A/N: Hey all. Thanks for the great reviews. It's still crazy uni season so updates are going to be sporadic again. I'll hopefully get the next chapter up this week sometime but for now, a little more longing. It's just too much fun to have them all stressed about their "conversation." But don't fear, they WILL talk soon. And if you're wondering about the physically demonstrative change, I figured since their almost kiss, Emily would probably be able to get away with a quick peck or a squeeze on the knee. At least until the talk... then it's game on!
Please read and review.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds.
"A what?" Hotch asked, wrinkling his brow as he turned from the dryer. Emily smiled and reached over, taking one end of the sheet. "Sin to win. I go every year with my college roommate," Emily repeated as she brought the two corners of her end together. "And what exactly does it entail?" Hotch inquired suspiciously, meeting Emily in the middle. "Uh, see if I told you, I'd have to kill you," she teased as she picked up the bottom corners of the sheet to meet Hotch's.
Hotch rolled his eyes and put the folded sheet in the linen closet. "And it's the whole weekend?" he asked. Emily smiled and nodded. She grabbed the next sheet and shook it out. "Is there a problem?" she asked. Hotch huffed and shrugged his shoulders, grabbing the end of the sheet. "Why should there be a problem? It just means we have to put off a very important conversation… again," he pointed out.
Emily pouted and met Hotch in the middle again, this time dropping her end of the sheet and putting her arms around his neck. "We can go out for dinner on Sunday night after I get back… maybe get a sitter for Jack?" she suggested, raising her eyebrows. Hotch dropped his head before looking her in the eyes. "Fine," he mumbled.
Emily raised one eyebrow and bit her lip. "Fine?" she asked. Hotch rolled his eyes and threw the sheet in the closet before wrapping his arms around her waist. "It sounds like the perfect plan," he clarified. Emily smiled and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him quickly. "Glad you agree," she said, taking a step back. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, "Now if only I could remember where I left my knee-high boots and mask."
Emily threw her head back on the soft leather seat and sighed. "You ok?" Rossi asked, looking over at his obviously disappointed comrade. Emily nodded and smiled sadly. "Had big plans this weekend is all," she replied. Rossi glanced over her shoulder at Hotch, sitting in the corner of the cabin, and smiled. "Those plans didn't happen to involve your "temporary" room-mate did they?" he teased.
Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No Dave, they didn't," she replied honestly, "Just an old college room-mate, a hotel room in Atlantic City, and a lot of leather," she expanded. Rossi wrinkled his brow and cleared his throat. "Excuse me?" he asked. Emily smiled mischievously and stood from her seat to get some coffee. Rossi's gaze followed her, watching her walk down the aisle.
An old college room-mate and leather? he pondered. His mind went to any number of places before he heard the clearing of someone's throat. Someone who was obviously unhappy that he had been watching the beautiful, enigmatic brunette. Rossi turned again and huffed. Sure enough, a characteristically stoic Aaron Hotchner was waiting.
Hotch smiled sarcastically when Rossi turned. "You done with your case file?" he asked. Rossi nodded and held the file up. Hotch nodded and stood to make his way back down the aisle, when Rossi tapped his arm. "You ok Hotch?" he asked. Hotch turned and was about to tell Rossi to mind his own business, when he realized that this wasn't just another agent. This was Dave. And he knew Hotch's thoughts even without asking.
Hotch took a deep breath and dropped into the seat across from Dave. He leant forward and cleared his throat. "I was planning on telling her this weekend," he explained quietly. Dave wrinkled his brow, but his face softened when he realized his friend was talking about Emily. His eyes widened in surprise.
While he had long been hoping that Hotch would say something to her, he didn't think he'd actually put his plan into actions. But… apparently he had. "Really?" Dave asked, sitting forward and linking his hands, "You were going to tell her that you liked her?" he asked. Hotch shook his head and glanced up to check that Emily was still out of earshot.
"I was going to tell her that I love her," he clarified. Rossi raised his eyebrows even further. "I've been trying to talk to her for the past week but things have just kept coming up. So I made reservations for Sunday night at Marcel's. Hired a sitter. It was all planned," he explained, "But now…"
Dave smiled sympathetically and nodded. "Well then, we'd better solve this case quickly so you can make your reservation," he replied. Hotch huffed and nodded. He stayed a few more moments, listening to Dave explain his plans for the weekend… another cocktail party with the city's richest… and thinking that he probably didn't even need to tell Emily how he felt. Their behaviour towards each other in the past couple of weeks, and the fact that Emily didn't even pretend to go to her room at bedtime, was probably proof enough for her.
