summary: many years passed by, and elle had forgotten about jj. what happens when she sees a certain blonde across the crowd during a summer party?
pairing: jennifer jareau x elle greenaway (jelle)
word count: 3k
a/n: part two of we were both young when i first saw you
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Warm summer rain gently danced on the window as the city outside continued its daily activities: people bustling around and the vehicle honks creating music. The television in the dimly lit living room played the end credits of some indie film while a tired woman stared out of the tall window, her thoughts wandering around in her mind like a wildfire. The brunette took a long drag from her cigarette and let the smoke slowly come out of her mouth. A sense of calmness waved over her body, her muscles relaxing as the rain danced in the golden evening light.
Elle was thinking about what she should wear to a party she was invited to by one of her friends. It will be fun, he said, Elle thought sarcastically. The only reason why she was going was to the party was that her friend Derek begged her to come.
The brunette put out her cigarette in her cheaply made ashtray and got up from her couch, starting to clean up her living room area. Grabbing the empty coffee mugs and takeout boxes, Elle was able to make her living room look decent. On her way to her bedroom, the brunette threw the trash into the garbage can and went along her way.
Upon entering her room, a draft of cold air hit the brunette. Goosebumps formed on her olive tan arms. Rubbing her arms, Elle turned up the thermostat by a bit to make the temperature just right. The brunette entered her small walk-in closet, scanning the rows to find the right outfit. She picked a loose-fitted button-down shirt, cream-colored and patterned with little black stars, and posed in front of the mirror behind the closet door. Without hesitation, Elle decided to wear that shirt with a pair of ripped black mom jeans. As she was preparing to get dressed, her eyes caught the little bits of her tattoo poking underneath her tank top strap. Her thumb traced along the outline of her tattoo. A trail of blue butterflies underneath her left collarbone. The brunette woman has no recollection of why she got this specific tattoo, as she got it when she was a drunk twenty-one-year-old celebrating her college graduation. However, deep inside her heart, there was a tingling pull, a certain je ne sais quoi. Elle had a feeling for a while that the tattoo was there for a reason, but most of the time she ignored it.
Elle got fully dressed, with her shirt showing off a sneak peek of her bare chest. She accessorized with a singular necklace: a small golden heart pendant. It laid flat on the jugular notch. Once finished putting on her outfit, Elle headed to her small vanity table to finish her look. Not wanting to do too much, she gently dabbed concealer to hide her dark circles. Next, Elle gently powdered her face and started to shapen her eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil. As a finishing touch, she gently ran the mascara through her long eyelashes, accidentally smudging a dot on her upper eyelid. Disgruntled by the minor inconvenience, Elle tried her best to get rid of the mistake, but in the end, she smudged it across her right eyelid. She sighed in frustration as she did her best to erase her mistake.
After the minor setback, Elle haphazardly tried to finish her makeup. Once she felt that she was ready, Elle grabbed her favorite leather jacket and made her way out of the door, locking it for safety measures.
When Elle exited her apartment building, the rain had stopped. Small puddles decorated the sidewalk as the scent of fresh rain wafted around the air. But the ever-so-loud shouts and car honks of New York City never ceased to amaze the woman who was once from a small town. Scents of warmed pretzels and falafels wafted through the air as a gentle wind tousled Elle’s bangs as the sullen woman skillfully weaved her way through the crowd.
Since Derek’s apartment was on the other side of town, Elle wanted to take her time. She did not wish to be late, rather, the broody woman delayed her arrival. Elle probably was walking into a party filled with a sea of people that she didn’t know, except for Derek and Penelope. She only knew Derek from her college days. His girlfriend, one very eccentric Penelope, wasn’t someone who she was close to.
When she crossed the street, Elle didn’t notice that the traffic light was green. A car was speeding down the street and the driver didn’t see Elle until the very last second. He stomped on the brake to slow down, the tires skidding across the asphalt, avoiding an accident. A honk brought the daydreaming woman out of her thoughts and she jumped out of the way. An elderly Jewish man started to yell at Elle as she tried her best to apologize while getting away. In typical New York fashion, the elderly man flipped the bird at Elle, who rolled her eyes at him. Once she was on the sidewalk, the car zoomed past her and went on its way. Elle took a breath to collect her thoughts and went along her way.
Continuing her journey to Derek’s apartment, Elle had passed by a busy pizza shop, bustling with customers shouting their orders while the people in the back speedily created pizzas. The radio by the entrance door played “Tear Stained Letter” by Johnny Cash. The nonchalant woman caught a few lyrics that made her pause. What you said about always being true. Bout our secret hiding places. There was something about that line that had Elle thinking. Why did I stop walking? Why am I surprised by those lyrics?
Elle shooked her head gently to relieve the familiar feeling and went along her way. She continued her walk without interruptions. Soon enough, she arrived at the apartment building and rang the buzzer, altering Derek that she had arrived. A deep voice called out “Come in” before the automatic lock on the door unsecured itself, granting Elle permission to enter. The brunette woman huffed as she waited for the elevator. The doors opened and Elle entered the metal box. She jabbed at the button for the sixth floor, wanting the elevator to go faster. The bell dinged, indicating that Elle had arrived at her destination.
Elle stood in front of the door for five minutes, trying to collect her thoughts together. Remember. You are doing this for Derek. Do not expect anything out of this, Elle thought to herself. She knocked on the door, and a minute passed by before the door opened to one cheerful Derek Morgan.
“Hey, Elle! Come on in!” Derek invited the woman in. Elle took off her leather jacket and hanged it onto the already overflowing coat hanger.
“Sorry I couldn’t bring anything.” Elle said while taking a quick look around the living room.”
“Not a problem, Elle. Enjoy the party!” Derek exclaimed before dashing off to greet the incoming guests.
Elle sighed at her friend’s inept need to converse with everyone. That was fine with her, as she had always been the mysterious one while Derek was the more outgoing one. She made her way over to the open bar and made herself a drink, almost actively distancing herself from the people in the room.
With a drink in her hand, Elle leaned against the granite countertop and slowly sipped her drink while watching the crowd like a movie. People mingled among themselves and quaint acoustic music played from the stereo system. Elle continued watching people as she contently kept herself company.
