behind you.” You both knew it was a lie. 

Beth squirmed in your grasp. 

“You’ll be right behind me?”

“Scout’s honour.” You did the Vulcan salute for good measure. 

You made sure to drink Spencer in one more time, he was so beautiful. You wished you could have told him more. 

Spencer turned back around one last time before leaving. 

“You lied.” Beth gave a cold, wet laugh - blood dribbled down her chin. “Neither of us is getting out of this alive.”

You stood up, brushing the dirt off you. Your hand was throbbing. “Did Ben seriously not remember you?”

Beth looked at you, face painted with confusion. 

“Power of hair dye, I guess.” You shrugged. 

Beth remained on the soiled ground as you walked towards the set of drawers. You rummaged through the mess till you found what you were looking for. Tentatively, you pulled one out of the box, dragging it along the side.

“You’re crazy,” Beth breathed. 

You held the match near your face, examining the orange flame. 

“Checkmate,” you mocked as you let go. 

——————————————————————————————————

Spencer ran and ran and ran. If he stopped it became too real. He refused to believe it. He kept running through the woods until he collided with someone else. 

“Spencer!” Exclaimed JJ, pulling him in for a hug. Spencer rested his head on her shoulder, he couldn’t help the sobs that escaped him. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re okay,” JJ soothed, rubbing his back. 

“I have to go back,” Spencer whispered into her shoulder. “I need to help them, they-”

“Spencer,” Tara said slowly, gently, “what do you mean?”

“Spencer pushed away from JJ and started explaining “They’re still…no. No. NO!”

He turned around and watch the melancholy smoke rise, dancing above the horizon. The amber flames taunted him, reaching for the stars in the distance. 

Spencer thought he knew heartbreak…it felt nothing like this. Pain didn’t do this feeling justice. He felt like he was dying. 

——————————————————————————————————

It had been a week since you died; Spencer had only left the headquarters once. 

The team had tried to coax him away from the reports but it was to no avail. Something was wrong, he was sure of it. You couldn’t be dead. You couldn’t. 

Emily had shown Spencer the footage from the live stream with Beth in hopes it would give him closure, it just made it worst. He replayed the last five seconds of the clip again and again. 

There was something malicious, something cunning, about the way you stared at the camera as you dropped the match. 

It was like you knew it was there all along. 

“Reid…” Emily tried, but Spencer ignored her. She didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but you.

Your funeral was the day before. No one went but Spence. 

He had traced your name in the granite on your gravestone where Y/N Reid was engraved. He knew you hated your last name. He held his treasured copy of Letters to Milena and spoke for the first time in days: “If a million loved you, I am one of them, and if one loved you, it was me, and if no one loved you then know that I am dead.” He left the novel, along with his broken heart and shattered soul, at the grave. 

Spencer reached for the fire report once again. 

He had memorised every word but still, he would read it again and again until he found whatever it was Spencer was looking for. 

He ran a long, thin finger along the printed words.

Two bodies had been found in the ruins of the cabin. Both were too burnt to be identifiable, not that it could have been anyone else other than Beth Gallagher and Y/N L/N. One body had a deep cut on the left side of their stomach and the other was covered in shallow cuts. Other than that, no wounds. No wounds, Spencer repeated to himself, both bodies had all ten fingers and all ten toes. 

No..it couldn’t be possible.

But Spencer knew what he saw, the memory was tattooed on his brain. He watched you cut your finger off. 

You were alive.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This is the final part of the Checkmate series (sorry for the cliffhanger) I hope you enjoyed it. I did write an epilogue in addition to this part but I'm not sure whether I'm going to post it or not ◡̈

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The Bunker - Criminal Minds

Chapter 1: The Bunker

Summary: Spencer Reid wakes up in a locked bunker to find half the current BAU and two of its departed members unconscious on the floor. The old team is back together but the reunion is not what any of them would have wished for. An Unsub from their past has decided it's time they all stop keeping secrets, even if it means exposing them by force.

Hotch and Derek have been pulled back into a world they tried to escape. Emily, Rossi, and JJ are doing their best to keep it together. Spencer is falling apart.

AKA a found family is reunited and forced to go through the most nightmarish version of family therapy imaginable.

Set months after the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Evolution referenced, but not necessary to understand the story.

Read chapter 1 on AO3 or under the cut. All comments and reblogs are so appreciated <3

Chapter 2 link

Spencer cracked his eyes open, flinching from the white fluorescent light and blinking hard against the groggy, dull ache in his head.

