a/n: I got bored with my new found desk job and decided to write something. And since my beta is currently swamped with school work and exams, this is unbeta'ed. I don't want to add her burden. Ex, consider this for you - wishing you good luck on the exams and all. Love you, girl!

I hope you will enjoy it. comments are always appreciated. :D

Disclaimer: Not mine *scoffs*



"I've made it obvious... done everything but say it..."

Obvious - Westlife

.

Emily smiled when she saw what was on her desk when she arrived at the office. A box of dark chocolate with a small note attached on it had already waited on top of the stack of case files. She took the card and read a very simple note written in it.

"Thank you for last night. I'll call you. Hugs."

Her smile widened. The woman put the card in her desk drawer – along with a few other similar cards. There was no name on the card, but she knew who had sent it.

"Chocolate this time?" Morgan suddenly said from behind her, making Emily jumped a little. "Geez girl; and I thought your social life sucks."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "Likewise, Derek," she replied. "And this is from a friend."

The dark agent gave a chuckle of disbelief. "And this friend must have a major crush on you then, clueless nerd! Chocolate, cupcakes, potpourri, and what was the first one – right, your favourite brand of coffee," Morgan listed, laughing all the way.

"Well, this friend happens to be very thoughtful, Morgan," Emily said sweetly with a smile. She took the box of chocolate and put it into her bag. "And I was going to share it with you – changed my mind. I'll share it with someone else." The woman took her handbag and walked away from the still laughing Morgan.

Emily headed out of the bullpen to JJ's office. She knew JJ must have arrived earlier – she always did. She smiled when she heard JJ's soft voice talking on the phone before she could see the blonde. She stopped in front of her office, leaning casually on the door frame, and knocked.

JJ lifted her head – her bright blue eyes sparkled as they met Emily's brown eyes. She smiled and motioned her friend to come in with her head. She mouthed 'one minute' and pointed to a chair, asking Emily to sit down and wait for her.

The profiler watched JJ as the younger woman talked on the phone, nodding at times and scribbling some information on a legal pad. Emily enjoyed the view in front of her, mostly because she knew that JJ was oblivious that Emily was watching her. Emily quickly averted her eyes when JJ bid whoever was talking with her goodbye.

"So," JJ began with a highly amused tone, "what brings Emily Prentiss to my door?"

Emily chuckled. She dipped into her handbag and pulled out the box of chocolate, waving it in front of JJ. "Mind telling me about this?" she asked. "Please tell you didn't go out in the middle of the night to buy this."

"You're very welcome, Emily," JJ said. "No, I woke up too early this morning so I decided to stop by the supermarket and get you something."

The brunette shook her head. 'Waking up too early' was a lame excuse – they both knew what time they had finished talking on the phone last night. Emily had called JJ last night when she came across a very sappy old movie rerun on television as she knew that the other woman would love to watch it. They had ended up not watching but talking nonsense for over two hours on the phone – laughing and giggling like schoolgirls.

Before Emily could say anything, Hotch showed up at the door. The unit chief apologized for disturbing them but he really needed to see JJ in his office. The two women moved simultaneously – Emily walked back to her desk and JJ followed Hotch to his office.

***

Work was a little slow for Emily that morning – she had already finished and filed her case report the day before, the first one who had finished it as usual – so she basically had nothing to do. The woman decided to read the novel she had brought with her, but her mind would not cooperate – it kept wandering to the nice conversation she had had with JJ the night before.

Jennifer Jareau had been Emily's friend ever since she was transferred to the BAU. While it took some time for the others to warm up to her, JJ had been very nice to her since they first met. Garcia had always been nice to her, too – but it was different. Garcia didn't travel with her as much as JJ did. The computer expert didn't always get to see with her own eyes the horrific scenes and the extent of cruelty a person could inflict to others. And when you shared the experience of seeing the terrifying images with someone, you couldn't help but have a special connection with that particular person.