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Three hours in and Elle was bored out of her mind at the party– “a lowkey friend gathering” as Derek said. She was listening to some random guy rattle on about the Yankees’ game from Tuesday until her ears caught something, or rather someone. A familiar yet distant feeling occupied Elle’s stomach. Her curious brown eyes searched for the familiar voice until she came into view.
A white summer dress, patterned with mini polka dots, fitted her in all the right places. Her voice was sweet and rare as Manuka honey. Her golden locks bounced as she laughed at some joke. A small golden heart necklace, the one just like Elle’s, laid against her upper chest. Glistening in the light was a crystal hairpin with a trail of butterflies.
I’ve seen her before. But where?
“JJ!” Derek called for the blonde. The mysterious woman turned her head to face the cheerful man, her baby blue eyes sparkling with joy.
Elle took a sharp intake of breath. A flash of memories flooded her mind. JJ… oh how I have missed you, the brunette thought as she sipped on her whiskey, watching what the blonde woman was doing in her view.
As the blonde woman continued to talk with Derek, she felt a pair of eyes watching her every move. No longer paying attention to the rambling man, who talked about the Chicago Cubs game the Sunday before, her curious eyes slowly traced the room until they met with Elle’s. With one look, a realization came to her. Flashbacks of that day came to her mind. All the tears, the shouting, the heartbreak resurfaced. It looked like the one that got away came back.
JJ excused herself from the conversation and slowly made her way towards the back of the room. She slid open the glass door entered through the doorway to get to the balcony.
Elle slowly made her way through the crowd and followed JJ’s footsteps. She placed her whiskey glass on an antique table before going to the balcony. There she was, standing behind JJ as her short chestnut locks drifted along with the warm summer breeze.
“Hello… JJ.” Elle said in a smooth and relaxed tone. The brunette walked up to JJ and leaned her lower back against the wrought iron railing.
“Elle…” the blonde took her last sip of champagne before setting down the crystal flute on the patio table at the side. “How are your parents?” JJ asked cautiously.
“My father died. And Mom is doing alright.” Elle said, staring at the twilight sky.
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss.”
“How’s the family?” Elle asked. JJ silently gulped as she was nervous to spill her family secrets. She took a small breath before telling Elle of what happened in her life so far.
“I– uh…. My parents divorced shortly after you left and Dad left me and my mom shortly after the divorce.” JJ said, not without some struggle.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Elle said somberly. JJ silently dismissed Elle with a wave of her hand.
After what Elle said, the silence settled in. There was a slight tension between them. Having her childhood crush in her vicinity made Elle nervous. Her heart was beating quickly like a joyride on a roller coaster. At the same time, JJ was nervous as well. She quietly bit her lip as she was thinking of a way to continue the conversation.
A few minutes passed by and neither of them addressed the elephant in the room until Elle broke the silence.
“I’m sorry for leaving you, all those years ago.” Elle said to break the ice.
“You weren’t supposed to leave.” JJ quietly said, in a hurtful tone, as she stared at the city’s glittering skyline.
“I know.”
“We were supposed to run away together, to escape that small old town.”
“I know.”
“I was in love with you, Elle Greenaway,” JJ confessed. Elle looked at the blonde woman in shock. “I got tired of waiting for you. Always wondered if you were ever going to come back. And the worst part of all this is that… I still love you.”
When those words hit Elle’s ears, the brunette felt like she couldn’t speak.
“I didn’t know…”
“How would you have known? We came from a small town where being queer was unacceptable. So I had to hide my feelings, burying them deep inside me, into Pandora’s box and to never be felt again.” JJ paused to gather the rest of her thoughts.
“I thought it was best if we remained as friends–” she continued.
“But, you weren’t just a friend to me, JJ,” Elle confessed, interrupting JJ’s monologue. “You were– no, are more than that. I felt like my heart died every day waiting for you. Even after all these years. 'Cause after all this time, I'm still into you”
JJ was at a loss for words. Her ears couldn’t believe what they just heard. Little butterflies occupied her stomach. That familiar feeling that she once felt long ago. She should be over all the butterflies but after all this time, she was into her.
Feeling nervous inside, Elle slowly let her fingers loosely interlock with JJ’s. A soft smile appeared on the blonde woman’s face, turning her head to face one pinkish Elle. The brunette hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Her eyes, filled with nervousness, traced the outline of JJ’s serene look, capturing the image in her brain. As seconds went by, the two women slowly inched their way towards each other. Their foreheads gently touched, waiting for the other to make the next move. Underneath the glowing fairy lights, Elle’s eyes silently asked JJ if she wanted to be kissed. With a single slow blink, the pair of sparkling azure eyes said “yes”.
Elle leaned closer to kiss JJ, her cherry wine lips pressed against the shorter woman’s soft pink lips. JJ placed a hand on Elle’s cheek to keep them steady as they kissed. It felt like no time had passed as the two star-crossed lovers kissed on the balcony. The shouts from the party and the car honks from the street below disappeared. Elle and JJ were living in their own world as they passionately yet gently kissed each other.
JJ was the first one to part ways, wanting to catch a breath of air. She chuckled out of pure bliss because her childhood crush had harbored feelings for her after all this time.
“You kissed me.” JJ stated.
“You kissed me back.” Elle replied. The two women stared at each other, feeling content that they had found each other after many years. The silence between them wasn’t cold, rather, it was warm and inviting. They finally felt connected, being together at the right place and time, being tied to each other with a single thread of gold.
“Are you going to propose to me?” JJ deadpanned, breaking the silence between them.
“What?” Elle exclaimed.
“You know the classic rom-com trope of the male character making over-the-top romantic gestures to a woman he hardly knows?” JJ said. Elle snorted.
“If I were to propose to you now, you ought to run away from me, not run away with me.” JJ laughed with all her heart. Her laughs rang beautifully into the evening sky. Oh, how Elle missed those laughs. They were music to her ears.
The laughs died out slowly as the two women continued their stargazing “date”. The moonlight shined down upon them, just like that one night many years ago. Elle turned her head to the right to observe how JJ had changed over the years. Her high cheekbones created a shadow on her cheek while her jawline has become sharper. Her long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her little golden hoops hanging on her ears twinkled. Her skin glowed in the white moonlight as the moon’s reflection appeared in JJ’s bright blue eyes.