His mouth was dry, body heavy. A familiar wake up. He reached his hand out blindly for the relief waiting on his bedside table.

No- wait.  

His lights are all yellow toned filament bulbs, not white fluorescents.

The smell was wrong. The dull electrical buzz in the air was louder, pitched higher.

His eyes shot open wide and he scrambled to his feet.

This wasn’t home.

He surveyed his surroundings, fighting the wave of dizziness that came with standing too abruptly.

“Oh no,” he said out loud. “Nonononono…”

The room was large and square and made entirely of concrete. Up the top a small vent, too high to reach and too small for a person to fit into. A heavy door with a double walled chamber for someone to put things into without having to interact with the person on the other side. The kind you would find in a maximum-security prison cell. The whole room felt like a prison cell, a place he’d hoped to never be again. At the back of the room a small en-suit that was completely stripped bare but for a metal toilet with no seat and a sink that was bolted into the wall. There was a door that could be shut, but there was a gap under it and a hole where a doorknob had clearly been removed.

A camera. There on the roof, drilled in and protected by a plexiglass dome, blinking its little red light at him. He stared at it for a moment, then closed his eyes.

He slowed his breathing. Now was not the time to fall apart. Not now. Not yet.

Not when there were 5 of his friends prone on the ground around him, unconscious as he had been only moments ago.

Each was laid out on a thin foam mattress, the kind with no seams or springs that could be fashioned into tools.

His first stop was the door. He knew before he tried it that it wasn’t going to open, but he had to make sure. As soon as that was confirmed, he turned his attention to the people in the room with him.

He rushed over to Emily first, rolling her onto her side and checking her pulse. It was slow, but steady. He looked around at the rest of them, noting the gentle rise and fall of their chests. All alive. He sighed audibly, clasping his hands together in thanks and relief for a split second before turning back to Emily.

He gently shook her, putting his hand on her cheek in what he hoped was a comforting way. His hands were shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or the comedown. “Emily," he said gently. “Emily, it’s me, Spencer. Wake up Emily.”

After a few more repetitions her eyes fluttered, then opened. She looked up at him hazily. “Spencer?”

“Hi,” he said sadly, knowing there were only a second left until she realized the danger they were in and wanting to let her experience that second in peace.

She glanced behind him where JJ lay unconscious. He looked at her pupils. They were constricted, confirming his suspicions.

“Oh my god,” Emily gasped, her hand reaching up to clutch his shoulder. She leveraged herself against him to drag her way up into a sitting position. She rubbed at her eyes blearily, then opened them again and cast them around the entire room. “Fuck,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Her eyes snapped back to him. “Are you alright?” she asked urgently, looking him over. “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her. “And I don’t know. I woke up a minute ago. I don’t remember how I got here. I think we were all drugged.”

She hummed in agreement. “Last thing I remember I was outside my apartment on the way home from the gym. I still feel a little out of it. God, Spencer, you look awful,” she said, putting a hand over his. “What did they do to you?”

“Same thing as you, most likely.” He looked away. “Emily, that’s Hotch over there,” he deflected. “And Derek.”

Emily looked to where he was pointing. Her expression was solemn, professionalism kicking in even in these dire circumstances. “Yeah. And no sign of Tara, Matt, or Luke. And no Penelope, thank God. Whoever did this, they’ve got a grudge against us that predates the others joining the BAU. Someone who met all of us but never had direct interaction with Penelope. This is good. If the others are free, they’ll find us.”

Spencer nodded in agreement. “This is someone with the skill to find Hotch in witness protection. If he wasn’t dead, I would have said it was Scratch. The logistics of kidnapping 6 highly trained federal agents takes an enormous amount of planning and ability. There are only handful of people we’ve encountered with the capacity to pull something like this off.”

She rubbed at her temples. Her eyes were losing the glassy sheen as the adrenaline counteracted the effects of the drugs. “I assume you tried the door?” He nodded. “I guess we should wake the others.”

No sooner than she said it, JJ stirred. They both crawled over to her. Her wake up process went much the same as Emily’s, but for the fact that the first thing she asked about was if her children were safe, before she’d come to enough to realize they had no way of knowing.

“Whoever this is likely targeted you while you were alone,” Spencer assured her. “It’s much safer to take a victim without witnesses, especially a victim who is trained to defend themselves and needs to be physically incapacitated.”

