AN: Hi, guys! So, this little beaut was something I wrote when I should have been writing the two papers I have due in the next couple days, but I have a weakness for fluffy one shots, so I took the time to type it up before I lost the inspiration. It's kind of a songfic in the way that it was inspired by Taylor Swift's 'You Belong with Me', but not really. I just liked the idea, and I ran with it. This is what I came up with it. Sorry if it seems a little rushed, I'm running on a few hours' sleep and a lot of stress. I just felt so bad not updating Confessions that I felt I owed you something to make up for it. Over the next couple weeks, I'm going to be buried in work and papers, but I'll try to sneak out a post when I can.
Also, for the record, I think Adrian is a lovely name, but it becomes the source of ire for our dear David during this fic. You'll see why. This is also considered a part of my 'Lyrics and Brilliant Minds', but will NOT be a part of the Declan Prentiss series. He is referenced, because the whole Doyle thing has happened, but he's not living with Emily in this. So, yeah. Just so you know.
Anyway, I'm rambling, so I'm going to let you go. Hope you enjoy it, guys. I have papers to write now.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue, unless you're going to take away my student debt.
When David Rossi realized he was living out a country song, he was sitting in his office doing a budget overview, of all the things. When he realized this, he did something very rare for him – He blamed Aaron. It was a rare thing when Dave could find something to justifiably blame on his best friend, but he was blaming this on him, damn what anyone else said.
It was Aaron's fault anyway, he figured as his eyes went passively over the document before him. Who the hell did he think he was, finding love with a scrawny genius and being so damn happy with life? And where in the hell did he get off setting the scene for Dave to be blindsided by the fact that he was in love with a co-worker? It was just plain inconsiderate of him, and when Dave stopped freaking out over the whole thing, he was going to have a talk with him about that.
The co-worker who'd captured David Rossi's heart was the one, the only, the woman who came back from the dead, Emily Prentiss. Somehow, Dave just wasn't surprised that he fell in love with Emily. She was beautiful, smart as a whip, and could probably kick his ass in a hand to hand fight (not that Dave would ever hit a woman. His mother would skin him alive, even if it was in self defense training). But, it did surprise him that he would realize his heart's current state of capture when Emily was in the state she was in.
Emily was seeing someone. Some Tom, Dick or Harry from the department of whatever the fuck it was at the company Whatsitcalled. Whatever. Point was, he was a nobody, and from what JJ let slip, Emily was having the time of her life watching her mother's eyes narrow every time she brought Joe Average over for dinner. Dave should have been happy for her, Emily had only ever wanted a normal relationship with a normal guy that couldn't be torn apart by her mother and her career. It seemed like she'd found it with this Joe Schmoe, and while Rossi kind of hated himself for it, he wasn't happy about it. Now that he pulled his head out of the sand and realized how he felt, he wanted to do the logical thing and tell Emily, but with the aforementioned relationship she was currently in, that wasn't a viable option.
So, Dave was left with one option – Waiting. It was his least favorite option in any scenario – David Rossi, ladies and gents, was a man of action, after all. – but, what could he do? He wasn't about to go up to Emily and tell her, 'I'm in love with you. I don't know when it happened, or how long I have been, but I am, and I think you should leave What'shisface because he is not and will never be good enough for you. I, on the other hand, am.' Being true didn't make it any less egotistical, and Dave knew that Emily would give him a look that could shatter stone if he ever said such a thing to her.
So, he waited. A week and a half dredged by, and Aaron saw him wandering around in a funk and called him on it. Damn him, him and his extreme intelligence and habit of knowing Rossi sometimes better than he knew himself. The nerve of him. But, Aaron called him on it, and Dave could do nothing but admit the truth. On the one hand, he didn't want Aaron to know – Other people knowing made it real, and real was something Rossi couldn't handle just then. But on the other, Aaron didn't give him much choice. He came striding into Rossi's office after seeing his best friend get into a verbal fight with Morgan about cooking, and planted himself firmly in place before Dave's desk.
The unit chief told him that if he was going to be an ass to their teammates because he was frustrated with Emily not knowing how he felt, he should grow a pair and tell her before JJ did just out of spite. (He knew being snippy to Reid was a bad idea the minute the words left his mouth the week before during an argument, but he couldn't take them back. He just hoped that JJ was merciful.) Dave didn't even bother arguing, but just said that there was nothing he could do that wouldn't hurt Emily.