Elle turned her head back, watching the starry sky.
“God, this reminds me of when we were young.” Elle stated. JJ blinked in confusion.
“What do you mean?” JJ asked.
“You. Me. Under the stars.” Elle stated.
“Oh, yeah. Those were my favorite times.”
“Want to do that?”
“Now?”
“Why not?” Elle gently grabbed JJ’s left hand and the two women quietly weaved their way through the crowd. They reached the kitchen, where the fire escape was. JJ climbed out of the window first, being careful of her dress. She started to climb up the ladder and Elle followed ensuite. It took a while for them to reach the rooftop of the apartment building. Once on top, JJ stared at the twinkling night sky in awe. The familiar feeling of when they star gazed as teenagers came back to JJ as a soft smile appeared on her face.
Warm summer wind gently breezed over the two women as they sat by the edge of the rooftop. JJ slowly leaned against Elle’s shoulder, as a way to keep herself steady. The women watched the busy yet peaceful city being wide awake at night, with cars honking and people shouting. To Elle, it’s home.
They basked in the silence between each other. It wasn’t the nervous silence from before; it was the good kind, where both Elle and JJ felt comfortable in each other’s presence. The silence continued for a while JJ broke the calm silence between them.
“What if we rewrite the stars?” JJ asked, out of the blue.
“What do you mean?” Elle wondered.
“Fate pulled us together after being apart for many years,” JJ said as the taller woman stared at her intently. “We weren’t in the cards long ago, but maybe this is our chance. Maybe the world could be ours… at least tonight.”
Elle blinked in awe after listening to JJ’s little speech. Thoughts ran inside of the brunette woman’s mind at the speed of a cheetah. This… this is it. This could determine everything about us. And me. Maybe this will be good for me.
Maybe they can continue off where they left off. Maybe they can start something new. Or maybe they part ways and say their final goodbyes. At this moment, Elle had the power to decide on the fate of their relationship.
JJ stared back at Elle’s quizzical face, watching the brunette’s facial expressions as she decides on what happens next. Her curious baby blue eyes observed every nook and cranny of Elle’s face, reminding her why she fell in love with the broody woman in the first place.
Once Elle had her answer, she softly smiled and looked at JJ with love in her eyes.
summary: jj and elle are friends, but are too scared to tell each other "i love you". that was until it was too late to even say goodbye
pairing: jennifer jareau x elle greenaway (jelle)
word count: 6k
a/n: inspired by love story (taylor's version)
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The evening sun slowly went below the horizon as a young blonde girl biked on the dark cobblestone path. A reusable tote bag, filled with organic produce, hung on her right shoulder as she weaved between people, trying to get home before dinnertime. Seeing a small bookstore up ahead, JJ pedaled harder. She parked her mint green bike against the side of the bookstore and entered the small boutique. The bell on top of the door rang, and an elderly man popped out from a room behind the cash register. He looked around to see who came in and smiled when his eyes landed on JJ.
“Ah– Miss Jareau. How may I be of your service today?” Alistair the bookstore owner greeted her, his thick Glaswegian accent rolling off his tongue. JJ smiled as she walked up to the cash register. She pulled out a brown leather-bound book and placed it on the countertop.
“Is there anything new this week?” JJ asked politely.
“Lemme see what I have in the back, lassie.” The elderly man shuffled back into the storage room, carrying the book JJ gave back. To pass the time waiting, JJ walked between the tall oak shelves, filled with wonderful stories to be read, to see any books she might be interested in. As she slowly walked down the aisle, her curious blue eyes spotted a rather peculiar book. Detailed artwork covered the book’s spine, intriguing JJ. The young teen gently pulled the book out from the shelf and brushed off the dust with her hand. Intricate floral illustrations decorated the hardcover. The burgundy color of the book complimented the floral illustrations. In gold lettering, the title of the book reflected the clementine sunlight coming in from the window. Romeo & Juliet. The blonde girl had heard of the tragedy play, but she never got the chance to read it.
JJ jumped when Alistair called out her name. She quickly put back the book and gathered her things. Coming out of the aisle, the young girl waved for the bookstore owner’s attention.
“Ali, I’m right here.” JJ called out as she approached the front of the store.
“Lassie, don’t just go and disappear on me like that.” Alistair said as he took a seat on the wooden stool.
“Sorry,” JJ apologized sheepishly. As she looked down, the book in Alistair’s hands caught JJ’s eyes. “What’s that you got?”
“This… is the new book I recommend you read this week.” The elderly man handed the rather thick book over to the blonde girl. JJ took her time inspecting her new read. Light scratches adorned the deep brown leather cover. The beautiful spine binding held the book together. Her thumb grazed over the gold title: Wuthering Heights. JJ smiled widely as she was excited to read her new book.
“Thank you, Alistair.” JJ thanked the bookstore owner as she made her way to the front door.
“Anytime, lassie,” The Scotsman waved goodbye to the blonde girl. “Say “hi” to your mum for me!”
“I will!” JJ said with excitement as she walked out of the bookstore. Feeling all giddy, the young girl carefully placed the book in her tote bag, trying not to crush the produce. She put on her helmet and started to make her way back home.
As JJ continued down the road, her ears caught the whispers of the townspeople. Snippets of how two girls were sneaking around, at odd hours of the day. The gossiping never bothered JJ, ever since five years ago. Some things would never change in this old town, JJ thought. However, one piece of gossip caught the young girl’s attention. Is Jennifer… you know… gay? This caused the young girl to gasp in surprise and stop her bike. If it came to light that Jennifer Jareau was gay, the whole town would shun her. The neighbors, everyone at school, her friends, Alistair, her parents. She can’t let that happen.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, JJ continued her trip back to her house. Once arriving, JJ parked her bike against the porch railing and entered her home. Her mother greeted her while her father sat silently in the living room, reading the Farmers’ Almanac. The blonde girl ignored her father as she took out her book from the tote bag and handed the vegetables to her mother.
