Their first week in the new house was full of laughter and plenty of alcohol. Spencer had returned to Las Vegas to spend the summer with his mother, whose health had been deteriorating rapidly since he'd been at college. With Penelope and Derek both staying in D.C for the summer, and Pen moving into Emily's back yard cabin, they'd both offered to help finish up the decorating and putting together the final touches on the house.
Penelope had well and truly made the cabin her own, the outside littered with fairy lights and the inside was like a playhouse. Full of bright colours and textures, she felt more at home there than she had anywhere else in her life. Inside the main house, Emily and JJ had settled on a more subtle colour scheme. Most things were varying shades of grey, but there were licks of dusty blues and lilac in the rooms. Seeing as their bedroom had been finished the day Emily showed JJ the house, they had moved in just days after, giving them a head start on finishing up the rest of the home.
"Beer?" Derek Morgan waltzed around the living area with a paint brush in one hand and a roller in the other.
"Are we just going to drink all summer long?" Emily raised a brow at the young man.
"Decorating needs beer, trust me Prentiss." Derek laughed.
"Only the office and the guest room to go after this anyway." JJ jumped into the conversation, stood high on a ladder as she finished off painting the ceiling.
"Do you mean Derek's room?" Emily rolled her eyes. The young man had staked a claim on the unfinished guest room as his whenever he was too drunk or too tired to make his way back to his flat for the night.
"We'll get you a nameplate for the door." JJ joked, turning to Derek to stick her tongue out at him when he mocked JJ's comment.
"Alright children, am I going to have to put someone in time out?" Emily tilted her head, raising her brow again.
"You have 3 other guest rooms, have you even got that many friends Prentiss?" Derek jeered playfully. Emily turned to glare at him, throwing the paintbrush she held between two fingers right in his face. "That was uncalled for!"
"You just said I have no friends!" Emily countered.
"Now now, let's not start a paint fight." Penelope chimed up from where she was sat, typing away furiously on her laptop.
"What you doing on there anyway baby girl?" Derek put down his tools and turned to sneak a peek at the blonde's laptop.
"Ah! Nothing that concerns you mister." Penelope guarded the screen with her hands.
"Whose credit score are you destroying now?" Emily looked at her with suspicion, knowing it had been a pastime for the seemingly innocent blonde.
"No ones. I might have just sent some information back to a company about my internship, that's all." Penelope admitted to which JJ jumped off the steps and raced over to her best friend.
"What?! You didn't tell me you were going for an internship!" JJ rushed.
"Yeah, well I didn't wanna get my hopes up. Besides, the preliminary application went through and now I'm just giving them the results of what they asked me to do..." Penelope trailed off. Her eyes met Emily's and she knew then that the brunette had her sussed.
"They asked you to hack someone?" Emily bit the inside of her cheek as she thought aloud.
"Maybe."
"Who did?" JJ asked, looking between Emily and Penelope.
"The FBI." Penelope mumbled, quiet enough that JJ and Derek didn't hear her, but Emily knew – after all she was the one that pulled some strings and got the blonde considered in the first place.
"Way to go PG." Emily smirked.
"I am so confused." Derek turned with a bemused look on his face. Emily chuckled with a roll of her eyes. She looked at JJ, whose expression matched Derek's.
"Tell them?" Penelope looked at Emily.
"Only if you want to." Emily shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh my god! Just spill the T!" JJ burst and Emily fought everything in her to not burst out laughing.
"Spill the T, who are you, Ru Paul?!" Penelope pursed her lips together in attempt to stop her own giggles.
"Pen!" JJ whined.
"Fine! I'm the new intern for the FBI's technical analysis department." Penelope threw her hands in the air, watching both JJ and Derek's mouths drop open like a fish. This sent both Penelope and Emily into a fit of laughter.
"Are me and Spence the only ones who aren't in the FBI now?" Derek tried to speak over the two women's laughter, but it was futile. JJ chuckled a few times before wrapping her arms round the bubbly blonde in congratulations.
"Well done, Pen. I'm proud of you." JJ kissed the blonde's cheek.
"Thank you, sweetness. I do have to thank Emily for making it happen though." Penelope said, a little breathless from laughter.
"So, what did they actually ask you to do?" Emily finally asked after she herself had calmed down.
"They wanted me to track a transaction, no case details, just an IP address and a name." Penelope started. "I may have gone a little further than that and now a certain drug ring might fall to their knees when the narco department come crashing through their front door at 2am tomorrow morning."
Emily just held her hand up, high fiving the blonde and displaying her approval with a grin.