Aaron said he understood how it felt to stand by and see the person you were in love with be with another person, but if Dave was determined not to hurt Emily, he would need to come to grips with the idea that the relationship she was in was potentially solid, and that she would remain an unavailable option to him. Dave hated his best friend for being right and said as much, but he couldn't deny that so the two spent the next hour in his office bitching to each other about the follies of love.
Hotch had had a good rant going until Reid poked his head in the door and told Aaron that their dinner reservations were set for eight o'clock that night. The genius also told Rossi that there were no hard feelings about their fight the week before, and that he knew better than most how it felt to work with the person you were in love with when they were completely oblivious to you. (The look he shot to Aaron spoke volumes, and Rossi laughed at the abashed expression on his best friend's face.)
After the happy couple made their exit, Dave sat in his office in silence, contemplating the situation before him. He knew he couldn't say anything to Emily, he valued her too much as a friend and teammate to put her in such a position. But he couldn't just say nothing, it would drive him insane. So, he contemplated the conundrum before him as he put his coat on and walked out the door to his office, intent on going home, getting some scotch and sitting in front of his fireplace until this whole mess made sense to him.
Or, that had been his plan until he saw Emily Prentiss sitting at her desk, anger stamped all over her face as she snapped her phone shut and threw it into her bag. She glanced up when Dave cleared his throat, and gave him what could have passed for a grin if Dave was drunk or unconscious.
"Everything okay?", Dave asked, not sure if he really wanted to know but this was Emily, and he could never stand to see her angry or upset. It was his Achilles' heel and he knew it, but right then he wasn't going to think about it.
Emily sighed, and Dave didn't need to be a profiler to know that something had happened. "That was Adrian on the phone.", she answered. Adrian. That was his name, Dave remembered. What the hell kind of a name was that anyway? Dave was much better, as far as Rossi was concerned anyway.
"Trouble?" If anyone (Hotch) asked, that was most certainly not a note of hope in his voice. David Rossi was more tactful than that, thank you. Emily frowned again, and then stood from her desk.
"We had plans to go to the movies tonight and because of the last case, I had to cancel. I didn't know he'd made dinner reservations to surprise me, and he wasn't thrilled with having to cancel them.", Emily explained while Dave handed her her coat. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, and that's too bad." That was great, but thankfully Rossi had a good poker face so Emily didn't have to know that. "Did you explain that we had a case come up that we needed to see to ASAP?"
"I tried, but we got into an argument about it. He said I wasn't making enough time for him in my schedule.", Emily told him, the two walking out of the bullpen and to the elevator. "I had no idea what to say. He knew what my schedule was like after I turned him down the first four times he asked me out because of a case. I barely have enough time for me in my schedule, never mind him!"
"I'm sorry to hear that, Emily." He was sorry she was upset, and that her boyfriend was an idiot, but it was the words that counted.
"I'm sorry it happened." There was still sadness on her face, and although he'd take the chance to steal her from this Adrian guy in a heartbeat, she seemed to be emotionally invested in him, so this was actually hurting her. Dave frowned to himself as they walked into the elevators, and then turned to Emily.
"Well, it's not dinner and a movie, but I was thinking of grabbing some Thai food before heading for home. Would you be interested in accompanying me?"
Emily smiled at him, and he'd deny his heart speeding up until his dying day. "Sure, Dave. Sounds good, I could go for Thai. I'll take my car and follow you there."
"Sure.", Dave smiled back, and then pretended to check a text message while rapidly searching for the nearest Thai place in the area.
An hour later, Dave wasn't sure whether someone up there loved him or had it out for him. He was sitting in a restaurant with Emily, her laughing at some story he told her from his old days at the FBI (The story involved Hotch, and Rossi had the feeling that his best friend was going to be pissed at him when the story circulated around the bullpen. But, Emily was laughing, so Hotch could take one for the team this time around, he figured.) But her phone had been turned on and shut off six times in the forty minutes they'd been sitting there, Emily's expression getting more and more dark every time.
"Emily, you're going to kill your battery doing that.", Rossi told her calmly, trying to remember how to use chop sticks without looking like an idiot. Emily grimaced, and then smiled sheepishly. Her phone let out a beep and Emily clicked a key. Seconds of tense silence followed, and Dave watched as her face went blank. She silently put the phone back in her purse and returned to her food, not saying a word.
