cycle
noun

a group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and are often repeated

They didn't have that breakfast for at least a couple of weeks.

It was not his fault that he didn't know. It was no one's fault, really.

But a part of JJ wished that it were at least somebody's fault, for this situation to make any sense.

"What's up with Prentiss today?" Luke asked as they walked towards the entrance of the FBI's Omaha Field Office. Emily and Spencer were already inside.

Emily had been particularly snappy towards Luke since they arrived in Omaha this morning. Maybe it could all be blamed on the non-existent coffee she didn't yet have today. They were called in way too early for this case and didn't really have the time to indulge in their laidback morning customs.

"Need some work on those profiling skills, Alvez," Tara whispered to Luke as Matt just chuckled and shook his head.

"Wha—Why? What'd I do?"

Rossi just patted his shoulder as he wordlessly passed him by.

JJ mouthed, "It'll be fine," reassuringly to him with a nod, but with a secretive smile as if to tease (a little fun wouldn't hurt), before following Rossi.

JJ found Emily in the room where they were set up, finishing up a conversation with the Supervisory Special Agent in Charge. She nodded to the SSAIC when the door opened and he left the room. In the background, Emily sat on the table, proceeding to examine a file in her hand. Why she doesn't just actually use the chairs, JJ never understood. She could see through the clear glass walls how Emily's tongue swiped the corner of her lip as she read. JJ looked down at the item in her hand. Maybe this would help lift the woman's mood a little bit.

She entered the room and approached Emily, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in tow.

"Hey."

Emily immediately looked up and smiled. "JJ." She looked down at the cup. "Is that for me?"

JJ nodded encouragingly and said, "I don't think you've had your coffee yet." She smiled when Emily placed down the file and took the offered cup with a grateful look and a small thanks.

"You good?" JJ asked.

Emily looked at her pointedly, an answer, before sighing, "Yeah, I'm good."

JJ sat beside her on the table. She took the file Emily put down and began to look over it, while Emily sipped her coffee by her side. She let a few seconds pass before finally continuing, "You should take it easy on Luke."

"Well then he shouldn't have done that."

JJ could practically hear the stubborn pout on Emily's face from the tone of her voice. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smirking and concentrated on the file, or at least pretended to. "He didn't know the seat was already taken. Besides, last week Spence sat beside me, too, remember?"

"Because Dave wanted to talk to me privately!"

"Emily…" JJ looked up from the file she was casually skimming to look at Emily intently.

Emily resolutely trained her gaze forward, refusing to look at JJ. It didn't take her very long until she caved in and looked back. Once. Then a second time. She groaned as she met JJ's eyes, "Jayje… don't look at me like that."

JJ raised an eyebrow.

Emily held out for what JJ mentally counted to be four seconds before huffing, "Fine," giving her one last glower JJ knew Emily didn't really mean for good measure. "But just because you brought me coffee."

JJ grinned in victory. "Don't worry. I promise to reserve your seat on the flight back."

"Really?"

"Really."

On their flight back from Omaha, JJ kept her promise. When Emily entered the jet, the seat beside JJ was empty. Luke was already sitting somewhere else with Tara. After scanning the room and noting that everyone was already present, Emily was about to head to the cockpit to inform the pilot that they were ready to go, before stopping in her tracks and immediately going back and heading to what was definitely her seat, beside JJ, dropping her handbag on the chair with a thud, startling JJ a little.

She wasn't taking any chances.

Oh, and Luke was out of the doghouse.

It was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

In a case in Birmingham, Emily partnered JJ with Spencer and directed them to investigate a lead together. The case snowballed from there. The witness they were visiting turned out to be the UNSUB, and a confrontation was had. Luckily, Emily and Matt arrived just before things took a turn for the worse.

That was many hours ago. Now they were all going back to their hotel rooms, the case all wrapped up. They were all staying on the same floor, JJ's room one of the few they would pass by first. Seeing the door to her room just a few feet away, JJ fumbled for the keycard in her bag, exhaling a sudden hiss as her wrist got bent uncomfortably.