But Hotch glanced quickly down the aisle and watched Emily as she spoke to Reid. The way she moved, the way her face lit up when she spoke… Hotch didn't care if she already knew. He wanted to TELL her. To say the words out loud.
Hotch looked up when he heard Emily shuffle back down the aisle. He smiled as he stood, offering her seat back. Emily passed Hotch and he gently put his hand on her back. She looked up at him and smiled, before taking her seat again. Hotch nodded to the two agents, before returning to his seat.
Rossi watched all of this in silence. He shook his head and huffed, picking up the next file, this one on the missing girl. Emily wrinkled her brow and smiled. "What?" she asked, suspiciously. Rossi smiled sweetly and shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. Emily wrinkled her brow again, but shrugged her shoulders as she opened the file Hotch had left on the table.
Emily and Hotch watched as Morgan climbed into his car. They waved as he drove through the empty carpark, before they turned to head to Hotch's car. Emily cleared her throat. "So I guess your plan worked," she said quietly. Hotch wrinkled his brow and turned to face her. "What do you mean?" he asked as they reached the car. He opened the back door and they tossed their bags on the backseat.
"Well… no sin-to-win weekend with Jenna. But you still get to take me to dinner tomorrow…" Emily checked her watch, "Tonight." Hotch huffed and climbed into the driver's seat. "I did not plan this Emily," he replied defensively. Emily raised her eyebrows and Hotch smiled. "Ok, well I planned dinner but I didn't plan the case," he argued. Emily smiled and leant back on the seat. "Wow Hotch. You're quite a man. Anyone else would've been trying to take credit for this turn of events," she teased.
She reached over and squeezed his shoulder, "But not you… the ever-upstanding Agent Hotchner." Hotch huffed and reached over to turn down the airconditioning. "That's me," he joked. Emily chuckled and closed her eyes. "You're a different man once you leave Quantico. Or maybe it's just when you're with me," she joked. Hotch shrugged his shoulders, "Or maybe it's both," he added as he merged onto the freeway.
They sat in comfortable silence, the humming of the wheels on the road the only sounds in the night, before Emily cleared her throat. "So I was thinking…" she started, "It's too late to pick Jack up. So we'll have the apartment all to ourselves." Hotch could feel his throat constricting as he thought about what she could be implying. He cleared his throat before speaking. "And?" he squeaked. Emily smiled and squeezed his knee. "And I was thinking we could play "Find Emily's tattoo,"' she replied.
Emily squealed when she felt the car swerve. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, before looking over at Hotch. He cringed and bit his lip. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. Emily raised her eyebrows and folded her arms. "It was just a joke Hotch," she teased, "No need to commit suicide." Hotch rolled his eyes and looked over at her. "Funny," he said quietly. Emily huffed and Hotch sighed. "So what were you really thinking?" he asked.
Emily picked up the bowl and hit the lights as she made her way to the lounge. She dropped down next to Hotch and put the bowl on the coffee table. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind," Hotch mused aloud, glancing over at Emily. She grinned and nodded. "I know," she replied, lifting his left arm and leaning into his side, "But we never get to watch scary movies when Jack's around so I figured we should make the most of it," she explained.
Hotch shifted slightly, getting more comfortable and snuggling closer to Emily in the process. Since they hadn't told each other how they felt, Hotch figured this would be as close to "Find Emily's tattoo" as he would get for awhile. He tipped his head onto hers and sighed. This was close enough. As long as he got to hold her all night, he didn't care. Come tomorrow night, maybe they'd get to do more.
Emily sighed and hit play, reaching forward for some popcorn as the sounds of Also Sprach Zarathustra pumped through the stereo. She smiled as Hotch's fingers played along to the theme song, tapping on her hip. "This is nice," she whispered. Hotch smiled and kissed the top of her head. "It is," he replied. Hotch sighed as he leaned his head back and watched the sun's light come into view. "Now be quiet and watch the movie," he teased. Emily chuckled and nodded. "Yes sir," she replied sarcastically, popping another piece of popcorn into her mouth.