Dave was just about to ask when Emily told him, "That was Adrian. He wanted to know if he could have the key to his place back." Dave almost dropped his chopsticks.
"He broke up with you?", Dave asked, sounding amazed to his own ears. What special kind of moron was this guy?
"Looks that way. Apparently, three months of being placed on the back burner in favor of my career pushed him to his breaking point.", Emily laughed half-heartedly. Dave suddenly wished JJ or Garcia was there with them; he was no good at comforting people when it came to relationship issues. His comfort of choice was scotch, so he was usually of little to no help. Emily sighed again, putting her face in her hands. "God, I'm an idiot. I should have known this would happen."
"Emily, you can't blame yourself for this. You have a very demanding job that you love, and he couldn't take it. That's his problem, not yours." , Dave told her.
"This is the way it always happens though, Dave. I meet a great guy, we hit it off, things go great for a few months, then either my mother or my career get in the way, and I'm right back where I started.", Emily sighed. "I love my job, but can't it just once give my social life a break?"
"Emily, this job is a killer. The people who do it have to be a very special type of person, and you're lucky enough to be one of them. In the end, when you look back on all the people whose lives you protected, you'll see that all the late nights and broken dates were worth it.", Dave promised her. "Besides, when you finally do find the right man, he'll understand your schedule and he'll support it. He won't make it an either-or situation. If he does, he's not the right guy for the job and you move on. You deserve someone who will build you up, not demand you break yourself into little pieces and who will only be happy with the little piece of you that suits them."
"You sound so sure.", Emily replied.
"Take it from me, Emily. I've been doing this job too long to fool myself about its downsides, and I also know what it's like to look for love while trying to save the world.", Dave laughed, pulling a slight smile from Emily. "You're young, smart, and beautiful, Emily. You've got all the time in the world to find your knight in shining armor, so right now try to focus on being the princess who gets the hell out of the tower."
"Well, I was known to climb out of my bedroom window a time or two in my younger years.", Emily laughed and Dave could believe it. If he'd had a mother like Ambassador Prentiss, he'd have done his fair share of wall climbing too. "And at this point, I'd be willing to settle for a stable boy or a page. Knights are turning out to be really overrated."
"You see? You've got the princess part downpat.", Rossi agreed. "Now, put the phone away, Emily. It's done, there's nothing you can really do right now until you're both calmed down."
"You know what, you're right. Besides, I've got a rich author paying for my dinner. I guess my night could have gone much worse.", Emily told him, grinning at him as Rossi let out a wounded sound.
"Just like all the others, eh, Prentiss? Only after me for my money.", Rossi tisked, never mind the fact that he'd hand her the password to his savings account in a moment if she asked it of him. She just laughed and shook her head, then went back to her General's chicken stirfry. Dave made a mental note to get Garcia to flag Adrian's finances, then launched into another story.
When Monday morning dawned bright and early around the BAU, Garcia was hopping mad and JJ was doing damage control in the wake of Emily being dumped. The FBI's Tech Goddess had warned any and all that they were not to disturb her or they would suffer her wrath. Not even Morgan was exempt, which only added to the terror that gripped the bullpen. When Garcia denied entry into her lair to her Adonis, something serious was about to go down and everyone was holding their breath as they waited for the fallout. (Even Kevin Lynch, who was still on very good terms with Garcia after their mutual break up four months before, was avoiding the lair like the plague, hesitant to even send her an IM regarding a case he was working. He knew well just how deep the anger of Penelope Garcia could run, and also knew that this was an example of letting sleeping dogs lie.)
For all the commotion, it was a fairly quiet day in the A team's little corner of the bureau. Emily and JJ were having a lively discussion about why men other than Henry, Jack, Will, Declan and their teammates were terrible human beings. Morgan and Reid were trying to stay as far removed from the topic as they could, with Reid seeking asylum in Hotch's office most of the time and leaving Morgan up a creek without a paddle. Rossi, on the other hand, was leaning against Emily's desk beside her, a coffee in hand and listening to every word that was said. He had almost laughed himself sick twenty minutes in, and although he felt he should be offended on behalf of his gender, he understood that it was a method to catharsis and didn't take it personally.