Next, they woke Rossi, who responded immediately by swearing up a storm and threatening to rip the head off whoever was responsible for this.

“Hey, Dave, it’s okay,” said JJ in a calming voice, even as she looked about to cry. “There’s nobody in here but us.”

He breathed. He nodded. He cursed again. He nodded again.

“At least I’m not alone this time,” he said with a world weariness that Spencer felt in his gut.

They had all been in situations like this before, but Rossi was barely recovered from the last time only a few months ago. Spencer still regret so deeply that he wasn’t there to help with Elias Voit.

“No, you’re not alone,” agreed Emily emphatically. “On that note, look who else is here,” she said.

“God fucking dammit,” cursed Rossi as his eyes swept over Derek and landed on Hotch.

Seeing Derek there was upsetting, but it wasn’t as jarring as Hotch’s presence. Derek still came along to the occasional social event, though less and less recently, as he was busy with the birth of his second child. Spencer personally still saw him once a month or so, though the past year their contact had been more limited to phone calls. They were all dreading having to watch him learn he’d been pulled into this nightmare, but if nothing else they could offer him the comfort of familiarity and camaraderie.

But Hotch… none of them had heard so much as a whisper from him in years. When he disappeared, he did so completely. It’s the kind of thing that would have wounded Spencer deeply under any other circumstances, but after everything Daniel Lewis aka Mr Scratch had put him through, he only ever hoped that Hotch had found every semblance of peace that life could give him. He’d missed him badly at times, but he would have rather they never meet again than have to meet like this.

They decided to wake Derek first.           

Rossi nearly got a fist in the face before Derek pieced together what was happening. Then, he put a fist directly into a concrete wall instead.

“I’m going to regret that when the drugs wear off,” he said sheepishly once he’d calmed down just a bit. “Whatever they dosed us with, they did not skimp. The comedown is gonna suck,” he said, side eyeing Spencer, who pretended not to notice.

The question and answer was the same as with the others. Do you remember anything about who took you? No. Has anyone tried the door? Yes. Derek threw a shoe at the camera for good measure, but of course it just bounced off the plexiglass and landed pathetically on the floor.

The bang of it hitting the concrete was enough to make Hotch finally stir. They all turned to face him, staring helplessly.

His hair was longer than Spencer had ever seen it. Still short, but more relaxed, skimming the bottom of his ears and starting to curl a little at the base of his neck. He was still lean, but some of the muscle had been replaced by fat. He looked just a little softer. Healthier. His face was peaceful. Spencer always remembered him looking tense, even in his sleep. His hair was streaked with grey but somehow this was the youngest Spencer had ever seen him look.

He stirred a little more, blinking at last.

Ah, there was the familiar tension creeping its way back across his face.

Rossi was the one who finally knelt down beside him. “Aaron? I’m so sorry my friend,” he said sadly as recognition flashed in Hotch’s eyes.

“I’m dreaming,” came the familiar voice. Spencer had missed that voice more than he'd known.

Hotch closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again. He looked past Rossi at the rest of them. Spencer raised his hand in a polite greeting, then immediately felt like an idiot for doing so.

“I’m not dreaming,” he said, no trace of emotion in his voice.

“I’m afraid not,” Rossi confirmed.

Hotch fixed his eyes on Rossi again, pushing himself up so he was sitting against the wall. He looked like he was staring at a ghost, trying to figure where the projector was. “When did you get so old?” he said, reaching out a hand to Rossi’s face and poking at it.

Rossi grabbed the offending hand and clasped it between both of his. “Careful. You’re no spring chicken yourself,” he joked.

“No,” said Hotch, still expressionless. “Peter Lewis is dead. This isn’t my life anymore. He’s dead. They told me he died. I saw photos of the body.”

Spencer didn’t know that, but judging by Rossi’s lack of surprise, he pieced together that the older man had likely made sure the witness protection people had passed the photos along.

“Scratch is dead,” Rossi confirmed. “Whoever did this, it’s not him.”

“This. Isn’t. Real,” Hotch insisted, the first sign of emotion entering his voice in the form of hysteria as he pulled his hand away from Rossi and scrambled to his feet. “All of you stay away from me!” he yelled, looking at each of them in turn.

JJ grabbed onto Spencer’s arm. He flinched at first, then put an arm around her and gave what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. Derek took a step towards Hotch, but Emily held him back.