Emily had always liked JJ as a friend – until recently. She didn't know what changed, or how it happened. But she realized that she had certain feelings – very strong feelings – for JJ and that the feelings were not simply platonic. She didn't know when she first noticed how beautiful JJ was, or how deep her blue eyes were, or how captivating her smile was. And honestly, Emily didn't want to think too much about it.

She enjoyed her friendship with JJ. For now, she was satisfied for being able to flirt with the blonde without having to think about the consequences; she was still happy for being able to call JJ at any time and have some silly laugh with her. She knew that soon all that would not be enough anymore, that one day she would be frustrated by her feelings for the other woman. Emily didn't care – she didn't want to worry about it now.

"Earth to Emily!" Morgan snapped his fingers in front of her and Emily blinked. She slapped Morgan's arm playfully but the muscular man was faster than her. He laughed. "Sorry for calling you back from Mars, girl, but your phone has been ringing for a minute or so now!"

"Huh? Wha..?" Emily didn't hear the ringing until now. She picked the phone up without looking at the name of the caller. "Prentiss," she said.

"Hey, am I disturbing you?" JJ's sweet voice was heard from the other end of the line, and Emily smiled unconsciously.

"Nope, not at all. I just didn't hear the phone; too absorbed in reading, I guess. What's up?" Emily's reply had caused Morgan to choke in laughter and the brunette glared at him. She listened to JJ for a while before responding, "Oh, it's okay, really. Walking to your office as we speak."

***

JJ's office was a clutter when Emily got there – there were case files everywhere, even on the floor. And the blonde was sitting cross-legged on the floor with file folders around her. JJ was sweating and looked flustered, and Emily thought that the younger woman was very cute.

"What are we looking for again?" Emily said, squatting at the door – the only space that was still free of case files.

JJ sighed angrily. She was so upset about this. "Strauss had asked Hotch to bring her a case file report on a case a couple of months ago – the one that we didn't take; the one that she transferred to another team that she didn't remember which. She knows that I have to keep a copy on every case that comes across my desk, even though we don't take it," JJ told her friend. "But how does she expect me to remember every single case, let alone dated a couple of months back?! This woman is impossible!"

Emily muttered something about Strauss being a power hungry bitch and always wanted to make Hotch and the team suffered and JJ smiled a little when she heard that. "We went to Baltimore a couple of months ago. I guess we can have Garcia cross check all cases being distributed and approved by Strauss around that time and get the reference number so we don't have to read each and every files in your office," Emily said, glancing at stacks of files in JJ's office.

JJ's face lightened up. She reached for her phone and repeated what Emily had told her. Within minutes, Garcia managed to give her five reference numbers. The two women began to sort the file folders faster – they didn't have to open them one by one now.

***

It took them about four hours before they finally found all five files, all of which had to be read to make sure they gave Strauss the right one. They had skipped lunch but neither felt hungry – they had spent the whole day talking about silly stuff.

Emily enjoyed their time together and was rather disappointed when JJ beamed happily as she found the case file that Strauss 'needed'. She jumped and gave Emily a quick hug before running off to Hotch's office to hand him the file. "You, Emily Prentiss, are the best!" the blonde said.

Emily was glad that JJ wasn't there to see her blush. She began to gather and put the cluttered files into stacks, hoping that she didn't mess up JJ's filing – if the blonde had any. She had cleared almost all files when JJ came back, surprised that Emily did the cleanup without waiting for her.

"You should have waited for me!" JJ protested. She helped Emily with the remaining files. Then they sat at JJ's desk, slouching on the chair. "Thank you for helping me, Emily," JJ said. "You're such an angel."

The brunette shrugged. "Anybody could've done it, Jayj," she said. She then glanced at the wall clock; it was almost six and she realized they hadn't had anything to eat since the morning. "I'm a bit hungry. Wanna grab a bite or something?" she asked, hoping that JJ wanted to have dinner with her.

JJ looked at her friend apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry Emily; I have made some plans with Garcia earlier. If I knew, I'd reschedule with her," she said. JJ could have sworn she saw a glimpse of disappointment in Emily's eyes, but It was gone in a blink. "I'm really truly sorry," she added guiltily. JJ knew she had no reason to feel guilty – it wasn't like she had broken her promise or something – but she still felt guilty.