“I’ll help once I put this book away.” JJ said, walking up the creaky staircase. Her mother nodded her head and went into the kitchen. JJ continued her way up until she entered her bedroom. A mahogany tall bookcase in the far right corner was showered in all the medals and participation trophies JJ won since playing soccer as a child. Coffee mugs cluttered her working desk. Pillows of different sizes piled on her medium-sized bed. CDs of various musical artists surrounded the small stereo system beside the bed. A large N*SYNC poster plastered on her wardrobe’s open door. Decorated simply, with a few more posters scattered sporadically, the bedroom was fit for a small-town girl.
JJ placed her new addition on her messy bed and proceeded to change into cleaner clothes for the evening. After changing, the blonde girl went to the window that was closest to the house beside hers. Moving the sheer white curtain and looking through the window, she hoped to see someone special in the house. But, alas, she wasn’t there. Maybe she’s busy, JJ thought. The sad girl exited her room, went down the wooden stairs, and into the kitchen to help her mother with preparing dinner.
Dinner went quietly as usual. The Jareaus weren’t the type to strike a conversation over dinner, not once since the tragic event that shook the family apart. JJ took away the dirty dishes and started to wash them, as it was her turn to do her chore. After washing the dishes, JJ headed up to her room for the night. She said “goodnight” to both of her parents before skipping up the stairs in excitement.
Closing the door gently, the blonde teen placed her back against the door and slowly let herself sink to the ground in a crouching position. She was glad that the day went all right. Her parents hadn’t argued, yet, so JJ was feeling content at this moment. Wanting to keep this mood going, JJ got up and went to her bed, grabbing the new book she got earlier in the evening. She laid on her bed, feeling comfortable, and cracked her book open.
A few hours went by and it was nearing midnight. The whole house was quiet, except for one room. Hey There Delilah softly played in the background as JJ was reading chapter four of Wuthering Heights. The blonde girl was enjoying her silence until she heard a small bang on her window. She sat up scared, her heart racing due to anxiety. Then, another bang on the window was heard. JJ got up from her bed and slowly walked to the window. She cracked the window open and stuck her head out, searching for the perpetrator. The warm summer air gently blew onto JJ’s face as the blonde girl squinted her baby blues. Just as she was leaving the window, her eyes caught a tall silhouette standing in the middle of the pathway between the houses.
Her dark chocolate locks gently swayed along with the summer wind. A Guns n’ Roses t-shirt hung loose on her lean frame. Dirty shoelaces left untied, lying on the dry clay soil. She was tossing a pebble into the air and catching it.
The girl waved a hand up in the air with excitement, calling out JJ’s name.
“JJ.” The girl yelled, the sound ringing into the night.
“Shush– our parents will hear you.” JJ hissed at her. The girl softly chuckled at the blonde.
“Meet me at our spot.” This was the last thing the mysterious girl said before disappearing into the darkness.
JJ smiled when the girl mentioned “our spot”. She was waiting all night to escape her house to spend some time with her favorite person. Closing the window, JJ turned off the music and lights. She hid some pillows to create a silhouette of a body under the comforter, making her cover for the night. The blonde girl grabbed her denim jacket and slowly opened her door, hoping that it wouldn’t creek into the pin-drop silence. She quietly tip-toed her way down the stairs, entering the kitchen. Opening the mint green door that led to the backyard, JJ stopped for a moment to make sure no one was awake. When it was clear, the blonde girl stepped out into the backyard, closing the door behind her.
A wide grin appeared on her face as JJ jogged into the woods. She made her way through the dark forest swiftly, as if she knew the land like that back of her hand. Seeing a sliver of moonlight ahead, JJ quickened her step while swatting away at any tree branches. Exiting the forest, the blonde made her way into a secret garden. This place was discovered one night by JJ and her best friend, when they were looking for a place to be alone together.
Making her way into the garden, JJ picked off a light pink rose from one of the bushes. Trying her best not to prick her fingers from the thorns, the blonde girl continued her way to search for her friend. And soon enough, JJ saw her, eyes closed while patiently waiting and leaning against the tall oak. Taking a small breath, the blonde girl walked up to her and laid her head on the mysterious girl’s lap.
Feeling a heavy pressure on her legs, the sleepy girl woke up in surprise, but calmed down when she saw JJ laying her lap.
“JJ.” A soft smile appeared on the brunette’s face.
“Elle,” JJ softly said. “Here, a flower for you.” The blonde girl lifted a beautiful pink flower in the air. Wanting to give the rose, she tried to pick off the thorns to make it safe to handle, while trying her best not to prick her fingers. Once done, JJ tucked some hair behind Elle’s ear while placing the pink rose there.
“There. Beautiful as always.” The blonde girl smiled widely as Elle looked away, a peachy blush forming on her cheeks.
“Anyways, how was your day? I missed you.” JJ said while twiddling with her thumbs.
“The usual. Fixing cars at my dad’s garage shop.” Elle said nonchalantly, folding her arms behind her head.
“Ooo what a tough guy.” JJ teased the brunette. Elle rolled her eyes at the cheesy line.
“How was your day, by the way?” Elle asked as she gently brushed JJ’s soft golden locks.
“I got a new book from Alistair!” JJ cheerfully said.
“Which one?” Elle asked.
“Wuthering Heights.” JJ stated. Elle chuckled when she heard the blonde girl’s answer.
“You do love your classics.” the brunette said lovingly.
“Said from the girl who thinks reading is boring.” JJ retorted back, sticking her tongue out to say I told you so.
“It is!” Elle exclaimed. “But I would only be interested in books if you read them to me.”
JJ raised her left eyebrow quizzically. Does this mean she likes my voice?, JJ thought.
“Would you?” JJ said, feeling amused.
“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Elle stated as she did the crossing motion over her heart.
The two girls continued their conversation for a while longer. They went from talking about literature to what they should do together next week. As JJ rattled on making a trip to Lake Erie, an idea popped into Elle’s mind. The brunette wiggled underneath the blonde girl’s head and made her way over to a few bushes, blooming with flowers.
Elle grabbed a couple of flowers from the bushes and some ivy from the iron gate next to them. After gathering her materials, the brunette girl walked back to her spot next to JJ. She started to make something out of them, knotting and tying them together with such skill. JJ sat up from her previous position and looked at her friend curiously, watching her hands working diligently. White gardenias and yellow stargazer lilies were tied together with strings of ivy, forming a flower crown. Elle smiled softly at her creation and gently placed it on JJ’s head.