Hotch backed into the corner, looking at them like a caged animal. They were all caged animals now, Spencer supposed. An unfortunately familiar role.

“Hotch,” Spencer said, surprising himself by speaking. They all turned to look at him. He couldn’t back away now. “This is real. I’m so sorry this is happening to you, but Penelope and the rest of our team aren’t here, which means they are out there looking for us. I know it doesn’t feel real. We have all been drugged and you are probably still feeling the effects. I’m sorry. I wish it wasn’t real, but it is,” Spencer said kindly but emphatically.

“We’ll get out of this together,” said Emily. “It’s going to be okay.”

Hotch’s eyes were looking just a little clearer.

“Listen man, I know what you’re feeling. I got out, too, remember? I have a family and I don’t know if they’re alright. I’m right here with you. We’re all on your side. Do you believe me?” asked Derek, and this time Emily let him take a step forward.

 Hotch looked around at all of them again. He assessed them carefully. Then, he turned to the corner, putting his back to them and his hand over his face. It was the closest thing he could get to privacy and Spencer was suddenly grateful to have woken up first to process all of this without being watched.

Well, except for the camera.

They all looked at the floor and did their best to give Hotch space. It was almost a full minute before he finally tuned back around.

There was that stoic expression that Spencer remembered. All that youth and peace was gone from his face in an instant. Spencer hoped so badly that it wasn’t gone for good.

“What do we know?” asked Hotch, crossing his arms.

A moment of silence passed and Spencer wondered if the rest of them felt their hearts breaking into pieces at this cruel facsimile of a reunion.

“Why don’t we start with the last thing each of us remembers?” said Emily, stepping up beside Hotch and looking back at the rest of the room, two natural leaders doing what they do best.

Each of them recounted the details they knew before they woke up in this room.

They had been going about their lives, nothing special. The only common thread they could find was that each of them was alone when their memories stopped.

Derek had been at a picnic with his family and the last thing he remembered was leaving to use the park bathroom. Emily on her way back from the gym. JJ heading out to get groceries. Rossi walking home late from a bar.

“I was driving to work,” said Hotch shortly.

“We’re going to need more detail than that if we want to put together a timeline,” prompted Rossi. "Where do you work?"

Hotch pursed his lips. Spencer could see him strategizing in his head. He wasn’t back in their lives by choice. Spencer understood.

He didn’t get it back when Gideon left, but he got it now. Once you let people in the door, it can be impossible to fully extricate them. Hotch’s old life was filled with trauma he was trying to leave behind and the team were living representations of that past. Spencer couldn’t bring himself to be hurt by the other man’s reticence.

“A legal consultancy in a small town in Kentucky,” he said reluctantly, like divulging the smallest part of his personal life meant inviting the entire FBI right back into it.

“That’s an 8 hour drive,” said Derek. “No wonder you were so out of it compared to the rest of us. You must have been dosed multiple times to keep you under that long.”

“I think you’re right,” he said. “I’m still a bit foggy, if I’m being honest,” he admitted quietly. “What about you, Reid?”

Spencer blinked. “I feel fine.”

“No, I mean what’s the last thing you remember?”

Oh. Right. “I went to sleep in my apartment, then I woke up here,” he said honestly. It wasn’t important what he was doing before he went to sleep.

“Since we can be fairly confident whoever this is took Hotch first,” said Emily, “That probably means they got to you last, Spence. They hit all of us in one day. They must have known the BAU had a day off after closing the last case. They would have had to hit us quick to avoid raising alarms.”

“And the fact that we were all grabbed at different times indicates we’re likely dealing with a single Unsub. Someone highly organized and familiar with each of our routines.”

“The Unsub must have been planning this for a long time. Finding someone in witness protection, especially a former profiler, would take an incredible amount of skill or resources,” said Spence. “They stalked us, learned our routines, then used blitz attacks to stop us from being able to fight back.”

It didn’t take long for them to get into the flow. He felt his panic slipping away as his brain shifted into work mode. At some point they all went from standing to sitting in a circle on the floor.

It felt ridiculous to think about, but Spencer couldn't help but be mildly self conscious being the only one of them in his pajamas, as he was taken in his sleep. He was just glad it was a cold night so he'd been wearing nice, full length ones and not boxers and a shirt or something to that affect. Derek, Emily and JJ were all dressed in comfortable day wear. Rossi and Hotch in suits. Hotch was interesting, though. Spencer had rarely seen him outside of a crisp black suit characteristic of an FBI agent. The one he wore now was navy with a striped tie. It looked good on him.