The tall woman was disappointed. She was hoping to have dinner with JJ and talk again some more. And if she wanted to be honest, she was a little surprised – not a really nice one – that JJ didn't offer her to join them. She hoped that her feelings weren't shown on her face as she shook her head and stood up. "It's okay, Jayj. I'm not that hungry anyway. You have fun with Garcia. Rain check?" Emily answered with – what she hoped to be – a usual tone.

"Yeah," JJ replied with a rather small voice. She didn't know why, but she felt a little sad. If only Garcia hadn't made her promise not to invite anyone else, she'd invite Emily in a heartbeat. JJ knew that Garcia wanted to talk to her about something important, but she really wished she hadn't promised. "I'm so sorry Emily."

Emily smiled. "No problem, JJ," she said as she walked to the door. She waved as a reply when JJ promised to call her later. She went back to her desk to get her stuff, said good night to Morgan, Reid, and Rossi, and headed to the parking lot. She caught a glimpse of JJ and Garcia at the parking lot; both women were laughing heartily. They didn't see Emily waving at them.

***

It was almost midnight when Emily's phone rang. The brunette groaned and yanked the phone from the bedside table. She had a little too much to drink and too little to eat before going to bed, and she didn't appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night. "Prentiss," she barked on the phone sleepily.

"Emily?" JJ's voice sounded nervous over the phone. "Did I wake you up?"

Hearing JJ's voice, Emily sat straight up on the bed, cursing at the wave of dizziness that hit her. "JJ?" she asked, glancing at the clock. "What happened? Is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. I had promised to call you when I got home. Sorry I woke you up; I didn't realize how late it is. Go back to sleep," the blonde replied quickly.

Emily let out an audible sigh. She was relieved to know that JJ was okay. She lay back on the bed. "So, did you two have fun?" she asked curiously. She was tired, but she wanted to talk with JJ, to hear her voice.

JJ recounted all details of her night out with Garcia, leaving only some things that Garcia had made her promise not to tell anyone. She was glad that Emily didn't just hang up when she told her to go back to sleep. She enjoyed talking with the older woman on the phone. She didn't really remember how it had started, but she remembered that Emily was the one who started the routine of calling her to have a random chat. The brunette had only called her after a case at first, to ask if she was okay. But then the calls got more and more often – and JJ didn't mind at all. Emily was a wonderful person, and the profiler always managed to bring up the silliest thing in a conversation. JJ didn't get to see this side of Emily as often at work and she was happy to be one of the few people who had the privilege of seeing it.

They spoke for another two hours before hanging up. Emily felt refreshed when they hung up – and she spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, smiling ear to ear.

***

The next two weeks was crazy – they got a terrible case; a lot of victims and multiple Unsubs. The team always got back to the hotel looking beat. Emily was tired physically and emotionally, both by the case and by her own frustration over JJ. Somehow in the two weeks, she was no longer contented by their relationship of being only friends.

Emily had tried to hide her feelings for the younger woman, and at the same time she had been courting JJ all the way. Of course, JJ was oblivious about it – and that was the thing that drove Emily crazy.

To make things worse, someone at the hotel had somehow managed to screw up the reservations and instead of getting six rooms, they only got five. And of course Emily and JJ shared a room – the guys fussed too much about who snored and who couldn't stop talking.

It was nice at first, to be able to chat with JJ before going to bed and to be able to see the blonde first thing in the morning, when a hint of sleep still lingered on her beautiful face. But after a while, Emily needed her space. She was tired of having to control herself all the time – fearing that she might let out something that alerted JJ of her feelings for the blonde, and at the same time she wanted JJ to know.

She spent less and less time in the room, avoiding JJ as much as she possibly could. She had even tried to spend the night at the police station – only to have a very worried JJ picking her up at three in the morning. She knew JJ was confused about the sudden change in her; Emily didn't blame her. She was also confused herself.

