A/N: For my bestie. Just a little thank you for everything; it really means the world to me.
"I used to have a crush on you"
Ten Hours Earlier…
They're all exhausted; this case has been working them non-stop and it has no sign of an ending point. The suspect is too smart, always one step ahead of them with a profile that seems to be every changing. He's also been taunting them; sending them on wild goose chases all around the seaside city.
Their command post was an old abandoned warehouse set on the docks. The rest of the buildings were set to be condemned or had been left empty long ago. Sliding out of the car he watches her roll the tension out of her neck.
The rest of the crew had gone off to eat but they had volunteered to come back and man the post. He knew that she wanted to call Henry, and he just need to take another look at the board to see what they were missing.
They walked in silence through the door as she went ahead of him into what had become their board room. The hairs on his neck stood on end, and he smelled the sulfur in the air before anything happened. Then it was like a movie in slow motion, his legs unable to move fast enough his voice reverberating off the walls, "JJ" he screamed running towards her.
Her eyes widened as her neck snapped around, and the moment he braced his body over her own, the boom bouncing off the walls as the building shook and collapsed around them.
It was dark when he opened his eyes, his head hurt but the memories came flooding back as he tried to pull himself up on weak arms, "JJ" came out as a hoarse whisper.
She has to be alright…he can't even let his mind go to a place where she isn't.
"Mmm" he heard her murmur inches away from him.
Gently he reached out, his hand brushing the skin of her arm, "JJ"
Groaning he can feel her move, "I'm okay…what happened"
His eyes begin to adjust to the newfound darkness and he focuses on her crown of corn silk color hair, "A bomb…I think…I smelled sulfur"
A sigh escapes her lips as she pulls herself to a sitting position and looks at him, "Hotch, your head" she exclaims scooting to move in closer to him.
She smells like lavender, at least that's what he recognizes the scent to be as her fingers come close to his forehead, "I'm okay" he says trying to muster a smile.
Her eyebrow arches as she ignores him and reaches out to brush her fingertips across his skin. It stings slightly as she comes in contact with the knot that is forming but there is a spark of something else as the blood rushes to his skin and a slight gasp falls from his lips.
"Sorry, did I hurt you"
When their eyes meet he tries to force a tight lipped smile, "No"
For a moment their gazes hold and he lets himself stare at her face. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before but there is something about the way the darkness illuminates the angles of her face that makes his stomach clench.
A shy smile comes to her face and she looks away. He takes a moment longer to rise up. His body is sore; he had felt the blast thrust him to the ground but other than some stiffness he feels fine. Rising to his feet he looks towards what was once the entrance. The wall is mangled and he swallows the lump in his throat as he walks towards it. Grabbing the handle he pushes…once…twice…and he knows there's no use as his mind mentally blueprints the building. This had been the one reinforced room in the warehouse which meant there was a good possibility that everything outside of it was rubble. Running his hands down the walls he fights the dread in his bones…they are stuck.
Six Hours Later…
The worry had set in hours ago; after they had exhausted their energy trying to find a way out, after they attempted idle chit chat to ease the tension. Now they sat against a wall, the temperature hovering at the point of freezing. He can hear her teeth chatter and knows her arms are wrapped tightly around herself to keep warm.
"JJ"
"Yeah"
Taking off his jacket he turns to her attempting to give it to her. Her head shakes and her oceanic blue eyes seem to shine in the dark, "No, I'm not taking your jacket"
"Please"
"I'm fine" she tries to tell him as a shiver runs down her body.
He hates feeling powerless…it reminds him of a time when he almost lost everything…and he knows he can't lose her. She means something to him. It took a long time to accept that…to admit that even as much as the team meant to him; there was something more there. Something simmering beneath the surface between them and he felt himself soften with her; let his guard down in a way he didn't do with anyone else. There had even been times he's let his mind wander into another place…maybe if they had met at a different time, or were different people…
His body betrayed him as he felt a tremble murmur through his own body at the feeling of the frigid air. He hoped she didn't notice and would take his jacket. He knew better because her eyes were locked on him and her face fell, "I'm scared" she admitted.
There was something profoundly innocent about her words; about the way her eyes widened before she looked away ashamed at her weakness. Reaching out he touched her arm, "Me too"
Three Hours Later…
Neither can deny the ache in the bones as the temperature continues to drop. He's not sure of the time; his watch is smashed and his cell phone lies somewhere amongst the debris. They both shiver drowsily and he knows they need to stay awake.
"How's Henry" he asks trying to keep them alert.
