This one shot takes place after Emily's taken the Interpol position in England, somewhere in Season 8. A little fluffy towards the end, but I hope they're not too OCC. Inspired by the song Begin Again by Taylor Swift. Enjoy and please do review; they make my day. :)
Emily Prentiss doesn't understand why she's so nervous as she's standing before the mirror in her 3 room apartment in England. She mutters to herself as she frantically scrabbles through her wardrobe for anything passable, "I mean, it's not like it's a date. It's just a drink between two former colleagues and friends. And he's in a relationship, for God's sake." Huffing, she pulls out a black dress that falls decently to her knees before flinging it onto her bed. She shakes her head and dives back into the mess of her wardrobe again. You know, he could have broken up with her while you were gone. Which is why, missy, you're going to get the hottest, sexiest dress that you own that doesn't make you look like a hoe, and get out there and make his eyes pop, sugar! Emily rolls her eyes and continues sifting; for some reason, her subconscious has seen fit to take the voice and apparently, persona of Penelope Garcia. But, the brunette muses, she is right. No harm in trying. The sultry chuckle of her best friends echoes through her mind. You go girl.
Emily's finally dressed but once again a dilemma lies before her. "Shoes," she mutters, looking at the array of shoes before her, "What shoes to wear?" She wouldn't tell you, but the former FBI Special Agent has quite the shoe collection. Boots, flip flops- not that she wears them anyway-, Manolo Blahniks, Jimmy Choos, plain old slippers; she's sure that she owns every shoe there is to own. Her gaze falls on her favourite black heels, simple and elegant. But she winces as she remembers her most recent failed relationship with a pompous British agent who hated her in heels. "You look a right giant, love. Although, it isn't your fault that you're so," Emily remembers then that he had winced as if she had committed some international terrorist act, "Tall and big-boned."
Well that had ended the relationship immediately. It isn't as if Emily's insecure, however, she likes to think that she marches to the beat of her own drum and that no man's opinion should matter. But the problem is that this man's opinion does matter, and Emily is so, so terrified of being let down again. She takes a deep breath and centres herself, and when she opens her brown eyes to the world again she's Interpol Agent Emily Prentiss, and she can take on the world all by herself. Determined, she slips her feet into the black heels and hurries to the door. She remembers how important time is to him.
Slipping her ear buds in, she selects her, and surprisingly, his guilty pleasure playlist. Emily Prentiss nearly had a heart attack the night Aaron Hotchner confessed that he was a fan of country music. Since then, she's discreetly slipped her own prized collection of country music into his office, and once or twice, he's even reciprocated. She remembers that her ex-boyfriend, the very same British sod who insulted her, absolutely hated her collection and once, very nearly threw it out the window. It was only at gun point did Emily force the lunatic to drop the CDs carefully before she kicked him out. She smiles dreamily, maybe things will, for once, go the way she wants it to.
Emily thinks that he'd be late, seeing as he had to run en point with Scotland Yard before heading over here, but her stomach flutters like mad when she sees his dark head bent slightly in concentration. Suddenly she feels like giggling and giddily, she makes her way to where he's sitting. He looks up, and by God, never let any woman tell you that Aaron Hotchner is not handsome. Emily swears that his dimples alone, which make their rare appearance now, must have gotten him countless dates. She's certain Jack will inherit those lady killers as well.
He rises and like a proper gentleman, pulls her chair out for her and helps her sit. Returning to his seat, his gaze softens and he smiles, "Hey." God, Emily misses his voice; the dark, velvety undertones that make her feel safe. She smiles back, ridiculously happy to see the stoic man who was once her boss. "Hey. I thought you'd be late."
He shrugs and lets his hand linger near hers, "I got out early. Besides, I had this beautiful woman waiting for me; I couldn't let her wait now could I?" He flashes a heart melting smile at her, and she grins, enjoying his playful side. "It's great to see you. I was starting to think you've forgotten about me."
This time, his hand comes over hers, covering her smaller hand in his strong grip. He looks at her, and she's stunned by the seriousness in his chocolate orbs. "Never," he declares quietly as he tightens his grip on her, "I could never forget you, Emily Prentiss."
