She'd wanted JJ for so long she'd forgotten what it was like to want anything else.

She'd spent hours studying her face, just watching her as she went about her day. There was something captivating about the blond that completely arrested Emily's attention. Emily liked to watch her when JJ thought no one was watching, while she read files, when she answered the phone, when she leaned back in her chair and gave herself five minutes just to breathe.

From out in the bullpen, Emily had watched through the glass of JJ's office windows and she thought she'd built a pretty comprehensive profile of the media liaison in her mind. Tonight, though, she knew she'd been very, very wrong.

Tonight JJ stood in Emily's living room, eyes bright with wine and laughter, hips moving to the music coming from the speakers. They'd been growing closer for some time, and Emily had gathered up the courage to ask JJ – just JJ – to have dinner at her place. Emily had cooked, and had delighted in watching JJ's face as she tasted the pasta with Emily's own home made sauce.

Emily herself was sitting on the couch and just watching JJ dance, but she knew that JJ wouldn't let her sit out for long. And she was right – before two minutes had gone by, JJ was pulling Emily up and begging with those big, beautiful eyes for Emily to dance with her. Emily was helpless, completely unable to resist her.

Together they moved, slowly, hips matching the tempo of the music still filtering through the speakers. JJ lifted her arms above her head, eyes closing as she swayed, and then let her hands drift down to land on Emily's shoulders, tugging her closer and settling there around Emily's neck.

Their eyes met.

Emily had always been drawn to the clarity of JJ's big blue eyes, the way they sparkled and shone with her various emotions, but she'd never seen them like this before. They were darker now, clouded with something Emily couldn't quite place – or perhaps she was just too afraid to name it. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but JJ cut her off with a finger at her lips.

Slowly, giving Emily every chance to pull away, to run, JJ closed the distance between them. She paused, her lips a whisper from Emily's own. It was Emily's last chance to stop this, but she was frozen with anticipation. She knew what was about to happen. She wanted it. She'd wanted it since day one, but she couldn't help the way her heart pounded in her chest, her pulse fluttering in her throat.

Her eyes were still locked with JJ's and she found herself giving the tiniest, almost imperceptible nod. Her tongue darted out, moistening her parted lips as her breath hitched, and she heard JJ whimper softly. Then they were kissing.

It was slow, at least to begin with. It was nothing more than a press of lips against lips, exploring each other as they pressed closer and closer. Never having kissed a woman before, Emily took her time, savoring every fraction of a second. She mentally catalogued the way JJ felt in her arms, the way she smelled, the little whimpers that were torn from her throat as Emily kissed her. She was the one to press her tongue forward and deepen their kiss.

Somehow they ended up on the couch, sitting facing each other. The angle was slightly awkward but neither could bring themselves to care as they continued kissing. Emily pulled back just far enough to snatch a needy breath of air before diving back in. What had started out slow and exploratory had evolved into something quite different. Their kisses were hungry now, fiery and passionate and desperate – yet their hands stayed in relatively chaste positions, JJ's around Emily's neck, and Emily's clutching JJ's hips.

Sometime later, the two of them parted, and Emily took a moment to look at JJ. Her face was flushed beautifully, a wash of pink coloring her cheeks. Her eyes shone. The blue was even deeper and more gorgeous than usual, and her pupils were dilated, wide with passion and pleasure.

"I have wanted to do that for so long," JJ breathed, and Emily laughed delightedly.

"You have no idea," she replied, "how much I have wanted the same thing."