They put together a more detailed timeline and looked back on the past few months of their lives to discuss anything that could have possibly been out of the ordinary.

The more they talked, the less cagey Hotch was about his life. It was strange to learn more about the day to day he had been living in the years since they’d seen him.

None of them talked about their kids or partners beyond a simple acknowledgement of their existence. They were all acutely aware of the camera on the roof. Whoever was doing this didn’t need to know any more about their families than they already did.

Their phones had been taken and none of them had anything to write with, so they were relying on Spencer to catalogue and compile the information in his brain. He did just that, and after a couple hours they had what was likely a fairly reliable timeline, including geographical information.

Whoever was doing this, they were extremely organized, meticulous, and quick. Not one of them saw it coming. None of them could point to any strange interactions they had over the past months, any red flags, any signs of being followed.

When it came time for Spencer to recount the details of the last months of his life, the others stared at him intently. “I haven’t seen you in person in months,” said Derek. “You don’t look so great, pretty boy.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but the bunker we’re currently locked in isn’t making the rest of you look at your healthiest, either.”

“You know what I mean,” said Derek with an affectionate eyeroll.

“You know I was doing some classified work for the bureau. That’s why I couldn’t be there for what happened with Voit,” he said with an apologetic look to Rossi, who waved his hand dismissively. They had already been over this when Spencer first got back. He noticed Hotch raise a curious eyebrow. “I can’t talk about the work since we’re currently being recorded,” he said, nodding up at the camera. “Emily knows the details. It was nothing bad, just research that kept me out off the grid for a while. But if the Unsub could find Hotch in witness protection, then it’s possible they could have been tailing me for that long.”

“That finished months ago,” pointed out Emily. “What have you been doing while you’re on sabbatical?”

“A few guest lecture series at Virginia Tech and spending time with my mom, mostly. I just needed a break. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much. I guess I’ve been a bit distracted. I haven’t seen or experienced anything unusual, though.”

“I hope your mom’s doing okay,” said JJ comfortingly, prompting the rest of them to nod sympathetically.

He just nodded back. She was doing fine, honestly, not that he’d been visiting as often as he should. Easier to let them assume she was the reason he had been absent.

“Why are you doing this?” said Hotch, standing up and looking directly at the camera once they realized none of them had any more details to share at this point. “What do you want from us? Tell us what it is and maybe we can give it to you.”

The camera blinked its red light at them, showing no care for their presence.

Hotch sighed. He looked down at them all helplessly. His eyes stopped short on Derek. He knelt down, staring at something on the side of his head. “What?” asked Derek, leaning away in concern at Hotch’s suddenly very close face.

“Hold still,” said Hotch. He waved Emily over, who shuffled round to his side. “Right… there,” he said, hovering a finger just behind Derek’s ear.

Her eyes widened. Hotch looked at her questioningly, then turned his own head and tucked his hair away so that she could see behind his ear.

“You have it too,” she said. She did the same as him and he checked her over. They looked at each other again and he nodded.

They all stared at them expectantly, though Spencer was pretty sure he knew what they were seeing.

“Puncture marks at the top of the neck, just behind the ear,” Emily explained. “That’s where we were injected.”

Spencer, Rossi and JJ all checked each other. Sure enough, same thing.

“That means we were likely attacked from behind,” said Derek.

“Do we know what we were drugged with?” said Hotch, shooting an almost imperceptible glance in Spencer’s direction.

His skin crawled at the way none of them wanted to look at him, to just come right out and say it. He didn’t particularly want to talk about it. Not really. But they always acted like the subject was poison and it made him feel like he had to walk on eggshells too. Like the reality of his life was harder for them to hear than it was for him to live.

“I am fairly confident it was some kind of opioid,” he said, careful to keep the irritation out of his voice.

JJ put her hand on his and he felt the irritation dissipate.

They cared about him. He knew that. It’s not as if they were wrong to worry. They had talked about it a little over the years, but not enough that it had stopped being awkward every time it came up.

“Are you certain?” asked Rossi. “Could have been a tranquilizer.”

“I’m certain,” said Spencer. “Trust me, I know the feeling.”

Derek reached a foot across the circle and bumped it against Spencer’s knee in a supportive gesture, like saying ‘I’m here with you.’ Emily smiled at him softly, reassuringly.

