Hi, y'all. I'm not usually one for author's notes, but this one has a back story. I've had a serious case of writer's block and several months ago, in an effort to get myself jumpstarted again, I happened across this list of prompts for every letter of the alphabet for which people were sharing relationship headcanon. Never intending to have anyone see what I was writing, I totally borrowed the prompts but made no note of where they came from. The good news is, it did help get me writing again, and what I intended to be just an exercise for myself yielded a fair amount of halfway decent material I now feel like sharing (you'll sooner or later get the whole alphabet's worth – I've got probably three-quarters of them written, just not in order). The bad news, of course, is that I cannot for the life of me find where I discovered these prompts I used and have no idea who to credit. So, if any one knows where these came from or who I can thank – please do pass that information along.

What follows is a series of interconnected one-shots, presented in alphabetical and not chronological order, exploring the development of JJ and Emily's relationship after Emily returned to the BAU to become Unit Chief. Assume everything that happened on the show prior to Season 12 holds true, and then it kind of goes off into my own re-imagining from there.

First up, A is for Attractive - what do JJ and Emily find attractive about the other?

Thanks for reading!

"You should wear your hair up," JJ suggested, sitting cross-legged on Emily's bed as she watched the other woman get ready.

Emily paused, making eye contact in the full-length mirror that hung on the inside of the closet as she finished tying the wrap dress snug around her body. "We're going out to dinner, Jay, not into the field."

"Yeah, I know," JJ shrugged. "I like it when you wear your hair up."

"You do?"

JJ nodded, biting her lip.

"Well, okay then," Emily responded, feeling a spark somewhere deep in her body at the look on JJ's face. She moved into the en suite bathroom, grabbing a brush off the vanity before coming back into the room, pulling her hair back into a low ponytail.

"Higher," JJ mumbled softly, suddenly embarrassed. She and Emily had been dating for several months now, had been friends for a decade before that, but JJ couldn't help the shy feeling that washed over her as she spoke up to share this preference with Emily.

"What'd you say?"

"I like it when you wear your hair in a high ponytail," JJ spoke, a little more self-assuredly. "Or maybe a bun."

Emily paused, maintaining eye contact in the mirror even as she shook her hair out, adjusting her ponytail more toward the top of her head and wrapping it into a bun. "This is my weekend-morning-haven't-showered-yet look," she shrugged. "Is this even appropriate for the restaurant you picked out?"

JJ didn't answer immediately, instead walking over behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her waist and placing a long, slow kiss to the side of her neck. "I don't think I want to go out anymore," she whispered.

Emily moaned into the kiss, turning her body in JJ's arms until their lips met. "So you've got a thing for high ponytails and messy buns?"

"Kinda," JJ whispered, running her fingers up Emily's arms and across her shoulders, entwining her fingers together at the back of her neck.

"Kinda?" Emily questioned, leaning her head to the side as JJ's lips found their way to the sensitive spot just under her ear.

"It's not your hair, baby," JJ spoke between kisses. "It's your neck."

"My neck?" Emily pulled back to make eye contact, her hands resting on JJ's hips.

JJ nodded. "The back of it, specifically." She reached her hands down and played with the hem of Emily's shirt. "Your hair's always down, or in a low ponytail, and you look beautiful like that, you do. But…"

Emily reached her own hands down, pulling her shirt out of JJ's hands and lifting it up over her head. "But…?"

"God, Em," JJ practically growled, walking the other woman backward until she was pushed up against the wall. She took a deep, steadying breath before leaning forward to whisper into Emily's ear. "But…when you're at home, or at my place, and you have your hair pulled up when you first wake up in the morning, or when you're running around in my yard with the boys, or when you're trying not to get it wet in the shower…that's my Emily. The Emily nobody else gets to see. The Emily with whom I get to do this," she reached up, nipping gently at her earlobe; "and this," quickly running her tongue up the side of Emily's neck; "and this," JJ whispered before attaching her lips at the juncture between Emily's neck and shoulder, sucking the skin into her mouth.

Emily felt her knees weaken as JJ's hands begin to wander, her mouth following not far behind. "Take me to bed," she whispered.

"Gladly."

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"I can't believe I practically jumped you like some sex-crazed teenager," JJ muttered, her face buried in a pillow, hoping to hide the embarrassment she knew would be clear on her face.

"Well, apparently I have a very sexy neck," Emily answered, jumping when JJ playfully slapped at her stomach.

"Don't tease."

"Oh, I'm totally serious. I will never wear my hair down around you again, I swear. Not now that I know what's in it for me."

"Emily," JJ warned, her face reddening further.

Emily turned onto her side to face JJ, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "For me, it's your legs," she whispered a moment later.

JJ stayed quiet, raising a single eyebrow.

"It feels like such a cop-out of an answer," Emily continued. "I mean, any time you wear a shorter skirt, everybody's eyes turn towards you. And shorts? I thought Alvez was going to pass out when he saw you at the barbecue at Rossi's last weekend."

JJ rolled her eyes. "You're exaggerating."

"Am I? They all looked, Rossi, Reid, I think Tara might have even been eyeing you up. I was just glad Morgan wasn't there to see you. I know he drooled over you, back in the day. I didn't feel like I could say anything to stop him then, but I caught him checking you out multiple times."

"Maybe because you were, too?"

Emily grinned. "Yeah, maybe." She paused, tucking a strand of hair behind JJ's ear. "I am so, so turned on by your personality, and your brains, and the way you make everybody around you feel so comfortable and cared about, but God, Jay, those legs just do something to me. Like, it's primal or something. They're just so long, and toned, and…perfect."

JJ rolled her eyes again, trying to mask the slight smile and blush she felt rising again on her cheeks. "You hungry?" she asked, moving to get up off the bed. "If we leave in the next five minutes and don't hit any lights, we can probably make it before they give away our reservation."

"Sounds good," Emily agreed, moving to get up herself. "It's just…" she paused, waiting for JJ to make eye contact before winking at the other woman. "You might want to trade that skirt you'd planned to wear for something that hides a little more or we're never going to get out of here."