“There. Fit for a princess.” Elle stated. She smiled softly at the sight in front of her.
“Elle…” JJ said with so much adoration in her voice. A deep peachy blush formed on Elle’s cheeks, not from embarrassment, but the fact that her best friend and crush liked what she made.
“I made it because it’s fun and I know you look good with flowers.” Elle explained. JJ brought Elle into a warm embrace, their blonde and brunette locks getting tangled together. The two girls stayed in the embrace for a while. The brunette girl’s nose got stuck in the tangles of champagne blonde locks. Taking a quick sniff, Elle caught the scent of peaches, recognizing that it was JJ’s favorite shampoo.
“Now It’s my turn to make you one.” JJ said with excitement, pulling away from the hug.
“No.” Elle deadpanned. The brunette was not the one for flowers. She only made the flower crown for her friend.
“Come on! Let me make you one!” The blonde pouted.
“Okay,” Elle said as she had her hands up as a joke, pretending she got caught for a crime she committed. “ Surprise me.”
JJ huffed and got up from the ground, dusting away at any grass that clung to her muscular legs. She walked over to a few bushes far away from Elle, thinking and deciding which flowers to choose. Once she picked her choices, JJ happily walked back to where Elle was. The blonde girl sat down and got to work, hoping to make her friend the best for crown ever. She tried to sow cornflowers and dwarf sunflowers together with strings of ivy that got leftover. Getting frustrated, JJ tried her best attempt at making a flower crown.
Elle was amused by JJ’s attempt at a flower crown, but not wanting to upset her, the brunette kept her mouth shut. JJ bit on her lip to keep herself from swearing as she was having trouble tying the ivy close, to make a circle. After a few attempted tries, the blonde finally got the final knot tied.
“Tada!” JJ exclaimed as she lifted the flower crown in the air. Feeling proud of herself, she gently placed the headdress onto Elle’s head. “Now we can be princesses together.”
“You know I’m only doing this for you, right?” Elle stated.
“I know.” JJ said as she stuck her tongue out, just to be silly. Elle laughed at the silly attitude JJ put on. The laughter slowly died as Elle leaned back against the tall oak tree. JJ sat across from the brunette as the two of them chatted the hour away. As it neared 2:30 am, a twinkling light shot through the night sky caught JJ’s eye.
“Elle! Lookup!” JJ excitedly said as she pointed at the dark abyss. The brunette girl squinted her eyes as she searched for what JJ was talking about. Just then, another twinkling light darted across the sky. Elle puffed some air out in surprise.
“Well, what do you know? We get a show tonight.” Elle joked as she slowly got up from her position. Brushing the grass clippings off her shorts, Elle held out her hand for JJ to take.
“Come on, let’s watch the sky.” JJ smiled as she took Elle’s hand. The girls walked onto the open grass patch, trying to take their seats to watch the surprise meteor shower.
Both the girls laid on the soft dewy grass as they watched the twinkling night sky. The moonlight shined brightly down upon them, acting as a spotlight.
As Elle looked at the sky, JJ was looking at the brunette. The bright moonlight illuminated the brunette’s face, showing off the little freckles that painted her soft face. Her chocolate locks swayed along with the warm August air. She smelt like lemongrass and sleep. To JJ, it was like she was admiring her from afar, like a polaroid picture hanging on her bedroom wall.
Slowly but surely, the blonde girl moved her hand towards Elle’s, gently grabbing the brunette’s open hand. JJ’s cold left hand held onto Elle’s warm palm as a smile appeared on the brunette’s face, her head turning to face the blonde. JJ felt so lucky to call Elle her best friend, but she wanted something more. But she doesn’t want to break the friendship they currently have. Her heart ached every second when Elle wasn’t hers.
JJ’s baby blue eyes stared into Elle’s own deep russet eyes. They observed each other’s eyes for a few moments before tearing their gazes apart to look up at the twinkling night sky. Both the girls continued to stargaze in silence, the crickets in the grass playing their nightly song.
“I wish we could escape this town for a little while. Just you and I.” Elle stated as she stared at the night sky. She wasn’t looking for an answer, as she knew that JJ wanted that too.
“If we were to get out of this old town, how would you imagine our lives together?” JJ asked as Elle’s statement piqued her interest.
“Perhaps an apartment in a city of our choosing. Preferably in Manhattan. I come home, bringing you flowers while you are baking cookies.” Elle explained. A soft pink blush formed on JJ’s cheeks, feeling warm as she heard Elle’s plans about their future together. She too hoped that one day they get to leave Pennsylvania together and live happily ever after.
“What about a pet?” JJ asked.
“What about it?” Elle asked, feeling indifferent about having a pet.
“Maybe… a turtle?”
“Why a turtle?”
“Because they are cute, duh.”
“And if we were to get one, what would you name it?”
“Henry,” JJ stated. Elle laughed quietly, hoping not to alert anyone. “What? I think it’s a cute name.” the blonde huffed, pretending to feel offended.
“I’m sorry.” Elle said as her laughs died out.
“You’re let off the hook for this one, Greenaway.” JJ jokingly said. The two girls continued their stargazing “date” with little blips of conversations here and there. JJ felt content being with Elle and she hoped that nothing would tear them apart.
JJ yawned softly as it was getting very late. She let go of Elle’s hand and slowly got up from the ground, dusting off any grass that clung to her legs. Elle softly smiled at the cute yawn that JJ just had as she stared up at the blonde girl.
“What?” JJ asked.
“Oh– uh nothing,” Elle said passively. The brunette girl also got up from the ground, making herself neat so she wouldn’t track grass and dirt into her house.
“Let’s go home.” Elle held out her hand, hoping that JJ would take it. Indeed did JJ take it because she may never know when she would see Elle last. The two girls took their time walking through the garden, almost acting like a couple. They got out of the garden, carefully closing the wrought iron gate, hoping the creaking metal wouldn’t wake anyone. Making their way through the dark woods, Elle and JJ continued to hold their hands to feel more connected. And it was also not to lose each other.
