Chapter 11: Shades of Junior High
"I guess the sitting practice is going to be harder than hugging?" JJ mused as they stood alone in the office viewing the sofa as if it might bite.
"Technically you're probably right, there's coordination involved instead of just proximity." Hotch responded, feeling silly for a moment for giving such analysis to a process as simple as sitting down, it was strange for them both to have to do so much analysis on seemingly mundane activities.
"Well I'm coordinated, I played soccer," JJ couldn't help but tease at how difficult Hotch was making it sound.
Hotch gave her a look that said she should know what he meant before he continued. "If I recall correctly Agent Williams said for these exercises we should try to mentally put ourselves in the roles of being married and eventually things would come like a second nature. Which is an interesting approach since in a real relationship these things don't come through conscious thought," Hotch said eyebrows knitting as he tried to remember what they had been told only a few hours before. "It's not like I kept reminding myself I was married to know how to sit with Haley, we just did."
"True, that does seem like a backwards approach now that you mention it," JJ agreed, I guess all we can do is start practicing and do our best.
"Alright then," Hotch agreed, looking at her to make sure they were following each other. "So let's see, we're at home, company has arrived and already sat down in the chairs, so we're both moving to the sofa to sit down and join them," he intoned. Following his lead JJ walked behind him, feeling awkward as they both stood in front of the sofa, suddenly trying to decide who should sit down first which resulted in them both sitting down at the same time with evident lack of coordination as they accidently bumped into each other.
"Well that didn't work," Hotch said dryly stating the obvious as they rose and began the task of rehearsing what should have been a simple action.
During the next twenty minutes there were several variations as they tried a few different ways to sit at the same time, which continued to be uncoordinated at best before Hotch decided he should be gentlemanly and would let JJ sit first then join her. That didn't work either as she kept having difficulty gauging how much room to leave for his larger frame while he tried to be careful not to sit on her which led to some neck craning on his part. It was after several different attempted techniques they managed to successfully time their seating enough to establish a natural rhythm allowing Hotch to sit just a moment before she did, with her following and settling against him which was easier for her to do with her more lithe body.
"Well we did it," Hotch said in a tone of self-congratulation after the third consecutive time they had managed to sit down easily together and actually ended up sitting next to each other comfortably without being wedged too closely as had happened in the beginning.
"Yep, piece of cake," JJ agreed with a smile, feeling like they had reached a milestone now, however they soon realized that just because one hurdle had been passed didn't mean there wasn't another one right ahead. They were both acutely aware that they were still sitting a little woodenly on the sofa next to each other. "Would this be easier if we talked about why this is so difficult?" JJ finally suggested, tired of the silence and lingering stiffness in their postures.
"If you like," Hotch said slowly. "I haven't paid attention to how I sat beside someone since I first started dating in junior high and my goal was simply to get as close to the girl as possible. So trying to get into this mindset again is not easy." He admitted
"I know, I haven't analyzed sitting distance either since Will first made moves on me in New Orleans." JJ said empathetically. One minute he was on the other end of the sofa and the next he had me almost in a clinch. But that's the key, as you said we're approaching it backwards. Normally things like seating how close to sit and the elements of touch elements were ways to build a relationship with someone, but in this case we're being asked to go backwards," she thought aloud.
"Maybe it would help if in this instance we tried to practice it as we would from the beginning." JJ suggested seeing his eyes widen with surprise realizing he was probably not sure what to read into that. "I mean instead of thinking of ourselves as already married with children for the assignment practice, we just need to slightly change our mindset right now to think of it as an awkward date." She said hoping her words made sense.
"That might be easier than trying to think of each other as husband and wife this early in." Hotch finally agreed as he thought about what to do next.
"So if you were trying to be close to me, aside from just sitting here, what would your next move be?" JJ said in a teasing tone waiting to see what would happen as Hotch obviously thought back to his teenage years.