"Hey," JJ called out, sitting at the corner of Emily's bed. Emily was reading a book – or that was what she seemed to do. They had finally been able to wrap up the case and had nothing else to do until it was time to leave; bad weather had cancelled all flights. It was just a couple of hours after lunch time and everyone had retreated to their own rooms to rest.

Emily looked up and smiled. "Hey," she replied casually, marking the part she was reading and closing her book. "What's up?"

JJ was nervous. She didn't know if she had done something wrong to Emily; she felt that Emily was creating a distance between them. "Nothing much," she said. She contemplated on how to ask Emily if something was wrong, but then the words came out before she could stop herself. "Emily, did I do something that offended you?"

The brunette frowned at the question. She sat up straight. "Now why would you think so, Jayj?" she asked. She knew where this was heading and she wasn't sure if she was ready for this conversation.

"Well, you've been different since the case started," JJ began. "You've been a little... distant. You don't talk to me anymore – I mean, we don't talk as much as we used to. We're friends; you know you can talk to me about anything."

Like I can tell you that I'm in love with you? Emily thought, smiling rather sadly. "I'm sorry JJ," Emily said. "I guess the case had drained all my energy. I didn't mean to shut you out." She decided that it was the best excuse for now. She was glad to see the relieved look in JJ's eyes after the younger woman heard it.

"So... we're good?" JJ asked hesitantly. She wasn't really sure if Emily was saying the truth, but she knew that Emily would never lie to her. When Emily nodded, JJ couldn't help herself. She gave Emily a hug, sighing contentedly as she felt Emily's warmth seeped on her skin. She was lucky to have Emily as a friend and she couldn't think of how her life might be if one day Emily left her.

***

"...a man, I'd fall hard for her. She's perfect you know. If I'm ever gonna have someone special, I want that person to have her personality and all."

Emily stopped on her tracks when she heard JJ talk to Garcia in the break room. It was early in the morning and she didn't expect anyone to have arrived. The brunette leaned against the wall, listening. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but she wanted to know who they were talking about.

She knew that Garcia was making faces, because JJ continued again, "What? Seriously – the woman is perfect. She will make someone feels like heaven if Emily's in love with him. And I wonder if... well, if she'll be different towards us."

Emily blushes but she didn't move. Her heart swelled with happiness and she was a bit embarrassed as well. She kept on listening.

"JJ, if I don't know better, I'd say you're jealous," Garcia's voice was playful as usual. "Don't glare at me like that! You told me to come early because you wanted to chat with me but all you've been doing since I arrived is talking about Emily. Emily doesn't call you as often anymore; Emily seems to keep a secret from you; Emily this, Emily that. Geez Jayj, I didn't even know that you guys call each other that often."

"Jealous? Me?" JJ's voice rose. She scoffed. "Why would I? I mean – I'm not even... she's not... I mean, we are straight!"

Emily sighed upon hearing the last sentence. She shook her head and walked away from the break room. There were times when Emily wanted to be someone else – and now was one of those times. For once, she really wanted to be a man.

***

The brunette was quiet for the rest of the day. Even Hotch noticed the unusual behaviour and asked Morgan about it. The dark agent said he knew nothing, but he also added that it's been a while since the last time anyone left small gifts for Emily on her desk – and that might be the reason why the woman was quiet.

Emily had been thinking about what she should do with JJ. She had put the ball in JJ's court with no luck whatsoever. JJ had admitted that she wanted someone like Emily, but she also said that she was straight. It was confusing, frustrating, and overwhelming. Emily needed to talk with someone – but who? It wasn't like she had a lot of friends outside the team. Besides, everyone would be shocked if she told them she liked girls – well, only a particular woman, to be exact.