They reached the backyard of the Jareaus and had to part ways for the night.
“Night, JJ.” Elle said as she released her hand from JJ’s. The brunette girl turned her heels and headed to her house’s patio door.
“Night, Elle.” JJ smiled as she quietly made her way to the kitchen backdoor. Gently opening the mint green door, JJ tip-toed into the kitchen and prayed that no one heard her enter. Once the coast was clear, the blonde girl gently closed the door and locked it. She gently took each step one by one, not making a sound, as she made her way up the stairs and into her room. JJ opened her door slowly, as the metal hinges tended to creak when not oiled properly. She entered her room and closed the door in the same fashion. When locking the door, JJ let out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. Feeling content for the night, JJ took off the flower crown that Elle made off her head and placed it gently on her nightstand. She took one of the polaroid pictures off of her wall and flopped onto her bed, letting her muscles relax.
JJ brought the polaroid up to her face to see the captured moment. It was Elle, all dirty from car grease, smiling and posing like Rosie the Riveter. JJ kissed the picture and proceeded to close her eyes, holding onto the polaroid picture like a dream catcher.
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A few days passed by and the warm summer sun shone onto the garden as JJ and Elle were giggling and having fun, having no care in the world. Like it was only them on their paradise island. That was until they heard some bustling and a shout behind a hedge.
“Jennifer, where are you?” The angry voice of JJ’s father rang in the afternoon sky. The blonde girl’s head never turned so fast in fear to face her father. Salty tears pricked her azure eyes as her father marched towards the two girls. Right behind him was Elle’s father, also raging in anger. Both the girls yelled as they were grabbed by their fathers, separating them apart. Shouts filled the air and the girls tried to kick their way out of the men’s arms.
“How did you find us?” Elle yelled as she tried to squirm her way out.
“Micheal saw her sneaking through the back kitchen door and called me over to investigate. We followed behind JJ as she went through the woods.” Robert explained, trying his best to use his strength to hold onto his daughter. JJ gasped in shock as she didn’t know that her father kept an eye on her.
“I didn’t know anything about this Elle! I swear!” JJ shouted. The blonde girl grunted as she tried to get out of her father’s tight grip on her arms.
“I knew you two were friends since a young age, but this? This is unacceptable. We heard the rumors circulating town so we had our suspicions.” Micheal said through his teeth, clenching his jaw to prevent himself from shouting more.
“But I love her!” Elle yelled out as her deep russet brown eyes caught JJ’s baby blue ones. The blonde gasped softly at Elle’s confession, trying to understand what she heard with her own two ears. I love you. She loves me! I have to tell her back!. JJ thought. Just as JJ was opening her mouth to say “I love you” back to Elle, her father interrupted her.
“Stay away from JJ!” Michael shouted at Elle, hoping that he wouldn’t have to see the brunette with his daughter again. Elle’s dad dragged her away from the Jareaus as Elle continued to shout, her voice fading away.
When the Greenaways were gone from the premise, Micheal Jareau let go of JJ and the blonde girl was exasperated, holding onto her arms.
“What the hell was that?” JJ said as she tried to catch her breath.
“What the hell? I should be the one asking you, JJ. I can’t believe you went behind my back for this. I know you and Elle are friends but it very well seems to be more than that.” Michael said in his normal voice, still keeping the anger in his tone.
“And so what? You would throw me out of the house?” JJ challenged him. JJ’s father scoffed at her.
“I don’t need another Roslyn situation,” Micheal yelled at JJ. “You better get your head straight.”
“Don’t you dare bring up Ros!” JJ shouted back, her voice quivering and angry tears forming in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that her father had the guts to say her dead sister’s name. If she were alive, JJ would have been living with her, away from her father’s wrath.
JJ pivoted on her heels and ran away as fast as she could from her father. She needed to get away from the situation, but especially away from him.
“I expect you back home in the next fifteen minutes!” Michael shouted as he turned his back to head home. JJ didn’t hear him. Her thoughts were muddled from all the rushing emotions. The blonde girl ran for as long as she could because she would have to think about what had happened if she stopped. JJ ran into an open clearing and a beautiful meadow presented itself as a sanctuary, a place where JJ could calm down and gather her thoughts. Wildflowers and dandelions flourished all over the bright green grass. A family of white-tailed deer hid behind the tall maple and oak trees from afar. Small bumblebees danced in the air as a chipmunk was gathering seeds near the ground to stockpile for the winter.
JJ tried her best to slowly catch her breath as she walked further into the meadow, trying to find a place to sit. She laid down once she reached the middle of the meadow and everything came rushing back. All the shouting, crying, and fading of Elle’s voice played loudly in her mind. JJ needed to get away from that but it followed her to the meadow, almost haunting her. Tears started to form and slowly dropped to the soft earth.
Why? Just why did all this have to happen? JJ thought. Why couldn’t I have my happily ever after like the other girls?
JJ covered her face with her hands as the tears fell harder. Her crying screams rang loud within the quiet meadow. At this moment, the blonde girl didn’t care if someone heard her. She got separated from the love of her life and she didn’t know how to cope with the loss.
After crying out for a few minutes, JJ’s voice started to grow hoarse. Her eyes dried up, no longer being able to produce tears. But her heart still longed and ached for Elle. Taking a big sniffle, JJ rubbed her face to get rid of the dried tears on her cheeks with the hem of her t-shirt. She got up tiredly from the ground and felt the wind passing through the meadow. Goosebumps formed from the chill summer evening air and JJ had to hug her torso to keep herself warm. Deciding to face her father’s wrath for the second time of the day, JJ slowly walked out of the meadow and into the forest, squinting her eyes as the sun was going down the horizon.
Once she reached her family home, JJ entered the house through the back kitchen door and saw her father at the dining table, reading the local newspaper. Her head hanging low, JJ shuffled to her room, without saying a word to her father.
As she entered her bedroom, a new emotion set in JJ’s heart: anger. Angry at her father, at Elle’s father, at the whole town. To JJ, there was nothing wrong with loving whoever you felt attracted to, but a small town in rural Pennsylvania thought otherwise. In a blaze of anger, the blonde girl grabbed all the polaroids that hung on the wall and threw them onto the carpeted floor with lots of force. She aggressively took the flower crown that Elle made for her and threw it out of the open window, wanting to get rid of any evidence that reminded JJ of the brunette.
