The penultimate chapter.
Emily braced herself against the shower wall as JJ kissed down her body. "JJ?"
"Yeah" JJ groaned, trying to focus on the task at hand, which was getting re-acquainted with Emily. All she had done over the last few months was try to forget the body in front her that she had come to know. The body that she had been so in tune with that it was almost an extension of her own. She had memorized every facet of it, which both comforted and haunted her over the months they were apart.
"What are we?"
"Em do you really want to do this now?"
Emily's breath hitched at the sudden loss of contact. "Yeah" She admitted as she felt JJ sigh against her stomach.
"Okay what did you ask me again?"
Emily laughed, "You weren't listening."
"I was distracted!"
"What are we, definition wise?"
"Seriously and exclusively dating" JJ smiled. "That okay with you Prentiss?"
"Yeah, Perfect...So no more of he who shall not be named?"
"Never. God you're such a weirdo. Why are you even thinking about him during a time like this? I didn't even think of him when…" JJ trailed off and blushed in embarrassment.
"Really? Who were you thinking of than?" Emily asked with a cocky grin.
"You already know" JJ admitted as she started to trail her fingers up Emily's thigh. "So do you want me to finish or not?"
"Fuck, yes please."
"Well then shut up and let me love you" JJ ordered with a laugh as she went back to kissing and nipping down Emily's body, loving the feeling of Emily's muscles twitch underneath her touch.
Everything finally felt perfect for both Emily and JJ. They were both on the same page, they wanted the same things. They wanted each other. Not just in a physical capacity with the focal point put on their carnal needs, but on an emotional level. They desired a real relationship, with a real sense of commitment. Because it, they, were never just about sex, even when they both adamantly claimed it was only about a physical release. It was always something deeper. There was a singular connection that was in no way replicated by anyone else, not Will or Vincent or even Matthew. Of course JJ apologized over and over again for ever making Emily believe otherwise, and Emily apologized as well. She apologized for giving up on them so quickly. Emily knew that she wasn't one to normally stay and fight when a personal relationship became strained, she just ran away, wrote it off and moved on. It was the Prentiss way. But there was something that kept making her go back to JJ. Something that drew her to the woman lying next to her, and quite simply it was because JJ was, well, JJ. Emily knew she wasn't perfect, far from it, but she still wanted her anyway and vice versa. It had come to the point where they were both tired. They were tired of dancing around each other, tired of not admitting what they really wanted to be. Because this was who they were, this was who they chose to be. They were Emily and JJ, and that was all the definition they needed. It was more than just wanting each other, it was an innate need.
The room was comfortably quiet as the two relaxed in JJ's bed. "Em?" JJ asked in a quiet voice.
"Yeah?"
"I really want to do this, us for real this time. I mean it, but if we're going to work you have to talk to me. You have to tell me what's bothering you and when you need me you have to let me know. All I want is to be here for you but you're going to have to lower your Prentiss walls. You can't shut me out. Okay?"
"Okay" Emily agreed as she nuzzled into JJ's hair and took a deep breath.
JJ smiled at the response, "Okay. So I'm planning our first date."
"JJ aren't we way past a first date? I mean we've been on like a thousand dates already."
"No we haven't."
"We go to lunch and have coffee together everyday" Emily countered.
"Yeah but that's work, it doesn't count."
"Well, I just don't think you have to worry about impressing me with a first date. I think we're past the whole getting to know you phase of a relationship."
"You mean like how you already know I'm terrible?" JJ giggled.
"Exactly." Emily knew she was never going to live that one down.
"So we're going to have to tell Hotch" JJ said softly as she ran her fingers up and down Emily's arm.
"How does he always manage to come up in these situations?" Emily softly asked with a chuckle as she thought back to his phone call that had interrupted them all those months ago. For Emily memory was relative, she could remember anything work related, but personally she had tried to block out certain memories. It was her most trusted defense mechanism. But with JJ things were different, things with JJ were always different. She acutely remembered every moment, savoring it even when the duo was separated. It was what kept her sane, remembering her time with JJ. Even when she was "supposed" to hate her, memories of JJ gave her a resemblance of happiness.
"He believed in us" JJ smiled interrupting Emily's thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"Back in Florida..."
Emily interrupted, "Which time?"
"Before Pen was shot."
"We sure go to Florida a lot." Emily mused as she started to play with JJ's hair.
"I know right."
"A lot of sociopaths there I guess. I blame the humidity" Emily cracked before she continued on a more serious note, "So back to Hotch."
"Back to Hotch, he said to let him know if we got together again and when I said it probably wouldn't happen…"
"Hey!" Emily scolded as she hit JJ playfully on the arm.
"You hated me."
"True" Emily conceded with a smirk. "But for the record I was never able to really hate you."
"As sweet as that was, will you let me finish sometime this year?" JJ huffed in mock anger. Emily took the hint and motioned for the blonde to go on. "Well after I said it probably wouldn't happen he said that it's rare to find someone who understands the job and basically that if you do don't let them go." Emily smiled at the fatherly advice her boss had given her girlfriend. "And now we need to tell him."
"Okay, but it's going to suck."
"Why?"
Emily sighed, "Because you were right before. Everyone, especially PG and Morgan, are going to be watching our relationship all the time. She's probably trying to install surveillance cameras in here right now!"
JJ giggled at the very plausible claim, "But I don't care about that anymore, I love you and I don't want to hide it anymore."
Emily smiled at JJ's confession as their eyes locked. JJ had always been mesmerized by Emily's dark warm eyes. It wasn't a matter of merely being envious of them, which she was, but they were just so Emily. JJ felt like her own blue eyes could be interchanged with any other color, but she could only imagine Emily with deep brown eyes that contrasted with her fair skin and swirled with both love, warmth, and the slightest hint internal torture. "We'll tell them" Emily answered as JJ shifted in the bed to cuddle closer to Emily, "Jayje?"
"Yeah?"
"Since we're serious now and we're dating and you know I love you. Would you mind if, and don't be offended, but can I hire you a cleaning lady?"
JJ burst into laughter at the suggestion, "What's wrong with my house? It's clean!"
"Yeah you're right, for a hoarder it's immaculate" she quipped with an evil grin.
"Shut up" JJ jokingly ordered as she kissed Emily's temple. "God I love the way you smell, even when you're sweaty."
"You're so gross" Emily teased.
"It's pheromones, Reid told me!" JJ defended much to Emily's amusement.
"Well if I smelled so good then why did you make me shower?" Emily challenged.
"I was just trying to get you into the shower" JJ admittedly quietly as Emily started laughing again. "God I missed this, I missed having you in my life. My life was a fucking mess without you."
Emily took a deep breath, "Mine too. I never want to go through that again. It was terrible, you're honestly my best friend in the world and there were so many times I wanted to talk to you and I felt like I couldn't."
"Tell me now then" JJ kindly order as she gazed into Emily's eyes and took her hand, intertwining the fingers that fit perfectly together.
"Are you sure?"
"Always" JJ smiled as Emily finally opened up to her. Emily told her about growing up abroad, Matthew, her mother, her disappointments about the Pittsburgh cases, and about how much she had truly missed JJ. After hours of just comfortably talking and bantering back and forth the couple drifted off to sleep in a mid-afternoon nap. That is until they were interrupted by a knocking at the door.