"I feel like I'm in junior high," Hotch said almost in a grumble as he awkwardly raised his arm and did the classic yawn move before settling his arm behind her shoulders, rewarded by her laughter.
"Hotch, did you seriously do that move when you were a teenager?" JJ looked at him obviously finding his almost juvenile behavior funny.
"It's Aaron remember?" He gently chided. "And yes, I did, it's an important tool for any teenage male repertoire. And it worked didn't it?" He said smugly, giving her a gentle tap on the shoulder to illustrate his point.
JJ was glad for the humor which allowed her to not fixate on the heavy arm now draped warmly over her shoulders.
Hotch finally felt like they had achieved a relaxed and normal position as he began congratulating himself on successfully completing the task from Agent Williams, when he felt her head tilt onto his shoulder. JJ felt his shoulder tense again under her head, but instead of moving kept it there as she felt him gradually relax again. "And if you don't remember this is what a girl usually does in response if she likes the boy, as opposed to pushing his arm away and possibly smacking him." JJ explained, smirking to herself at her perceived superior acting skills as she realized Hotch was still acting a little tense while she felt like she had now settled in nicely. Determined to get comfortable she worked to slide her arm around the small of his back, still acutely aware of his arm around her shoulders as they sat closely together despite the respective height differences and silently waited despite the suggestion from JJ that they be able to talk about it.
JJ found herself enjoying the solid shoulder beneath her head and listening closely in the suddenly loud silence she could hear the soft breathing close to her ear. She found herself wondering what expression she would see on her supervisors face if they had a mirror. JJ wouldn't have been surprised to see that they looked more like awkward teenagers as opposed to a long married couple but it still felt like progress as she wondered what she should do next.
"This isn't so bad," she finally spoke to break the silence, tilting her head to look up into the handsome face that was only inches from her own, wanting to find out for herself what expression he was currently wearing.
JJ expected a look of boredom, or even amusement but felt a flutter at the intensity on his face as his dark eyes met her blue ones, seeming to penetrate her mind and rob her of conscious thought. Suddenly all she could register was just how close their lips were to each other in this position and the acute awareness that if both agents moved an inch the first kiss would be out of the way well before Agent Williams even got to that part of their work.
As JJ watched, she gulped as she saw his dark lashes lower slightly, her heart almost stopping at the instinctual awareness that told her he was getting ready to kiss her. It seemed to be happening in slow motion as she saw his eyelids begin to close as his head started to gently dip in her direction, dimly registering his other hand coming up to touch her cheek. She didn't even think of how to respond as she let her own eyelids slide shut, hearing the pounding of her heart in her ears while anticipating the kiss that was to come.
She barely felt what seemed almost like a ghostly brushing of lips against her own before a sudden knock on the door caused both agents to jump apart and off the sofa, taking several steps apart as if they had ice water thrown on them. Both not looking at the other as Hotch quickly moved to his office door to reveal Rossi standing there while JJ quickly pulled herself back together, realizing she was trembling in response to what had almost happened.
"Dave," Hotch acknowledged as he opened the door, having quickly done his best to affix his professional FBI agent mask to his face hoping to hide the rush of confused emotions coursing through him at what he had almost done. He wasn't sure his mask was successful though as he could seeing his friend standing there with what appeared to be a knowing smirk on his face.
"Been having fun kids?" Dave seemed to enjoy the opportunity to give his friends a hard time, watching their faces for any telltale flushes but they had both obviously put their agent masks back in place making it hard for him to decipher what he was seeing.
"Actually we've just been working on how we sit down together." JJ said, not wanting to allow room for Dave's insinuations and trying to pretend at the moment that the near kiss hadn't happened. "Apparently sitting at opposite ends of a sofa is not typical for a married couple, but I think we finally got it."
"Really, it worked just fine in my second marriage," Dave said with a sardonic grin.