Angry tears pricked JJ’s sad baby blue eyes and the blonde girl clenched her fists, trying her best to not scream. She felt life was being unfair to her. Everything that happened today was unforgivable to JJ. She hoped that her father goes to hell when he dies. Tears fell harder as JJ started to weep, hiccups coming and going.
Feeling hollow from her outburst a few minutes ago, JJ sat at the edge of her bed while staring at the floor. Her limbs felt exhausted as she laid down on the comforter. Her muscles ached from all the running she did earlier today. JJ let her eyes slowly close and Mr. Sandman did his job sprinkling his golden dust over the tired girl, hoping she gets good dreams that would distract her from the swirling emotions in her heart.
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A few weeks went by, and JJ hadn’t received anything from Elle. No phone call. No email. Not even a letter. Hope was slowly drained out of JJ’s heart as the days of August slipped into a moment in time.
Everything that JJ did or said reminded her of Elle. The blonde girl cursed herself as she wanted to get over the hurt quickly, but her heart did not allow it.
Monday. The overwhelming feeling of emptiness consumed the blonde girl as she stared at the ceiling. Her eyes trained onto a singular spot on the plaster as the golden rays of the summer evening cast down upon JJ’s face. Hurt by Christina Aguilera softly played in the background as JJ wallowed in her thoughts. Why did she have to leave? Was it because of me? It was totally because of me. Ugh– we should have run away together when we had the chance.
JJ wondered what it was like to be loved by Elle. She wondered if someday Elle would be by her side. A small headache slowly formed as JJ kept living inside her mind. Sighs filled the air and JJ closed her eyes as a way to escape the tornado of emotions that was swimming in her heart.
Tuesday. As the blonde girl was riding her bike back from the town’s bookstore, JJ decided to take a long detour. Taking the nearest alleyway, JJ changed course to head in a different direction. As each second passed, JJ pedaled faster, almost like she had an appointment somewhere.
A red building was approaching fast and JJ had to hit her breaks, almost falling off her bike. The blonde girl tried to catch her breath as she looked over at the empty building. People were not bustling about and fixing cars. The scent of grease was no longer present in the late summer air. All the spare cars were taken back to the local junkyard, ready to be rusting the days away. And most importantly, Elle wasn’t there. A white picket was staked in the front, saying “For Sale”.
With a sliver of hope, JJ prayed that Elle came back as the blonde girl started to pedal back her way home.
Wednesday. Grey clouds took over the typically light blue Erie sky. The warm summer rain danced rapidly across the black asphalt as JJ solemnly sat by her window. Hoping that Elle would tear the curtains open, JJ fixated her gaze at the empty room with glassy eyes. No one had bought the now empty house in the past few weeks, the “For Sale” sign gently swaying along with the wind. The blonde girl hadn’t moved her position in a few hours, also like a skeleton hanging on a hook. All empty inside and the only thing that filled the void was her hurt and longing for a certain brunette. It was like JJ’s soul was taken away when Elle left.
JJ sat with her knees up to her chest, with her chin resting on the kneecaps. The pain in her heart was far greater than the aching pain in her muscles and joints. The wind changed direction and the rain splattered into JJ’s room. JJ was unbothered by this as her clothes slowly started to get wet and her skin got chills from the rain. She sat in this position for another fourteen minutes before getting up from the ornate chair. The girl grumbled as she moved the chair back to where it was with the desk. She went back to the window and shut it with ease.
Feeling tired, JJ slowly changed out of her wet clothes into a cotton pajama set, designed with blue butterflies. She rolled up her wet clothes into a ball and threw it like a basketball into the hamper, scoring it inside. A tiny smile formed, but as quickly it came, it disappeared just as fast.
The blonde girl slowly climbed into her bed, covering herself with the comforter. Her eyes drooped with tiredness as JJ tried to relax her aching limbs.
I will spend my whole life loving you, was the last thought JJ had before she dozed off into a dreamless sleep.
Thursday. JJ took a walk after eating dinner with her family. She needed to get away from them, as tension was building up in the Jareau house. The blonde girl walked past the entrance to the secret garden that she and Elle frequented. She paused in the middle of the sidewalk. Tempted to enter, JJ held out her hand to hover over the rusted iron handle, only to hesitate. Memories rushed into her mind, reminding her of that fateful day. But a little sliver of hope was felt in her heart and JJ proceeded to enter the secret garden. Weaving her way through the tall hedges, JJ speed-walked towards a certain place and passed by some bushes blooming with pink roses. She was able to find the special spot that was her’s and Elle’s. Feeling blue, JJ walked up to the same tall oak tree from weeks ago and sat by the overgrown roots, curling up to a fetal position. She wanted to feel something, anything, as the scent of lemongrass wafted into the air. JJ looked up, hoping that it was Elle, but all she was greeted to was a blank space.
Friday. JJ was spending her night wallowing in her heartache. She slowly strummed her acoustic guitar, the dissonant chords rang into the silent air. A knock was heard at her bedroom door, signaling that someone was there, waiting to enter the somber room.
“JJ….” the blonde girl’s mother gently called out her name.
“....Come in.” JJ croaked out, her voice hoarse from the lack of talking from the past few weeks. Mrs. Jareau opened the door and entered JJ’s room with a peculiar package in her hands. She gently placed the package on the messily made bed.
“This package came from someone special.” Once those words came out of Mrs. Jareau’s mouth, JJ snapped her head up to look at her mother.
Knowing her daughter’s answer, Mrs. Jareau exited out of the bedroom, hoping the package would bring JJ out of her heartache. When her mother left, JJ stared at the package on the edge of her bed, the package taunting her to open it. The blonde placed her guitar by her bedside and grabbed the oddly-shaped package.
JJ carefully pulled the transparent ribbon off and peeled off the brown paper wrapping. Inside was a royal blue cotton blanket, with a scarlet letter laid on top of it. In messy handwriting, the letter was addressed to JJ. The blonde girl slowly opened the letter, unfolding the paper in her hands. Her tired eyes began to read the scribbled content of the letter.
