Promises of Summer
This is my response to the Heat Wave Challenge over on the Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum; the six prompts were a melting ice cream cone, bikini top, swim trunks, swimming pool, soaring temperatures and a thunderstorm. I used four of six.
This is set pretty much directly after Hit & Run, only with some slight variations. Like, no Beth.
I truly hope you enjoy. This is my attempt at something light, happy and fluffy, so I hope I was up to snuff.
Please let me know what you think; I truly appreciate all comments and pointers.
She hadn't taken up Clyde Easter on his offer and she hadn't gone to Europe, despite the fierce need to get out and get away burning a hole in her chest.
Instead, she had stayed. Both in DC and with the BAU.
All because of one man simply asking her not to leave.
Because the one man she had so desperately shielded her heart from had revealed his.
The night he had confessed he loved her was a night she would never forget. They had gone from biting arguments about her wish to escape the BAU to him simply dropping his head and stating, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted her to stay because he couldn't bear to watch her leave.
And thus their relationship had bloomed into something beautiful.
A few weeks later found Emily Prentiss taking one of her meager and far between days off lounging on a beach towel on Aaron Hotchner's back lawn.
Clad in a simple black bikini top and board shorts, she lay out in the sun and let its rays infuse her body with warmth. Stretching like a cat, she grinned and wiggled her toes, feeling her muscles slowly beginning to loosen and relax. It felt wonderful.
The sound of a child's feet racing across the wooden deck met her ears seconds before a little body thumped to the ground next to her ear.
"Hiya Aunty Em'ly!" Jack exclaimed, smiling down at her.
"Hello Jack," Emily replied, sitting upright to look at the young boy. The little Hotchner wore a pair swim trunks with flames up the sides and looked absolutely adorable. It had been amazing how easily Jack had accepted the idea that his Aunt Emily would be over more often than before, despite both Aaron and Emily's misgivings. "How are you?"
"Imma good; I'm going to go swimming!" Jack told her, his face alight with excitement.
"Really?" Emily asked, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Yeah, Aunty JJ is picking me up and she's taking me and Henry to the swimming pool. Daddy says I have to play nice with Henry, cause he's so little, so I will, but I can't wait till he grows bigger so we can race each other and have squirt gun fights." Jack began to look slightly forlorn as he realized he would have to wait a while before Henry was big enough to take him on.
Emily laughed and ruffled Jack's hair. "It's a good thing you listen to your Dad about Henry, but maybe you'll meet some other boys at the pool who'll play with you."
Jack brightened immediately at the thought. "Yeah! Thanks Aunty Em'ly!" He darted over and gave her a quick hug before hurrying back up the porch stairs and into the house.
She watched as the little boy barreled inside, before looking further in to meet the eyes of the father. Hotch's lips tipped into a smile and Emily knew he had seen the exchange. The sound of a horn drifted to her ears and she heard Jack say goodbye to his dad before going out to meet JJ.
She regarded Hotch for another moment and he her, before she simply lay back down and closed her eyes.
After a handful of minutes, Aaron made his way outside to join the raven haired woman on his back lawn. Seating himself on the grass next to her, he couldn't help but reach out and trace a finger along her shoulder, playing briefly with the bikini strap before making his way down her chest. He would be the first to admit the sight of golden skin glowing in the sun aroused him, he couldn't help but feel cold when his tracing halted on the clover branded above Emily's left breast.
Beneath his finger, her body went stiff and he could see her eyes flash open from behind dark sunglasses. And in her eyes, he saw a swirl of memories and pain.
Never breaking eye contact, he bent and touched his lips gently to the mark. The hands that had gone into fists at her sides slowly unclenched and she cupped his cheek gently, sitting as she did so.
Then she leaned in and kissed him. It was a slow, light kiss, a kiss that was sweet with a hint of spice. It was like melting ice cream on a hot day or dancing in the rain. There was no urgency, just the sensation of warmth and happiness for two people who had experienced huge amounts of pain before.
They could taste the promises of summer on each other and the long days ahead of them were shaping to be filled with laughter and discoveries neither would wish to miss.
God knew how much they needed a beautiful summer.