Hotch was in his office, fielding a rare call from Gideon. Rossi knew the old lead profiler checked in from time to time, and that Aaron had yet to tell Reid about the calls. Dave told him he was an idiot, but he also understood that Reid was still dealing with the betrayal from Gideon's abrupt departure and that to have him know about the calls wouldn't be very helpful for helping him get over it. Rossi still remembered his old teammate, and knew that if anyone could recover from an incident like Frank Brightkopf and live a happy life, it was Jason Gideon.
Dave looked at Emily where she sat and saw that she was still hurting, but talking with JJ and laughing was making her feel better. He felt eyes on him then looked up to see Morgan staring at him, a look of comprehension on his face. He looked at Emily, and then grinned at Rossi, giving him what Rossi understood as a nod of approval. The unspoken threat was still there, though – "Hurt her, and you will regret it." Morgan was something of the overprotective brother in their dysfunctional little family. He saw Emily as someone for him to protect, even against another member of their family, so if anyone hurt her, Morgan would step in.
Fortunately for Dave, he had no intention of seeing Emily hurt ever again, so he wasn't especially concerned. He just returned the nod and went back to observing Emily and JJ. While JJ relayed some story about Henry to Emily that had the brunette woman in stitches, she sent Rossi a smirk that even the most basic of profilers could interpret. Crap. JJ knew too.
Fortunately, it was an in office day and Dave's paperwork was all caught up so while the girls chatted, Dave was able to relax and listen to the conversation with half an ear as he flipped through a possible case file. His attention was grabbed and shook by JJ when she said,
"Emily, why didn't you call Adrian texted you? You could have come to my place.", JJ asked.
"I was actually out for dinner after the last case with Rossi when I got the message." Dave stopped reading and stood just a touch more still. He hoped JJ wouldn't make the leap in judgment he could see her gearing up for.
"Really. Sounds like you were well equipped in terms of company for a post break up meal." Dave didn't even need to look at her to see the smirk JJ wore at that statement, and he rolled his eyes heavenward, hoping for a miracle.
"I couldn't have asked for better.", Emily laughed, smiling at Rossi. While that smile did something strange to his stomach, Rossi smiled back and ignored the gleeful look on JJ's face as she observed the two. His hopes were dashed, and any chance of a miracle was non-existent.
"Guys, board room. We've got a case.", Hotch announced, striding from his office with Reid a step behind him and a file folder in hand. (If the genius looked a little ruffled, no one said anything.) Dave said a quick prayer of thanks to whoever decided to cut him a break and walked with JJ, Emily and Morgan into the board room.
Forty six hours later, forty three of those being spent chasing down a psychopath who lived in the Montana mountains and had seen the Texas Chainsaw Massacre once or fourteen times too many, the team was flying back to the BAU, leaving one very unhinged unsub in their wake with the LEOs. Rossi didn't even have the energy to make it to the coffee machine, but right then, he wanted sleep more than coffee. He heard a soft laugh beside him then turned, wondering when Emily had taken a seat on the couch next to him and how he'd been tired enough to miss it.
"Getting too old for this, Rossi?", Emily whispered. JJ was passed out in the chair on the other side of the aisle, and Reid was stretched out on the couch in the area ahead of them. Hotch took the seat opposite the couch, trying valiantly to get paperwork done while his eyes insisted on closing every other minute, and Morgan was out like a light, his head phones in before his head even hit the pillow.
Dave chuckled. "Bite your tongue. I can take anything anyone on this plane can and still keep going.", Dave answered.
"You'll just complain about it more and get Reid to do your paperwork for you.", Emily teased.
"That, young grasshopper, is the benefit of age and wisdom. And I do not complain, I merely express my opinion in a more pronounced manner.", Dave explained quietly with a smirk. He heard muffled voices ahead of him and glanced up to see Aaron tossing a blanket over the still sleeping genius, who was currently curled up in a ball and from what Rossi could see, in the middle of a nightmare. Aaron had a look of concern on his face, and Dave felt for his friend. Everyone on the team knew that Reid's nightmares were a daily occurrence for the young genius, and Dave knew it had to be killing Aaron to be unable to help him.
"They're good together.", Emily commented quietly, seeing the exact same thing Rossi was. He nodded.
