When Aaron Met Emily Again
A/N: Hey guys, the original was just begging for a small sequel. I wasn't sure whether to make this a romance or a friendship so now it's both and you can take from it what you will. ENJOY R&R PLZ!
"GARCIA!" Emily whined from behind her blindfold. How she let her quirky friend do this to her, she'll never understand. To be clear, her, Emily Prentiss, head of London's prestigious Interpol office, allowed herself to be blindfolded and whisked away to an unknown location and allowed the kooky tech to strip her down and dress her up in some outfit and do her hair. She could tell it was a dress, it felt sleek on her form and was incredibly light. There was definitely a slit on the left side and was tied behind her neck. It was hard not to just take the blindfold off but Penny had already threatened her credit score if she dared.
"Alright miss fussy pants, I have to take off the blindfold to do your makeup but you are to keep your eyes closed is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Emily droned. She felt the fabric lift away gently and breathed a sigh of relief. "How much longer?"
"Not long," Penelope chirped, brushing her cheeks. "Oooh you're not going to be disappointed Em. This is gonna be the best of surprise ever! Hmmm let me see…" Emily could hear what sounded like flapping paper as if she reading from a list of instructions. "Alright I know what to do." Since when did Pen need make-up instructions?
"What are you doing to my face?"
"Turning back the hands of time," Penelope replied cryptically. "Now just a touch of rouge on those pouty lips annnnnndd DONE!"
"Great now can I open my eyes?"
"In one minute," Penelope helped her to her feet, when had the stilettos gone on? "Follow me slowly, you don't want to trip gumdrop." They clearly exited the room they were in and turned left. Everything echoed like cave, so wherever she was it was big and empty. A few yards and the women stopped. "Give me a second." She heard a door open and the hum of voices rushed out then quickly died. "Alright come here, just a little to the left, no no too far, there, that's it, perfect! Open your eyes Em." Her eyes fluttered to adjust for the sudden rush of light but she saw they were in huge dance hall, one that was strangely familiar. The three chandeliers hung just where she remembered it, the fireplace crackled merrily, giving a soft glow to the old marble floors. The entire team plus their spouses were there and shouted together, "SURPRISE!"
"Is this…" Emily breathed out.
"Mhm," Penelope nodded eagerly, attempting reign in her giddiness. "Welcome back." Emily tentatively stepped into the hall and caught her reflection in the large mirror. She was wearing a near identical dress from the one all those years ago. Her hair had been styled the same and so was her makeup. Penelope waved a photograph, "Courtesy of Norma who happens to…"
"Emily dear," Norma gushed, rushing forward to hug her. The older woman wore shimmering green dress with long sleeves. "You look wonderful."
"And you look hot," Emily teased. "Whose eye are you trying to catch?" Norma swatted her arm. Her shock had abated and she could appreciate the great pains her friends took to recreate the old gala. Someone – cough, cough ROSSI – hired a three piece strings band to play in the corner and a table had been laid out with Italian food (Rossi again!). She approached the team, "This looks great you guys."
"The story stuck on us so we wanted to experience it for ourselves," Derek smirked. "Including…" he gestured to something behind her. Emily turned and saw Aaron fidgeting with his cuffs, the tux was a perfect match to his original and he still looked as uncomfortable as ever. Emily smiled and walked over to stop his fussing.
"I'd thought you'd be used to this by now," Emily murmured while adjusting the sleeve.
"So did I, guess we were both wrong," Hotch chuckled weakly. "You look beautiful Em."
"Not so bad yourself Hot Eyes," Emily winked. "Think you'd want to dance with a whiny kid?"
"I would be honoured Miss Prentiss," Hotch caught her hand to put it on his shoulder. Right on cue, Dave signalled for the band to start playing and they began to move without a single thought. They were vaguely aware of cameras flashing and the others joining in but then the world faded. As they spun around the dance floor, the whirl of colours made it feel as if time was turning back. Doyle, The Reaper, all the trauma seemed like a distant memory. Finally the music stopped and everyone broke away to clap except Aaron and Emily who still held each other. Emily could have sworn she saw him again, that wet-behind-the-ears FBI agent who dared to stand up to her. For Hotch there was something in her expression, he could sense she had come back; the bold, brazen woman that entered his life like a lightning and left just as quickly. Thankfully this lightning struck twice. The room had gone silent but they took no notice of anyone else as they got closer.
Emily brushed his cheek, "Nice to see you again Hot Eyes."
Aaron nearly snorted lightly, "I never thought I would say this but the feeling is mutual brat." They laughed together quietly and pulled each other in for a hug that caused their audience to burst out in another round of applause.
"Does this mean I can go back to annoying you?" Emily grinned into his chest.
"You wish," Hotch scoffed. Emily leant back and raised an eyebrow. "Okay maybe a little," he conceded. "Just as long as we don't get locked in any rooms."
"Deal."
Norma stood beside Rossi clutching her champagne flute. "You know David," she looked up at him. "I was there when those two first met. I thought it would take a miracle for them to make peace let alone this…" she gestured to where the two in question stood.
"It only took the better part of twenty years," Rossi half-shrugged.
Norma smiled with maternal fondness, "It's about time."