She's flabbergasted and speechless, but the waitress comes over then to take their order and she quickly slips her hand out of his grasp and ordering a latte. He orders an espresso, and even though his mouth remains a straight line, there's laughter in the deep abyss of his eyes, and she's sure he's laughing at her. She smiles uncertainly and tries again, "So how is the team? I've heard from Penelope and Derek, and JJ sends emails to me often. But how are they, really?"
He shrugs once more, and she's intrigued to see him so uncertain. "We're coping. It's…different, without you there, but we're managing. Penelope got off to a bad start with the new agent, but things look better now." She nods and looks up to thank the waitress who brings their coffees, "That's good. I don't want to cause any tension between you guys. How's Jack? And Beth?"
A small smile creeps into his lips and he gazes at her as he stirs his drink, "Jack's started Third Grade this year, and he's doing pretty well. His teacher says he's getting ahead of other kids. He asks about you, you know, wants to know if he can see you if he's a good boy." He's surprised by the faint sheen of tears in her eyes and she chuckles, "Tell you what, you tell Jack, if he's a good boy, maybe Santa will give him a surprise at Christmas." He raises a brow and his heart races a little faster, not that he'd tell her that. "You're coming home this Christmas?"
Home. DC's still home to her, even after the year she's spent in England. Even after everything she's left behind, it's still home and she's coming back, even if it's just for a while. She nods enthusiastically, a wide grin on her red lips, "Yeah, hopefully, I get to stay till after the New Year." He laughs a little and squeezes her hand again, "That's great, I'm sure everyone will be ecstatic."
Emily smiles and leans forward, "Yeah, me too. It's been way too long. But, you didn't answer the other question. How's Beth?" She cringed as the smile slips off his face and rushes to make amends, "Hotch, Aaron, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that, it's your business and I have no right-" He cuts her off, one hand raised to stop the flow of words tumbling out of her. "It's all right, and you don't have to apologize." He breathes deeply for a moment before turning his piercing stare at her, "Beth and I, we weren't working and I decided to end things."
She sucks in a breath and grips his hand, and even though she knows she's supposed to be jumping for joy because she has a shot with the man she's loved for so long, she hates seeing him sad. "I'm so sorry, Aaron. I know you really loved her." He shrugs and smiles boyishly at her, "It's all right, Emily. And I didn't," He pauses, searching for the words to tell her how he feels; "I guess I wasn't in love with her. I cared for her, but did I want to spend the rest of my life with her?" He shakes his head, "I couldn't see her by my side as I continued to teach Jack how to love. I couldn't see myself waking up to her every morning and tell her I love her." Hotch looks at her, wanting her to understand what he really meant. "It wasn't right; never was."
Emily doesn't let herself hope even as she clears her throat and tilts her head to the side, dark hair spilling like an ebony waterfall next to her pale skin. "Well I'm sure you'll find the right person Hotch." He notes the use of his surname and smiles inwardly; he's gotten under her skin and she's trying to distance herself. But this time he's not going to let her run away. He nods, seemingly absent minded, "But I think I have. Found her that is."
She ignores the stab to her heart as she struggles to maintain her composure and appear nonchalant. She'd be damned if she lets him see just how much she wants to curl up and die just then. "Oh, who is she? Do I know her?" He smiles, "I think you do. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met, intelligent as well." Emily's tongue sweeps her lips once; is it wrong to want to stand up and just leave? "Wow, the perfect woman huh?"
He sees her starting to crumble and takes pity on her. Taking her hand within his once more, he continues on, gazing deep into her eyes, "Not really. She's stubborn, headstrong, never listens to orders and always places others before her, even if it means she'll get hurt." Her eyes flew wide open and he ploughs on. "But she's also the kindest, most compassionate woman I've ever known, and she has a family of six people who love her very, very much and they miss her like crazy ever since she's left." He pauses and grins up at her befuddled look, "Sounds familiar, Emily?"
She feels her mouth start to drop open before something snaps and the fires ignite within her warm brown eyes. She wrenches her hand from his and smacks him, a pout on her red lips. "Hotch, you bastard! I can't believe you just did that to me!"
Hotch laughs and grabs her hands to stop her from doing any more damage. "I'm sorry Emily, but you should've seen the look on your face." He sobered up, "But really, Emily, I'm sorry for taking so long, that it had to take seeing you leave to realize that I could have saved so much time and told you how I feel years ago."