Emily instantly took notice beside her. "JJ, what's wrong?"

JJ rubbed the skin on her wrist, trying to soothe the pain under it. Before she could say anything else, Emily was right in front of her, taking her wrist gently in her hands.

"What happened?" Emily asked, turning JJ's wrist, and softly smoothing her fingers over the tender skin, examining it for bruises and scratches.

JJ grimaced. "It might have gotten twisted earlier…"

"Jayje!" Emily admonished, but there was no anger in her eyes, only concern. "Why didn't you say anything? We should get it looked at."

"No, Em, it's fine. It'll probably heal on its own—"

"No, it's not fine—"

"It doesn't even hurt that much—"

"Jennifer," Emily said firmly. "Don't make me pull rank on you."

JJ shot Emily a dirty look. "That is so not fair, Em."

"Come on."

JJ didn't have much of a choice as Emily's free arm wrapped around her waist, her other hand still lightly holding her wrist. Emily turned them both around and led them away.

They caught Rossi's attention, who turned to look at them both questioningly. "Where are you two going?"

"Hospital," Emily answered curtly, not even looking back as if a woman on a mission. "JJ's wrist is injured."

"It's really not that bad… It doesn't even hurt anymore!" But JJ's pleas fell on deaf ears. She looked back towards Rossi imploringly and shook her head, as if with a silent Help me, but to her annoyance, Rossi was… smirking?

It ended up being a mild sprain (Emily had given her a triumphant look that said, I told you it was something, at the same time JJ gave her a similar look that said, I told you it was mild), but the doctor told her that just resting and icing her wrist for a couple of days should do the trick. It wasn't bad at all, but with the amount of fussing over she got from Emily, you would think that she had a gunshot wound (thank God she didn't).

When they got back to the hotel and reached her door, JJ entered her room expecting Emily to leave and close the door. But when she put her bag on the bed and turned around, she found Emily standing awkwardly at the doorway, not quite inside the room but not quite outside, either.

"Will you be okay on your own?" Emily asked, biting her lip worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Em," JJ answered. "It's really nothing I can't handle."

"You sure? Maybe I should stay…"

"Em, I'll be fine," she repeated. She added in a soft voice, meeting Emily's eyes, "I promise."

Emily hesitated. She turned to leave, but stopped midway, a silhouette of her profile on the floor. "Call me if you need anything?"

"I will. If I even feel an inkling of pain, you'll be the first to know." JJ gave her a reassuring smile.

Emily gave her one last nod before finally closing the door.

The next day, on the jet, if Matt saw JJ and Emily coming in together, with Emily every now and again looking over and taking JJ's wrist in her hands, he said nothing.

If Luke saw JJ get up from her seat to get something from the back of the jet, if he witnessed Emily instantaneously stopping her and pushing her back to her seat to get whatever it was that JJ wanted instead, he just shrugged.

If Tara saw JJ's hand in Emily's lap, her wrist between two bottles of ice-cold water held by Emily, she just smiled.

If Reid saw JJ's hand stay where it was, even though the bottles were already gone, he didn't say a word.

If Rossi saw JJ dozing in her seat, her cheek pressed against Emily's shoulder, if he saw Emily looking thoughtful and quietly tracing the lines of the other woman's palm with her fingers, he simply noted the date and closed his eyes for a nap.

This was normal for them, too.

"Emily Prentiss, you are late!" Penelope faux-gasped, ushering Emily inside her apartment.

"Sorry, I had to get something on the way," Emily replied, offering Penelope the bottle of sauvignon blanc she was carrying. "Are JJ and Tara already here?"

Penelope accepted the bottle gleefully and directed Emily to the room closest to them. "They're in the living room."

Upon entering the room, Emily was greeted with smiles by JJ and Tara who were seated on the couch. Judging from the Netflix screen on the TV, they were in the middle of deciding on a movie before she arrived. She was walking towards them when she felt something rub up against her leg. When she looked down, she couldn't help the bright smile that broke on her face.