It takes a moment for her to respond and he's worried, "JJ"
Her head lolls slightly, "Yeah…Henry, he's good"
"JJ, you need to stay awake, come on, get up, let's walk"
"It's too cold, I'm so tired"
"I know, I know it is"
He realizes that at this point he has to do something; he has to find a way to generate some heat. Scooting close he sucks in a cold breath, "JJ, we have to stay close, okay?" he says gently, "I need, we need to stay close to each other to generate heat"
His gaze his intent as he watches her turn to him. Her lips are bright, an obvious effect of the cold and her cheeks are flushed, "O…Okay"
That's all the confirmation he needs as he moves next to her and wraps his arms around her to pull her slender curves into hard planes of his chest. He stifles the moan that tangles somewhere between his heart and his throat as her body melded into his own.
The scent of her hair wafts through his nose and he can't feel the coldness anymore because there is a stinging of fire on his skin.
One Hour Later…
"I used to have a crush on you"
She admits it in darkness. His arms are still wound tightly around her, her head resting on his chest as the blackness swirls around them. Their combined body heat has helped to keep the frost from their bones. It's a delicious torture for him. It's been a long time since he's held a woman…and it's JJ so it makes it even more confusing.
"Back when I first started" she rambles.
He just lets her talk because as long as she's still here, with him, she can talk about whatever she wants.
"I used to always wonder what it would be like to kiss you"
Her admission makes his heart ram against his chest and then she stills and he can hear the deafening thud ricochet off his eardrums before she twists slightly to crane her neck to look up at him. His throat goes dry as her eyes have deepened to a cerulean blue, "Aaron"
Hearing his name tumble off her rosy lips is enough to be his undoing, "I don't want to die without knowing what it's like to kiss you"
His tongue darts out to wet his lips and he can't speak because he wants to memorize that look in her eyes, "Kiss me, please"
He shouldn't. His head knows it; his years in the bureau has taught him how to compartmentalize all of his feelings and right and wrongs into boxes. He also knows about near death situations; how people aren't in their right minds; how they do stuff out of character and he doesn't want to take advantage of her.
But then she's there; looking at him like that…and the truth is, if these are his last moments he wants nothing more than what she's asking.
Searching her face for any hesitation he leans in, brushing his lips against hers gently. It's electric and the jolt warms him from the inside, sparking embers that had lie dormant inside of him for too long. She lets out a soft moan in his mouth, and he can't stop now…maybe ever.
Her tongue darts out to taste his mouth and he needs to taste her. Slowly he slides his tongue against her lips and his hands rise to cup her face as they begin to slowly explore each other's mouths. He wants to devour her painfully slowly as his tongue seeks every hidden cavern of her mouth; running on the roof of her mouth, suckling her lips, tasting the sweet skin her jaw, trailing down her jugular, suckling at the hollow of her throat.
They are panting when they part. His chocolate eyes burn holes into hers as they both simply stare at each other. He can hear their breaths in the cold air, "Kiss me again"
The dam inside of him breaks; flooding him and in a moment his calloused hands are tangled in the silkiness of her hair and their bodies are pulled flush together, the friction making him want to crawl of his own skin.
One Hour Later…
Their legs are entwined, as they lay on the cold floor curled tightly inwards to each other. Her head rests over his heart; his hands still wrapped up in her hair dropping lazy kisses to her forehead. They don't speak; they just lie together silently; the enormity of what transpired between them swirling in the air. If they make it out of here; everything has changed…and if they don't; at least he's experienced this moment.
OoO
The voices rouse him from his exhaustion and the flickers of light make him pull her up with him, "JJ" he says shaking her gently, "JJ, I think there's someone out there"
"What?"
In an instant the voices get louder and they both jump off their feet and he's yelling, "IN HERE"
It takes ten minutes for the first flicker of light and another forty five until they are out, standing with the emergency crew, "Sorry it took us so long…there were explosions all over the docks; they had to secure the area"
Morgan's words fall on deaf ears as he nods and pulls the blanket tighter. Their eyes meet from across the makeshift triage center and he aches to go to her…but he rationalizes that what happened was a mere reaction to their experience. It doesn't change the warmth that still course through his veins.
OoO
Hours later he sits in the back of an FBI van trying to make sense of a pattern when she climbs in. Her hair is up, and she has a FBI issued jacket on, "Hey" she says coming to sit next to him.
Their legs brush briefly and it's a delicious kind of burn. The silence is near deafening but then her hand drops to her side; her fingers reach to touch his entwining them for a moment and his eyes close.
"I wouldn't change anything"
And it's all he needs right now.