She purses her lips and he has to resist the urge to just kiss her senseless then and there. "Fine, I forgive you, but only because I'm at as much fault as you are." She blows out a frustrated breath, "God knows how much of a coward I was, not daring to tell you how I felt." She snorts, "You should've seen how badly JJ and Penelope wanted to shake me just to get me to tell you I liked you, or at least, according to Penelope, how much I wanted to jump you." She giggles when his eyes widened and he choked on his drink.
Hotch wipes his mouth with a napkin before bursting out into laughter. "I can almost see Penelope saying that to you." He smiles gently at her and she's struck by how much she really misses him. "Dave was on my case as well, wanting me to, I quote, 'pull my head out of my ass and stop being such a damned coward'. But, we're here now. This is a start, isn't it?" He looks at her uncertainly, and Emily's heart melts at the vulnerable look on his face, wanting so much to gather him in her arms and convince him that she does love her.
Instead, she reaches out to cradle his face and he leans into her touch, pressing a kiss into her palm. "We're here now Aaron, and I'd like to try to make it work, if that's what you want." Her declaration, no matter how insignificant it seems, is rewarded by his bright smile and he nods, "It is what I want. Emily, you deserve so much more than a long distance relationship where the only times we see each other is through video conversations or Heaven forbid, murder cases." He stares at her earnestly, "I want to give you everything that you want, roses, romantic dinners, declarations of love; everything."
She shushes him, placing a finger against his lips, "Aaron, it's all right. We'll find a way to make it work because it's meant to be. We've waited so long for this Aaron; I'm not going to just give it up without a fight." She winks at him conspiratorially, "Who knows? Maybe the FBI Director suddenly realizes that they can't make do without me." He laughs once more, and she smiles at him indulgently, enjoying the lighthearted side of Aaron Hotchner that rarely makes it appearance. It's good to see him laugh again; oddly enough he reminds her of a little kid when he laughs without any restraint or care in the world. She doesn't remember any of her previous boyfriends laughing at anything she said; she was just too geeky for them.
Suddenly, on impulse she leans over and kisses him and even though he's startled by her sudden action, wastes no time in kissing her back. Their first kiss and it's beyond perfect. He suckles lightly on her bottom lip and she sighs into his warm mouth. Unbidden, her arms come up to entwine his neck and he reaches to cup her neck, playing with her silky hair as he continues to pay homage to her full lips. Patrons who catch sight of them smile slightly at the couple very much clearly in love and some sigh at the romantic sight of two lovers finding solace in each other's arms. But the stares and whispers don't register to both Emily and Aaron; only they exist right now and that's all that matters.
They finally break apart and Emily's breathing heavily. Hotch is too, only he's better at hiding the fact that he's just experienced the best kiss in his life. A smile grows slowly on his lips and Emily giggles at the goofy look on his face. He just grins at her, "Wow." She reaches out for him, missing his warmth already as she nods her agreement, "Wow." She rolls her eyes, "Great, we're two qualified profilers who work for the FBI and Interpol and the only word we can say is 'wow'."
He laughs and throws down some bills, much to her protest. He tugs her up and grabs her bag and coat before leading her out of the little café. Emily quickens her footsteps to keep up with his long strides, "Aaron, where are we going? Slow down!" She laughs at his enthusiasm and he turns around for a moment to flash her a brilliant smile before continuing on, slowing down just a little. "Time to make new memories Emily, I'm not going to waste another moment with you. Where to?"
Emily, realization dawning in her eyes, stops dead and he turns to her, curious. "Emily?" She laughs at the worried look on his face before kissing him quickly and taking off in the opposite direction. "Come on! Let's go!" Hotch is stunned for a moment before catching up with her as they race down the pavement, both agents laughing as they dodge people left and right, laughing with unbridled joy. A new chapter is being written in the lives of Emily Prentiss and Aaron Hotchner, and Emily, as she's running along with her love, suddenly realizes with a sudden leap of her heart, that in that little café in England, with the man who loves her more than anything in the world, that love has begun again.
"If I know what love is, it is because of you." - Herman Hesse