"Sergio," Emily cooed, dragging the last two syllables, as she bent down and picked up the purring black ball of fur. "I so missed you, Serge."

"Aww, he misses his mama," Penelope said as she passed by Emily, who was petting Sergio, the smell of freshly baked cookies permeating the air. She placed a plate full of cookies in different shapes and sizes on the coffee table.

"Ooh," Tara said excitedly.

Emily chuckled as she met JJ's knowing look.

"You asked — actually you didn't, but you get the idea — I delivered. Special homemade cookies courtesy of the all-knowing Penelope Grace Garcia!" Penelope finished with a proud beam.

They ended up picking a horror movie. Tara and Emily sat on the floor, while Penelope and JJ shared the couch. Between Penelope's occasional screams and their side comments about the characters' decisions (Don't go in the house! or Why don't they just move? or Is he really leaving that kid alone in there?), JJ caught sight of Emily's nails as the latter took a cat-shaped cookie from the plate in front of them.

She waited until the movie was over. Penelope had gone to the kitchen to get drinks, while Tara had excused herself to the bathroom.

"You've been biting your nails again," JJ quietly murmured.

"Hmm?" Emily inquired absently, petting Sergio's back who stayed on her lap the entire night.

JJ took Emily's left hand as an answer. She traced the skin around Emily's thumb. The nail was uneven, and there were red marks on the skin around it. Emily smiled sheepishly as if caught and tried to pull her hand back, but JJ held on, steadfast.

Suddenly, an idea popped in JJ's head. The materials she needed were sure to be here. They were at Penelope's house after all.

She stood up, leaving a confused Emily in her wake. She went to the kitchen where Penelope was.

"Hey, Pen, can I borrow your nail polish?"

JJ came back to find Emily still seated on the floor with Sergio; they really had been inseparable all night. She put the tray of nail polish on the floor beside Emily and sat right next to her. Emily looked at the small bottles and then at JJ, a little stunned but also curious. JJ suppressed a smile.

"Pick a color."

It was all bright and neon colors and glittery — it was Penelope's after all. Sergio jumped from Emily's lap as she fully turned to JJ and leaned forward, picking up a small bottle out of the tray.

It was a bright, blood red.

JJ gave Emily a meaningful look before she took the bottle from Emily's hand and opened it.

"Give me your hand."

Emily obediently offered JJ her hand, which JJ took in hers. Their palms met briefly before JJ's fingers were under hers, keeping her hand steady. She watched silently as JJ started on her pointer finger, the red slowly coating her worn nail almost hypnotizing her.

Penelope and Tara weren't back yet. It was just them. If she weren't concentrating so much on Emily's nails, JJ would have noticed that Emily looked a bit nervous.

By the time Tara and Penelope got back, one carrying the bottle of wine Emily brought earlier and the other wine glasses, their movie night turned into a nail-painting night. They joined in the fun, Penelope excitedly painting Tara's nails with a purple nail polish that had these little specks of silver in it.

When Emily's phone rang a little bit later, they all collectively groaned. But when Emily got into her car, she took a moment to admire her newly painted nails. Only one hand was painted, and the pinky finger was unfinished, but as Emily stared at the smiley face JJ drew on her thumbnail — out of all her nails, it was the one that suffered the most from her habit — she found that she couldn't care less.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

In between cases in Quantico, Emily sneezed.

They were on stand-down and were just doing consultations. JJ was passing by Emily's office on her way to Rossi's, file in hand, when she heard a small noise that she couldn't identify. She stopped, waiting to hear it again, but it didn't come. Shrugging, she went on her way to Rossi's office, forgetting all about it.

A few hours later, JJ opened the refrigerator at the mini canteen of the BAU, looking for something to eat, when she heard the same noise again. When she turned, she was surprised to see Emily, whose nose was a little pink. She gaped.

"That was you?"

"What?" Emily replied, confused. She sniffled.

JJ internally shook herself. "Never mind. Are you okay? Are you sick?"