She glanced at Morgan. She was pretty close with the tall man but she didn't think they were close enough to discuss this kind of things. Reid was never in her list; Emily obviously needed more than just statistics. Garcia? She believed the woman, of course, and she knew that Garcia would never betray her confidence. But Garcia was close with JJ, too. She might accidentally let something out – tipping JJ without realizing it. Emily sighed. She could always talk to Hotch – she knew the unit chief would listen to her and not judge her – but she didn't want Hotch to remind her about the rules and all. So that left Rossi. Emily frowned. Did she want to talk about this with the senior agent? Certainly not.

"You're so dead, Emily Prentiss," she muttered and nearly choked when she looked up and saw JJ standing next to her. "Oh! JJ, you scared me!" she said.

The younger woman smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," she apologize. "I wanted to say hi earlier but you seemed lost in your thoughts. Is there something bothering you?"

You, Emily said in her head. But all she said was, "I do have some things in my mind right now." She moved past JJ to the break room, hoping that the young press liaison didn't follow her. Tough luck.

"Emily," JJ called out to her. Emily turned around, looking at the pool of blue eyes in front of her. "You know you can always talk to me, right?"

The brunette smiled tiredly. "Not about this, I can't," she replied before she could hold her tongue. She mentally smacked herself for not having self control. "Look, JJ... I'm sorry. It's just that my mind is so full right now. I can't think straight. I'll call you tonight?"

JJ nodded. She was disappointed and was rather taken aback by Emily's abrupt response about not being able to talk to her. She wondered why Emily was suddenly so secretive; but then again, she knew there were a lot that Emily didn't tell her. She felt a sudden emptiness in her heart when she realized it – as if someone had taken her heart away and left her. JJ didn't like the feelings – and she wanted to get an answer one way or another.

***

The phone conversation had been better than Emily had expected. She didn't realize how much she missed talking to JJ on the phone like this and she wondered why she didn't call her all that often anymore. What had been intended to be a short 'how are you' phone call had turned to be an hour random chat with all the giggling and laughing – just like the old times. Emily didn't know who was the one who didn't want the call to end; there had been several times that they seemed to have nothing more to talk about, but before one could say goodbye, the other would say something else to keep the conversation going.

They were talking about guys now – the only subject Emily had never brought up ever since the calling routine started. JJ was the one who started it; her last effort of keeping Emily on the phone.

"So what's your type like, Emily?" JJ asked teasingly. She really wanted to know about what Emily saw in a man.

"I have no particular type of men, Jayj," Emily replied, suppressing a sigh. "What about you?"

"Aw, no types? You gotta be kidding me! Mention at least one thing you like about men. Spill girl, it's not like I'm going to spread it around," JJ insisted.

Emily sighed audibly now. "Seriously, I don't have any," she replied. I can't say the same about girls, though, Emily bit her tongue before she said it. "Now why don't we talk about something else?" For a reason Emily couldn't understand, JJ didn't seem to budge. She insisted that they stayed on the topic and Emily was getting tired of it. "Look, Jayj, I really don't have any particular types of men, and I certainly don't know why you're interested to know. I don't even like me... oh, can we just not talk about it?"

JJ was surprised to hear Emily's harsh tone. But what surprised her more was the last thing Emily said before suddenly trying to change the topic. It was something Emily didn't let slip in purpose, JJ was sure of it. Emily Prentiss didn't like men? JJ wanted to punch herself when she heard Emily gasped on the other line – she had asked the question out loud. She couldn't stop Emily when the brunette abruptly ended the call, leaving JJ cursing herself.

"Jennifer Jareau, you are stupid!" JJ growled. She needed to do something. But what? She was thinking of calling Emily again, but that would be stupid. She was thinking of calling Garcia – but that would be another mistake. It was clear that Emily didn't want her private life to be known, and telling Garcia would mean betraying her trust. JJ sighed. She decided on seeing Emily in person. She didn't care that it was almost midnight. She needed to see Emily. Now.

***

Emily couldn't believe that she let it slip! She couldn't believe how stupid she had been for not being able to hold her tongue. Now what? she thought. "Now you're really dead, Prentiss!" she retorted angrily. She paced around her bedroom, thinking about what could possibly happen next. She didn't hear the doorbell at first and she walked downstairs and angrily opened the door without looking through the peephole first.

