Author's Note: Just a little one-shot I came up with. While eating a cookie. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my storyline. Sheesh.
The seven months without Emily had been rough ones. Although Hotch knew clearly well that she was in Paris and not being stalked by a creepy Irish guy with twenty or so goons with machine guns in black costumes, he still worried about never seeing her Anyway. Back to the point. He knew that it was going to be a hard decision, but he had to make sure that he protected both Emily and the team. Ever since she was back, Derek Morgan was making effortless impressions on her. True, Morgan was one of the only people besides Dave and Emily that he trusted, but the things he said to her drove him crazy.
He hated it when she was around him. The way she was so happy with him… Why couldn't she be so elated when he walked into the room? Sure, he wasn't as muscularly built as Derek, but that hadn't deterred women from him before. So why now? Why with Emily? Of all the women that had flung themselves at him, especially not to mention one specific suicidal prostitute, Emily had never shown any signs of animosity towards them. Sometimes, he felt as if she'd forgotten about him. Just to save his self esteem, he'd tell himself that he was a contributing factor to Emily's survival and that he was one of the only two people she trusted, so she couldn't forget about him, right? But his feelings would fall back apart when he saw him… When he just saw him with her. The two of them standing next to each other was enough to push him over the edge. Fortunately, Emily didn't forget about him. She thought exactly the same things when she'd returned. Would he remember her, or wouldn't he? Would he treat her differently for the better? Or for the worse?
Emily, on the other hand, hated it when she was around Derek. Hold on. That sounded wrong, didn't it? That's not what she meant. Of course, she missed her whole team with a passion, but ever since her return, Derek had been flirtatiously affectionate with her. Was it just the fact that he hadn't seen her in forever? Or was it because of something bigger? She was lost, confused, when she was with him. She was torn between flirting back or blowing him off just to save Hotch. She knew. She'd seen his face when he was in his office working and the rest of the team was in the bullpen. She knew it was hard for him when Morgan joked about hot-tub parties or getting drunk or some crap that he came up with. True, she did enjoy their borderline-provocative chatter. To some extent, at least. Although she didn't make note of it, the brunette profiler had feelings for the generally stoic team leader.
Ironically, they ended up in the conference room before anyone else. So they waited. Together. Alone. Just the two of them. Could it have gotten any worse, you ask? Let me answer that for you.
"Emily, have you emailed the last case's files to Strauss yet?" Hotch asked uncomfortably. She fidgeted with her chair uncomfortably as she nodded.
"Um, good", he replied.
"So… How was your morning?" he asked awkwardly, desperately trying to fill the odd silence.
"Um, it was alright. I was just, you know. Busy with, uh, paperwork, and, stuff", Emily stammered in response.
"Good. Um, I'm glad you had a good morning", he said. Hotch mentally reprimanded himself.
"Um, sir?" she said gently. Now or never, right?
"Yes, Emily?" he asked.
"It, um… Does it make you, um, uncomfortable when Morgan and I, um… You know. Flirt?" she blurted out.
His face rose in color.
"Uh…" he trailed off. What was he going to say? Oh no, Emily. I'm totally okay with a hunky guy hitting on the woman of my dreams. No problem! He gave himself a mental face-palm.
"Sir, you can tell me. I-It's okay", she urged.
"Then… Yes. Yes, it does. I'm sorry, Emily, but when I see him with you, it… It just, drives me crazy. I know it's against the rules to feel this way, but… You know what? Screw protocol, Emily. Please, just… Just don't think I'm crazy for this, okay?" he babbled. Emily drew in close. Hotch could smell the sweet scent of vanilla and lavender wafting towards his nose.
"Aaron", she whispered softly. The sound of her angelic voice took his breath away. He placed his hands steadily on her small waist. Her fingers lightly ghosted over the nape of his neck, sending a deep, pleasurable chill down his spine. He pressed his warm lips against her soft ones, lingering his fingers on her spine. He could feel her grinning against his lips.
Unbeknownst to the two lovers, JJ, Garcia, and Morgan were watching outside the window.
"Damn", JJ said wistfully. Garcia chuckled.
"It's about damn time this happened", Morgan grinned. The three BAU members walked away, leaving Hotch and Emily tangled in a kiss.