"I think I might've caught a bug." Emily's voice sounded raspy. She took a paper cup and started pouring herself coffee.

"Whoa, wait. Coffee will irritate your throat even more. Maybe you should have some tea instead?" JJ suggested. "Hold on."

She took a packet of chamomile tea from the tray of tea packets on the counter. Finding out that the electric kettle was still hot, she picked out a clean paper cup and poured hot water into it, the tea bag already inside, and gave it to Emily.

Emily looked at her apologetically. "Thanks, Jayje."

"Do you need anything?"

Emily gently shook her head.

As if on cue, the phone in Emily's office rang in the distance.

"I should get that."

She gave JJ a thankful smile before walking briskly to her office. Before JJ could finish uttering, "Careful!" a splash of the hot water in the cup spilled on Emily's hand, burning her a little. JJ chuckled at Emily's embarrassed expression and watched as the unit chief continued walking to her office, but a little more carefully this time.

Since their rendezvous at the canteen earlier, JJ couldn't stop sneaking looks up at Emily's office. She could still hear her sneezing sometimes, and as much as Emily tried to stifle the sound, ever since JJ found out what it was, she knew from that point on that there was no way she would never recognize that sound ever again.

Deciding on something that maybe she should've done earlier, JJ rifled through the contents of her bag. She was sure she had some cold medicine in it somewhere. She found two lone tablets of decongestant and proceeded to close the file she was working on on her desk.

She didn't even have to knock since Emily promptly looked up the moment she was at the doorway. From where she stood, JJ took a good look at Emily. The woman looked ever-professional sitting at her desk, her hair almost like a veil around her face, pen in her hand, the phone ever at the ready, and files all stacked up beside the one she had open. She would've looked intimidatingly serious if it weren't for her nose which was turning as red as the blouse and the lipstick she was wearing.

Maybe JJ shouldn't think this, but… Emily looked — for lack of a better word — adorable.

"Em, have you taken anything for your cold yet?"

"Not really…"

JJ noted that Emily still sounded a bit rough, but not as bad as earlier. "Here, take this." She handed Emily the tablets and a bottle of water she had picked up at the canteen.

"Wow, you're really taking care of me, Jayje," Emily said teasingly.

"This is just payback for last week," JJ shot back, playfully sticking her tongue out. She observed as Emily popped a tablet in her mouth and pushed it down with the water. "Are you feeling cold? Do you have a fever?"

Emily screwed the cap back onto the water bottle. "I don't think so."

"Let me check."

JJ walked over behind Emily's desk and bent over as Emily swiveled her chair to face her. She placed the back of her hand against Emily's forehead, feeling for heat, before turning her hand so her palm was pressed against her skin.

"I used to do this with Henry."

Emily looked up curiously as JJ's palm on her head moved down to the side of her neck. Without warning, not even to herself, JJ leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Emily's, using her own forehead to feel for her temperature.

This was… different.

JJ didn't really think it through. She had really only meant to check Emily's temperature like she used to with Henry. The memory came back to her unbidden, and she simply entertained it.

Emily was still looking up at her, the flush on her nose spread to her cheeks, and JJ felt her breath catch in her throat. Being this close, they gazed at each other strangely, as if seeing the other for the first time. She swallowed as she saw how Emily's pupils dilated up close, and couldn't help but wonder if Emily could see the same thing in hers, too.

JJ found herself at a loss for words and actions.

"Um, am I interrupting something?"

Emily and JJ swiftly pulled away at the voice. The pair turned and saw Luke at Emily's door, holding files in his hands.

"Prentiss, I just need your signatures on these."

JJ awkwardly left Emily's side and cleared her throat as Luke approached Emily's desk. She had been so distracted by their closeness that JJ forgot to notice if Emily even had a temperature or not. She chanced a glance at Emily, who was clutching the water bottle so hard that her knuckles were white, whose face was still as red as a tomato. She doubted she looked any better. She could practically feel the heat on her cheeks.

"Um, I'm gonna…," JJ gestured self-consciously towards the bullpen, "…go."