She was surprised to see JJ standing nervously at the door. She didn't expect the younger woman to come all the way to her apartment. "JJ!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

JJ looked at Emily nervously. The older woman didn't seem pleased to see her. Understandable, though, since her last comment on the phone hadn't actually been supportive or nice. "Hey, Em. Can I come in?"

Emily shrugged and let the blonde in. She closed the door behind her and pointed to one of the sofas, asking JJ to sit. She offered JJ something to drink but the press liaison refused. JJ chose the sofa closest to where Emily was standing and Emily pulled a stool and sat on it – maintaining distance between them.

"So what brings you here? It's past midnight already," Emily pointed out. Her voice was even – she was always good at hiding her emotions.

JJ didn't know where to start, so she thought that apologies should go first. "I... I wanted to apologize for my inappropriate comment earlier. It was rude of me," she began. "Emily, I didn't mean any prejudice with my last comment – I hope you know that."

Emily nodded. "I know. You're not the type that looks down on people. Don't worry about it," she said, reassuring her friend. "And you could just send me a text or call me again instead of driving all the way here."

The younger agent sighed. Emily was always sweet to her, even though at times – like now – she didn't deserve her nice treatments. "No, I have to see you in person, Em," the blonde said. "I know you. I know what you will think if I don't come here and make myself clear. I know what you would think if I only sent you a text message. You have to know that everything you're thinking is wrong," she continued. She was locking her eyes into Emily's, making sure the older woman heard every single word. "I don't care who you're interested in; I don't care if you don't like men; I don't care if you like women. All I care about is you. You are my friend and I need you to know that I love you."

Emily knew that JJ's 'I love you' didn't mean anything – only a friend's love for another friend. She shook her head. "Well, you didn't know that I am in love with you," she whispered unconsciously, totally unaware that JJ could hear each and every word.

The blonde was flabbergasted when she heard those words and she wondered if she had heard it correctly. "What?"

The brunette's head whipped upwards. Brown eyes and blue eyes locked together. There was a part in Emily that wanted to shrug her confession off, pretending that it was just a silly joke. But looking into JJ's deep blue eyes, she just couldn't do it. She couldn't lie anymore – and she wouldn't.

"Yes, JJ. I'm in love with you," Emily repeated with more confidence now. "And don't ask me why. I don't know the answer to that. All I know is that you're always in my mind – you're always the first one I think about in the morning, and you're the last thing I remember before I fall asleep."

JJ blushed. "Bu... but how?"

"There's no how, JJ," Emily said, smiling amusedly. "I can't believe you don't know – I've been courting you like crazy – the flowers, the wine, the homemade dinners!"

JJ stood up, her mouth agape. She didn't know what to say. Emily Prentiss was in love. With her. JJ couldn't think. On the one hand she was amazed and honoured to be the object of Emily's affection; on the other hand she was confused – she had never been in this situation before. She always considered herself as a heterosexual. She really didn't know how to respond.

Emily sighed when she saw the confused look on JJ's face. "I'm sorry if my confession hurt you, JJ," she genuinely apologized. She had given up hope – at least now she had admitted her feelings for the younger woman.

JJ walked to Emily's direction and stopped just a couple of inches from the taller woman. She pulled Emily into a hug and breathed on Emily's sweet scent. She held the older woman tight, not willing to let go. "You can't expect nothing will change after this Em," she whispered after a while. "Honestly, I am flattered and am honoured that you are in love with me – me, among all those people. But I have to admit that I still don't know how I feel about this... love for you. But one thing you should know, Emily Prentiss: I'm not going anywhere," JJ said. She loosened her hug just enough to be able to see Emily's face. "I'm here and I'm not running away from your feelings."

They stood motionlessly in the middle of Emily's living room, holding each other closely – each was thinking about what was going to happen next.

.

"Since you never seem to see the way that we belong, I sing it in a love song."

Obvious - Westlife


a/n: any thoughts?