When JJ arrived back home, utterly exhausted, she found the air conditioner in the living room was turned on. She told herself to tell Henry off for not switching off the air conditioner before he left for school, before collapsing on the couch and flicking on the television. The cool temperature of the room was nice – so JJ decided to let it slip.

"Hey."

JJ spun around and raised her weapon, only to set it down immediately.

"Will?"

Will didn't smile or show any sign of affection.

"Why do you think Reid is still alive?"

JJ turned the television off.

"I saw him breathe just as Hotch pushed me away. I just don't know why Hotch didn't tell me anything like the last time he did with Emily!"

Will frowned. Obviously, her answer had been less than satisfactory, but that was all she had to give.

"Maybe Hotch didn't say anything because Reid is dead?" Will said sarcastically.

JJ didn't bother to reply and simply gritted her teeth. She thought he would ask her about her scratches and wounds, but he had ignored all of that.

"If I gave you a choice, would you rather believe that Reid is still alive or have me come back?"

JJ stared at him, completely caught off guard. Never in a million years would she have expected Will to be that kind of guy. But then again, it was understandable – not excusable – that he would behave in such a way.

"I can't choose, Will, you know that."

Will grimaced, as if he was ashamed of what he was doing but knew it needed to be done anyway, and nodded.

"Of course. Rest well. Send Henry my love."

He picks up his car keys and leaves by the backdoor. Some part of Will hoped that JJ would say something – anything – to give him some reason to come back. He missed her and honestly all his stuff were already in her trunk, but she couldn't give him the answer he wanted – or rather needed – and there was simply nothing he could do about that. Seeing her bandaged up made his insides hurt, but he forced his legs to walk away.

JJ opened her mouth on multiple occasions, but she could never find the right words to say, despite being a pretty good hostage negotiator. She finally accepted the fact that until Reid was proven to be truly dead or alive – until all this was over – William would not be with her in this part of her life. But if she had a say in anything – she would damn well get him back and love him the way he deserved to be loved.

Elle and Reid didn't share that kind of chemistry that Elle had with Morgan.

They didn't know what the other was thinking just by assessing the situation, although they could make some pretty close guesses. They were awkward together, clunking and knocking into each other every time they were in a five feet range. They were into different things, so a common topic was hard to come by. They liked different things – she liked the beach, partying and anything that could take her mind off reality. Reid, on the other end, preferred to think and surround himself in the problem – hoping he could find a way to fix it.

Still, opposites attract.

She liked the way he was so intense. She liked the way he rattled on about statistics and things she could barely understand. She liked the way his fringe hung above his forehead. She liked the way he dressed so formally, always leaving the house in a shirt, a tie and a vest.

He liked the way her eyes widened when she heard something interesting. He liked the way she laughed. He liked how she was always so straightforward. He liked the way she refused to acknowledge the fact that underneath that steely exterior she was soft inside too. He liked the way her brown hair curled at the sides of her face.

They didn't interact much during the day. Elle had a boring office job at a boring advertising firm – nothing at all related to the police or security. Reid hung around the bookstores in town, even though most of the things they had on sale were in Spanish. On the weekends, however, Elle took him out to see the Spanish way of life – what with the bull fighting and the beaches and the dancing.

There is only so long you can go without admitting you are not interested in someone when you really are. The beginning was awkward- weird even – but as they picked up their friendship from where they left off, it became easier and easier to open up again.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Reid asked one night during dinner.

"You mean the actual commitment lovey-dovey kind of boyfriend or the hot Spanish guy whose ass I see once or twice before we go our separate ways?" Elle asked, smirking.

"The actual kind."

"Nope. Don't see the need to have one."

"Why not?"

Elle paused, wondering why Reid was asking her so many questions regarding this.

"Hey, it's a buffet of hot, sexy men out there. Why tie yourself to one?"

"Is it because it gives you something to lose?"

Elle stopped eating.

"I mean," Reid continued, realizing how unclear he had been, "you can be reckless and do whatever you want because you have nothing to lose. But if you –hypothetically speaking – had a boyfriend, you'll have something important, something you don't want to lose."

"Why is this of concern to you?" Elle asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm a busybody?" Reid stammered, not used to her staring straight at him.

"Okay. What about you? I'm sure you've have fallen in love with someone in the past 6 years of your life – otherwise that would be pretty sad." Elle joked.

"Yeah. I did. Her name was Maeve."

Elle lighted up, and Reid could see that she was genuinely surprised.

"I watched her die."

The silence hung in the air as Elle scrambled for something to say. She had absolutely nothing to say as she watched Reid resume to eat in complete silence. She felt like she should apologize, but it didn't seem to be the right thing to say. In the end, she settled for not saying anything.

Later, as she watched the news, Reid came out of his room and stood in front of her, blocking her view of the television.

"What?"

"Elle, I like you."

"Yeah, sure. I like you too, Reid." She said, chuckling.

"Okay. I just wanted to let you know before you die because I never got the chance to tell Maeve that."

"You like me?" Elle repeated, softly.

"Yeah."

"I like you too, Reid."

Reid smiles and walks back into his room because he knew the second time Elle said she liked him, she didn't mean it in a friend way.

Crawling tumblr made me wonder why do so many people hate elle! i like elle :) i think if she was given enough time on CM, more people will like her :D