"They are. I just hope they can make it work. They both deserve some happiness in their lives after everything they've gone through.", Rossi agreed.
"If anybody can tell fate where to go and how to get there, it's those two.", Emily assured him. "When did you notice?"
"I knew the day Aaron introduced me to the kid. It was obvious, but neither of them could see it.", Dave answered laughing. "You?"
"When I first got here, I thought they were together. They were always on the same wavelength, and only Hotch and JJ could listen to Reid's rambling for more than a minute.", Emily returned, smiling at the memory.
"I'm just glad they clued in before one or both of them died of old age.", Rossi sighed, then sat back in his chair with a sound of exhaustion. "I'm beat. If I fall asleep in the next few minutes, don't take offense, Emily."
"All that age and wisdom catching up with you, Dave?", Emily asked, giving him a grin.
"Quiet, you. Respect your elders.", Dave replied jokingly. He wasn't that much older than Emily, in the grand scheme of things anyway.
"Yes, dad.", Emily answered. "Get some rest, Dave. I'll wake you when we get back to Quantico."
Dave let out a grunt of agreement, and then let his eyes slide shut. In no time at all, he was being woken up by pressure popping in his ears, and by a weight lying on his shoulder. He groggily looked around, seeing the back of JJ and Morgan's heads as they exited the plane, then looked beside him to find Emily's head on his shoulder. The woman herself was in a deep sleep, and Dave chuckled before gently shaking her awake.
"Hm? What?", Emily asked sleepily, trying to clear the sand from her eyes.
"Weren't you supposed to be waking me up when we got home?", Dave asked, keeping a hand on Emily's back as she stood from the couch and stretched.
"We're back already?", Emily asked through a yawn. "Feels like I just fell asleep."
"Yeah, we're back. I'd recognize those lights anywhere.", Rossi replied, nodding out the window to where the rest of the team was tiredly piling into the SUVs.
"I want my bed. Those couches are terrible.", Emily grumbled as the two made their way out of the jet.
"Agreed. I think I'll talk to Erin about getting a replacement." By 'talk' he meant 'harass', and they both knew that.
"More power to you.", Emily replied. She looked tiredly at Dave, then said, "By the way, Dave, when are you going to ask me out?"
Dave stopped. His mouth worked for a moment to try to come up with an answer, but all he could think of was, "What?"
"I've been single for-" Emily checked her watch. "Three days now. I thought you'd have made a move faster than that or I'd have asked you out myself."
"Emily, I didn't-"
"Think I was interested?" Dave nodded. "Yeah, JJ and I figured as much when we were talking about it. And you're wrong because I am."
"What about Adrian?" Dave felt like he'd just fallen into a really bad 90s sitcom.
"Dave, I liked Adrian. I've been in love with you for the past four years, but I figured you weren't interested and started to date other guys. Then I saw how jealous you were when I brought Adrian to the BAU a few weeks ago – Yes, I saw that. Don't bother denying it. I know you don't just go dropping mugs of coffee on people's shoes, Dave. "
"And you didn't say anything?"
"I'd begun to actually like Adrian, and I was hoping that he would help me get over you. Turns out, he just brought me back to you all over again.", Emily explained with a nervous smile.
"You knew all this time how I felt about you?"
"Not all the time. JJ and Garcia swear you liked me since the day you joined the BAU." JJ and Garcia were right, and he told her as much.
"I didn't think I was that transparent." Emily's face went beet red as she caught the meaning in those words. Dave put his hands in his pockets as the two stood in front of the jet stairway. "So. Where does this leave us?"
"Hell if I know. I don't think I remember what a normal relationship is.", Emily laughed.
"Who said we would be normal?", Dave replied. "It's too late right now, but would you care to join me for an actual dinner date this weekend? Give this whole functional relationship thing a shot?"
Emily laughed, and for Dave, the smile caused by that laugh lit up the airway. "I think that's a great idea."
It didn't hit Dave until he was home and taking off his tie, but he'd never been so thankful that he'd had an awakening. He was also thankful for the chance to prove himself right to both himself and to Emily – If he played his cards right, there was a chance that at the end of the day, he and Emily might be able to belong with each other.
AN: That's it, guys. I'll read it over later and probably catch half a dozen errors, but for now, this is it as it stands.
I hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you all next time! Thanks for reading, and have a great night!
Much love,
Oracle. (L)