"Not helping Dave," Hotch said trying to focus on the reason for the man's visit as he still reeled over what had almost happened. He wished he could tell himself it was for the cover but he hadn't thought a thing about their jobs or going undercover when he became entranced by the soft pink lips that had been only inches from his own just minutes before, luring him to them like a moth to the flame.
"I don't believe you," Rossi taunted, trying to visualize his two friends and especially their reserved leader in any kind of proximity that would suggest anything beyond a professional relationship.
"You don't have to." Hotch said with a biting tone, not wanting to deal with his colleagues games at the moment.
Not wanting to let go however, Rossi couldn't resist issuing a challenge. "Ok, fine then, pretend I'm the police chief over for a visit. I've just sat down and am waiting for you two to join me so we can chat." Dave continued to smile skeptically as he sat down in one of the adjoining chairs facing the sofa.
"Fine, probably good to practice in front of a live audience anyway." JJ agreed without consulting Hotch, who merely shrugged and decided to go along with it, thankful that Rossi had effectively destroyed the electric charge that had been in the office minutes earlier.
Ignoring their audience, JJ and Hotch moved easily towards the small sofa with Hotch sitting down first, closely followed by JJ who molded herself against Hotch's side with no hesitation.
Rossi had to admit he was impressed as he saw the unit chief drop his arm came to rest on his subordinates shoulders as if they had been doing it for years with all appearances indicating they were very comfortable with the position.
"Impressive," Dave said almost begrudgingly. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it." He didn't comment further as he continued to watch them, wanting to see if they would even flinch but both looked as if they could sit in that position indefinitely. They both saw the smirk on his face as he quickly pulled out his phone, obviously getting ready to take a picture which caused them both to jump back up quickly.
"No pictures Dave," Hotch warned his friend who was already regretfully putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," Rossi chuckled. "The team would give their eye teeth to see what I just did. You looked positively cuddly Hotch," he shared, seeing the younger man bristle and JJ choke back an obvious laugh at his words. Rossi was at a loss as to what had inspired such a reaction but decided to let it pass.
"So how's your training coming?" Hotch asked, eager to change the topic to find out how Dave was progressing. He was already anticipating hearing from their first agent who would be infiltrating the community, eager to find out about the place they were going in regards to safety before they took the final step of arriving with their children.
"Smooth so far, I leave early in the morning to begin my pizza making career." Rossi said with a smile. "Garcia is still working with me on the technical aspects of the equipment I'll be taking with me, which is probably a little more of a challenge considering I'm a dinosaur." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "After she finishes with me I'll be calling it a night and leaving early in the morning, taking a flight into the closest airport and renting a car to drive over. I should arrive in Independence by lunchtime, meet with the man currently running the establishment and be making pizza by tomorrow night.
"I hope everything goes smoothly," Hotch said tightly, worried for his friend. He was worried for everyone on the team, the undercover route seemed very unpredictable compared to their usual mode of involvement in investigations.
"Same to you, at least I get to go in as an old bachelor." Dave said trying to sound reassuring before he gave a final sigh of acceptance before moving towards the door. "I will be keeping Jack and Henry in my mind as I get there, will let you know within the week if I think it's safe." He assured them, his tone sincere as he sought to make sure they knew they could count on him.
"Thank you Dave," JJ said, impulsively hugging his neck. "Please take care of yourself." She asked, surprising the older man by the display.
"All this time practicing with Hotch sure seems to be making you awfully affectionate," Rossi gave a quick parting shot not willing to let the mood turn somber, smiling at the flush that sprang to the blonde's cheeks before he quickly departed. He also wasn't entirely secure about the assignment either, but he wasn't going to burden anyone else with his misgivings and would continue to give the job his best.
AN: Thanks to the following readers for their reviews, Miss Kate Kate, deeda, alexis sophia, whiteswan, jotchprossi18 and lauren rules. I'm probably going to slow down posting a little bit after this chapter as my work week is going to be busier than usual this week with guests from corporate office here. But will try to update another chapter sometime this week. Hope you're continuing to enjoy the story progression. Thanks for reading.