"I start Monday, can I catch a ride in with you guys?" Penelope then asked.
"Awh! She gonna be crashing our carpool breakfasts and quickies before work!" JJ groaned playfully.
"Ew." Penelope grimaced.
"I'm joking. We do it in the file room." JJ winked.
"Uh, no we don't!" Emily shook her head. "Yet."
"What was that?" JJ turned to face the brunette.
"Nothing! Derek, where's that beer?" Emily changed the subject quickly, almost running out of the room to avoid JJ's glare.
Decorating the office was a mission in itself – finishing off the right way with a paint fight between Emily and JJ.
"Em, it's all over my face!" JJ gasped as Emily flicked more blue paint at her.
"You look hot though. Warrior-esk – it suits you." Emily winked, dabbing another bit of paint on the blonde's cheek.
"You know what-" JJ launched forward and drew a long line from Emily's eyebrow down to her chin, across her eye and her lips. "Now we match."
"You are so lucky my eyes were closed." Emily scowled with a smirk on her face, keeping the same playful manner alive.
"Oh, hang on, I missed a spot." JJ beckoned Emily over with a finger, a sinful expression on her face that drew Emily in closer. She pressed her free hand to the white vest Emily was wearing, right over her breast. "Cute."
Emily looked down to see the blue handprint covering her left breast and burst out laughing. "Lemme try."
Emily painted her hand and went to mimic the same action JJ took, but instead reached around and covered one of JJ's ass cheeks with her hand. JJ looked at her with her mouth hung slightly in shock and Emily laughed again.
"Seriously?" JJ raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Now we just need a picture." Emily grinned at her like an idiot. JJ shook her head at her girlfriend's antics, but she complied when Emily dragged her over to the mirror in their bedroom. Emily's handprint on her ass, she faced away from the mirror but threw her head back so she could still see the pose Emily was going to make for their picture. She covered the unpainted side of JJ's backside with her hand and JJ clicked straight away, reaching to cover Emily's chest the same way.
"Suitable for the Holiday card, right?" Emily joked.
"Sure - my mother would smack us both upside the head."
One the painting had finished, and the rest of the hardware was put into the house with the help of Derek, they started furnishing the rooms. Most of the rooms were easy, but the office and the kitchen had caused more arguments than they cared to acknowledge. The kitchen was about the colour scheme and what type of stools there were going to have on the island – the office was whether they were going to have a desk each or just end up sharing one. Considering JJ was going into her second year and was going to need space to study, they finally decided on a desk on either side of the room.
Emily made it up to JJ by completely kitting out the office with new tech, a MacBook for JJ to take into college to write her notes up on, and then desktop computer for when she was at home. It went along with the TV that was fixed on the wall, dead center with the leather couch they'd gotten to make the room more comfortable, and of course a surround-sound system for when they wanted music or a film on in the background.
"This is too much." JJ shook her head as she mumbled quietly to herself.
"No, it's not. We need it for our last year and we can use it for work after that." Emily reasoned with a small smile and a kiss to JJ's temple.
"I'll pay you back for this when I get the money, I promise."
"You'll do no such thing Jennifer – this is my gift to you." Emily raised an eyebrow at JJ.
"Em, you've already let me move in here with you, and gave Pen the cabin. I- I can't accept it all."
"Jennifer, just let me spoil you! I've never had anyone I care about this much to do it for, let me enjoy it." Emily laughed.
"You're adorable." JJ whined as she wrapped her arms around Emily. "I love you."
"I love you too sweetie. Now, I did buy something else, but please don't be mad..." Emily bit down on her tongue a little and waited for JJ's reaction. "It's not for you or me really."
"Well, I can't get mad then." JJ shrugged.
"Okay, you know Zenzi's been at moms since the summer break started and we've been working?" Emily said and JJ looked at her suspiciously.
"Yes... where are you going with this?"
"Derek's building her a kennel outside and I may have sprung 75 grand on a new stable block for Bowie." Emily ducked her head.
"Emily!"
Things had become almost sickeningly domestic in the Prentiss-Jareau household. Every morning before they went to Quantico, JJ woke before Emily to get her daily run in with Zenzi once she had come back from the older Prentiss', and Emily hid under the covers on their bed until JJ started nagging and tickling her to get her up before it was too late. Penelope would come crashing through the rear door with a flask of coffee and her bag, tottering through the house in somewhat appropriate attire for her internship as a tech analyst.
The carpools were always fun, playing music and catching each other up on anything new and before they knew it, they were pulling into Emily's space at Quantico. JJ might've still had a year left at Georgetown before she graduated, but after a performance review with Strauss and Gideon, she had nothing but good feedback from the unit chief and the other SSA's assigned to the BAU.