Emily nodded. "Thank you for the…"

"Yeah. No problem," JJ finished for her. She nodded at Luke once — whose smirk she would have loved to wipe off his face if she weren't so embarrassed — before slinking away to the bullpen.

Even without being there, JJ could clearly imagine the knowing smile Luke was wearing and the glare Emily was giving Luke in return.

"Not. A. Word," she heard Emily say faintly in the background before it was punctuated by a cute sneeze a few seconds later.

Miraculously enough, Emily did end up taking a sick leave after that day. And she had entrusted JJ to take over while she was gone.

JJ decided not to dwell too much on the uncomfortable feeling that tended to creep in her stomach every time she looked to the side and found the seat beside her on the jet unfamiliarly empty.

Maybe later she'd give Emily a call.

Emily checked her watch as she got into the elevator, pressing 6 with her left hand. Her right was occupied.

So what if she bought an extra cup of coffee on the way to work?

It took a couple of days, but the cold she was suffering from had finally run its course.

So maybe she was feeling a little chipper.

And thankful. This was just a little thank you.

When she got out of the elevator, there were already a few people milling about. So it wasn't entirely a surprise when she found that JJ was also already at the BAU bullpen. She pushed through the glass doors and approached JJ's desk excitedly.

She had already texted JJ that she'd be coming back today. It would no longer be a surprise, but she had a different one at the ready.

"JJ."

JJ looked up from her desk and turned in her chair. Her face brightened, and she couldn't help the smile on her face as Emily walked towards her.

"Emily!"

Emily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when, after seeing her for only a few seconds, JJ immediately turned back to her desk. It wasn't that she was expecting a hug or anything. She wasn't gone for that long after all, but…

She suddenly felt awkward. She cleared her throat, hoping that it would get JJ's attention. "Um, Jayje, I wanted to thank you for—"

When JJ faced her again, holding something in her hand, Emily felt a warmth that started in her chest and spread to her whole body.

"—covering… for me…"

It definitely wasn't the fever this time.

"It's just a small welcome back gift… After I stopped you from getting your coffee last time, I figured…"

"Oh."

"Oh."

For a few seconds, you could almost hear a pin drop as they stared at each other, speechless, both of their gazes dropping to the cup of coffee each of them held in their hands, for the other person. For a while, all that could be heard was the distant ringing of a telephone. It took three rings before anyone answered.

Emily just watched JJ, her mouth forming an 'o,' still not quite believing the situation.

JJ watched her right back with the same expression, that was until she could feel the corners of her mouth curl up, and it wasn't too long until she couldn't stop herself from outright laughing.

Emily still stood there, a bit amazed, JJ's laughter making her warm up even more.

"Hello, my fellow crime fighters, we have a case!" Penelope entered the bullpen and marched briskly towards the conference room, completely oblivious of the scene Emily and JJ were in the middle of. "Boss Lady, you're back!"

Before Emily could shake out of her temporary stupor for a reply, JJ stopped her outburst and turned to Penelope. "Coffee, Pen?" She placed the cup in Penelope's hand not holding her laptop, which the bright woman accepted with delight.

Behind them, people started arriving. They could hear Luke's and Matt's low voices as they chatted. Rossi came out of his office and gave the three women a nod.

When Penelope walked up to the catwalk, JJ turned to Emily again and said, traces of laughter still on her face and voice, "We have a case."

Emily finally shook herself off her daze, unable to stop the surprised smile that formed on her lips. Without any deliberation, she forcefully put the still warm cup of coffee in the hand of whomever passed her by first.

It happened to be Anderson, who, upon receiving it, looked bewildered and a little scared.

"I guess we should set up a schedule, huh?" Emily said as she and JJ climbed the steps together, one hand grasping JJ's elbow unconsciously.

JJ just laughed in return.

And just like that, things went back to normal, like they always did.

Notes

Girlfriends? Besties.

I tried to inject some light humor. I hope it at least made you smile. Thanks for reading!