“It could have been cut with something,” pointed out Hotch.

“The totality of the blackout indicates it may have been cut with a sedative of some kind, as a high enough dose of opioids to include that kind of memory loss reliably could be unsafe and none of us are suffering significant enough side effects to indicate that’s the case. Whoever did this knew exactly what dosage to use,” he explained. “But… I am quite sure it was predominantly an opioid.”

Of course he was sure.

“Jesus,” said JJ. “I’m sorry, Spence.”

“I don’t believe in fate but the universe does seem to have a strange way of conspiring to get you high,” deadpanned Emily.

Derek shot her a harsh look, but Spencer cracked a smile. “I think ‘an Unsub made me do it’ is going to start sounding like ‘a dog ate my homework’ to my sponsor,” he joked back, relief washing over him that they weren’t going to dance around it the entire time they were in here. Not that he’d spoken to his sponsor in more than a year. They didn’t need to know that.

The others smiled too. “You’ll be alright, kid,” said Rossi. “If you kept it together after Mexico, you’ll get through this.”

That would have been a comforting statement if not for the fact that it was completely false. It didn’t matter anyway. Penelope and the rest of the team would find them and get them out before any of this became an issue.

Or they wouldn’t. But he couldn’t think about that yet.

A crease sat deep between Hotch’s eyebrows. “Mexico?”

“You don’t know?” said Emily. “I just assumed you were across everything to do with the Scratch case.”

“No,” said Hotch. “I accepted proof of his death and told the liaison I didn’t want to know anything else.”

“It’s complicated,” said Rossi. “There were other players involved, but the short version is Reid was drugged and framed for murder. It wasn’t pretty.”

“We don’t need to go into the details,” said Spencer, oddly embarrassed at the idea of Hotch knowing just how prone to being victimized he apparently still is. He knew it wasn’t rational, given the things that had happened to Hotch and the fact that all of them were in this locked room as victims together.

Hotch looked at him. Spencer couldn’t read his expression at all. Eventually he just nodded and let it drop.

Before any of them could say another word, there was a banging at the door. The hatch on the other side of the door chamber opened.

Derek got to the door first, trying to rip the hatch on their side open. He shouted at the door “What do you want?! Talk to me! Just tell us what you want!”

There was no response.

The only thing they could see was a hand covered in a thick leather glove sliding a piece of paper in. It was a smaller hand than expected.

He continued pulling but the panel didn’t budge until the other one had closed completely. Derek stumbled backwards as the panel suddenly released.

“It’s soundproof,” Spencer said, despairing. “There was no sound of footsteps on the other side.”

Emily grabbed the note from the chamber. They all whipped around to watch her as she read the words aloud.

“Hello, old friends,” she started, all of them frozen in place and hanging off her every word. “I know you are wondering why you are here. It is simple. You dragged my secrets into the light and then put me in a cage. At first I wanted to get revenge. Then I watched you for a long time and I learned all about you and I learned that we are the same. I saw how you are suffering. How you are scared. All hiding. I remember when I had to hide. For so long I hid even from myself. Now, because of you, I am free. Even when I was in a cage, I was free, because I had no secrets anymore.

I want to give you the freedom you gave to me. Soon, you will not have secrets. You will see that in this room you cannot hide and that when there is nothing left to hide, you will be free.”

Emily looked up from the letter, meeting all of their eyes in turn. There was a painful lump in Spencer’s throat.

If he was being honest with himself, he knew it as soon as he woke up in this room and saw them all there. He knew they weren’t going to make it out in time. He knew the Unsub must have watched him closely enough to know what was going on with him. He knew he wasn’t making it out of this without all of them seeing him for exactly who he is.

Now, he thought, might be the time to fall apart.

[supercriminalbean]

The team on the jet on the way home from a case*

Garcia: Rossi your homophobic.

Rossi: I can't be Homophobic I'm Bi *looks unfazed, reading*

Emily: Prove it.

Rossi: *Looks at Hotch who's sitting beside him not paying attention*

Rossi: *Grabs his face kissing him quickly smirking, let's him go*

The team: *Stares in shock*

Hotch:

Hotch: Can you stop kissing me whenever you say your bi. It gets annoying *huffs*

BAU:

Emily: Wait you two have kissed before?

Rossi: Well I'm not going to start kissing the kid or chocolate thunder over there.

Reid: *Pulls a disgusted face*

Morgan: Um yeah I appreciate that.