She was filled with hope but knew that things could change in the blink of an eye. Emily had made sure not to let JJ get too overwhelmed with the harsher details of some cases – they sat down after each one they worked and let it all air out, leaving any reservations and worries behind before they went to bed and woke up ready for a new challenge.
The act of moving in together had only made them stronger. Waking up every day knowing that they were there with each other was more thrilling than any case or unsub would ever make them feel. Within the first 48 hours of moving in, they had consummated every room in the house, bar Penelope's cabin of course. But they'd made good progress on the majority of outdoor areas surrounding the property anyway.
Next came the small housewarming party that they threw, with their close friends and family. Sandy met James and Elizabeth for the first time, and they hit it off instantly. Then came the rest of the Jareau family – filling their house with more laughter and chaos than it would ever need. Penelope loved JJ's niece Evelyn, showing the little girl all the fairy lights on her cabin and even giving her a fluffy unicorn teddy to take home as a keepsake from her time in D.C. Even James Prentiss was besotted by Evelyn, which made Emily's heart grow at the sight.
She had never thought about having kids before she met JJ, but she knew when the time was right that the blonde would be more than willing to have their own little family. The weekend of visitors had gone off without a hitch, even when Sandy asked Emily and JJ when they were planning on getting engaged. Emily choked on her beer and JJ tripped over her own feet when it was mentioned, but they still laughed it off. Eventually – Emily wanted JJ to finish off college and get her job with the BAU before she started making any sort of plan to propose.
"I'm so glad you two have finally moved in together." Elizabeth shared her positive thoughts on the move.
"Yeah, well it was gonna happen eventually." Emily smiled at her mother.
"What are you doing with the apartment?" Sandy asked.
"Derek and Spencer are there until they are earning enough money to get their own places." JJ cut into the conversation, smiling at her mother and Elizabeth.
"That's sweet of you Emily – you've picked a good one Jenny." Sandy patted JJ on the shoulder and disappeared.
"Yeah, I did." JJ looked up at Emily with wonder and smiled at the brunette.
The summer flew by effortlessly and it made JJ a little sad to know that she was going into her final year at Georgetown and would officially be an adult with a degree and a real job. No more weekly shot challenges at the bar just off campus, no more tutoring session with her favourite professor.
But then again, she did live with said professor, and Emily had made it clear that she would be more than happy to tutor her in other ways – with a devilish smile and a tongue darting between her lips suggestively.
"So, your new classes for the year..." JJ started, rolling over in bed the Sunday night before they went back to college."
"I only have you guys; did I not tell you that?" Emily asked.
"I thought you had 3 this year. Or am I making things up in my mind." JJ chuckled lightly.
"Blake took one and Rossi is back to teaching so took the other. You're my last class before I commit fulltime to the BAU." Emily smiled, leaning over to kiss JJ's cheek.
"Well, we shall just have to make this year really exciting, won't we." JJ lips curled into a cheeky smile.
"As if last year didn't have enough excitement Jennifer, are you intent on driving me completely insane before you leave college?" Emily laughed.
"Never - who would I have to entertain me then?" JJ winked.
"Are you looking forward to going back?"
"Hmm, I guess so. I just want to get it finished and move onto the bigger things." JJ shrugged.
"That's understandable. You've had a taste for it, it's normal to want to get into it more." Emily nodded in agreement before a thought popped into her head. "Oh, tutoring sessions are now on a Monday and Wednesday by the way."
"You're still gonna tutor me?" JJ giggled.
"Of course, I am. You, Derek and Spence might be subject to some form of special treatment this year. Penelope has me on the weekends of course." Emily's tongue poked between pearly white teeth and JJ felt her stomach coil with desire. "What was that look for?"
"You know exactly what." JJ rolled her eyes, then shifting onto her front so she could get a better look at the brunette. "Do you remember what you promised me at the start of the summer?"
"Hmm, no." Emily tilted her head quizzically.
"Maybe we can get a head start on our second year of excitement." JJ purred, slowly straddling Emily's hips.
"Oh... that promise." Emily hummed quietly when her hands found JJ's waist. She wriggled beneath the blonde, making sure to lift her hips enough to get a reaction from the younger woman. JJ gasped, the sudden contact to her throbbing core made her shudder. Emily licked her lips, knowing exactly what JJ wanted right then, and made a mental note to pack a certain item in her bag for tomorrow's tutor session.
"I want you." JJ whimpered, running her hands over Emily's stomach and to her chest.
"I'm all yours Jennifer."