Dear JJ,
I’m sorry for what happened. Everything was all my fault. I knew the consequences if we were discovered together, but I didn’t care. I only ever cared about you. This letter and the gifted blanket are a way for you to remember me.
We’ll see each other again — I promise.
Love, Elle
The blonde girl picked up the soft blue blanket and brought it close to her chest, to feel close to her lost love. A teardrop slowly fell down JJ’s solemn face. One by one, more tears fell, dripping onto the paper wrapping.
summary: jj and elle have their drunken rendezvous
pairing: jennifer jareau x elle greenaway (jelle)
word count: .5k
a/n: inspiration from dress by taylor swift
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The two women gazed at each other from across the crowded room. Various people, some in costumes, passed between them as the two women continued to drink the expensive wine that was provided. They were desperately waiting to have their secret moment together. Elle watched JJ as she silently slipped away from the bullpen. The brunette finished her glass of red wine and followed her friend out into the hallway. She looked both ways, with no signs of the blonde. Peeking out of the corner, JJ signaled Elle to follow her into an empty office room that was far away from the bullpen.
As Elle entered the lightless room, JJ pulled the brunette close to her and crashed their lips together. Elle was surprised by this action but let herself melt into JJ’s kisses.
The heat between them increased as the two women continued to have their makeout session. As they continued to kiss drunkenly, Elle pushed JJ onto the wooden table, so they have something steady. Elle broke away from JJ’s slightly swollen lips and started to gently mark her friend’s neck and right collarbone, creating temporary tattoos. JJ groaned softly as Elle painted her porcelain skin. Wanting to get more friction between them, JJ started to grind on Elle’s hips. Soft moans came out of the brunette’s lips as JJ placed kisses along her jawline.
JJ’s hands caressed all over the back of Elle’s blazer as the brunette gripped onto the media liaison’s hips. She felt unsatisfied as she wasn’t feeling the warm skin of the brunette, so JJ took the blazer off of Elle in a hasty manner. Elle chuckled drunkenly as she had placed a hand on the blonde’s lower back, with the other hand on her hip.
“I only bought this dress so you could take it off.” JJ said in a sultry tone, having her arms loosely wrapped around Elle’s neck. Elle hummed in response as she slowly unzipped the golden zipper on the blonde woman’s sequined dress. The chill air hit JJ’s back, creating goosebumps.
Elle gently grazed her red wine lips against JJ’s skin, placing soft kisses on the collar bone. Savoring in the intimate moment, JJ laid her head in the crook of Elle’s neck. She placed a quick kiss behind her ear, her lips fluttering away like a butterfly.
Wanting to feel the rush of passion once again, Elle pulled JJ’s face towards her and started to kiss her once more. This time for longer, as both of their hearts filled with drunken lust in their hearts. JJ gently bit Elle’s bottom lip, just to grab her attention, but not enough to draw blood. The blonde woman left Elle’s lips, letting the brunette long for more.
“I don’t want you like a best friend,” Elle breathed out. “I want us to be more.”
The brunette placed her forehead onto JJ’s, wishfully looking into her eyes for an answer. The blonde placed a kiss, not drunken and passionate, but chaste and filled with unadulterated love.
“I would love that for us,” JJ whispered. “And we should take this back to my place.”
Elle nodded in agreement and helped JJ put her dress back on. The brunette zipped up the very same zipper that she had undone a few minutes prior. She handed off her blazer jacket to JJ so her friend, soon-to-be lover, and the “couple” left to have their drunken rendezvous, with the joyous cheers from the holiday party blurring out behind them.
summary: what happens when derek gets a nightmare? the only one who can calm him down is his pretty boy
pairing: spencer reid x derek morgan (moreid)
word count: 1.9k
content warnings: mentions of gun and shooting
a/n: set after criminal minds season 11 episode 11 entropy
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Spencer ran frantically around his dark and messy apartment, picking up the case files and Chinese takeout boxes that had piled up on his antique coffee table. Few peanut oil stains stuck onto the wooden top. The anxious man took the nearest napkin, hoping that it was clean, and tried his best to wipe off the oil stains. Seeing that they wouldn’t come off, Spencer exasperatedly dropped the napkin onto the table and rushed over to his kitchen, grabbing the necessary cleaning supplies. He got his bottle of white vinegar and water, a pair of yellow rubber gloves, and an old rag underneath the kitchen sink.
By the time Spencer was done, every room in his apartment was clean to his standard. Not a book out of place, no dust lingering in the air. Spencer felt both scared and excited about having his co-workers come over to his place. He never had them over until today. He felt scared if a game, like truth or dare, made him confess his true feelings about his boyfriend.
Derek and Spencer had worked with each other for a long time. As the years went by, experiencing the highs and lows of being FBI agents together, the two of them felt their hearts yearn for each other, but neither of them acted upon it. They were scared of the possibility of rejection, tarnishing their friendship. It was not until Derek decided to break the ice and asked out Spencer. The young man was delighted to have his crush ask him out. It was the one thing that went right in his life.
Three months in and either of them hasn’t said “I love you” yet. Either of them was scared to frighten off the other. Saying “I love you” was a big commitment. They were trying to take things slow, not to rush each other, even though they had known each other for a long time.
The gang was heading over to Spencer’s for a little sleepover to relax as they hadn’t received any new cases within the past 2 weeks. It was nice to have a break from all the traveling and dealing with unsubs; however, it does get boring doing paperwork and in-office consultations for hours.
Spencer’s phone pinged multiple times and a bunch of text notifications came.
Hotch: Sorry, can’t make it. I couldn’t find a babysitter for Jack and Jessica is busy at work tonight. Maybe next time.
Tara: going out on the town with the ladies!
Penelope: sorry spencer but jj tara and i are having a ladies night :(
JJ: sorry spence! perhaps next time!
Rossi: Sorry kid. Forgot to tell you that I’m driving up to Montauk to visit a buddy of mine.
Spencer sighed and felt defeated. Everyone bailed on him at the last minute. Everyone except for Derek. That was fine with Spencer, as this could be a date night for them. Just then, the doorbell rang, indicating someone had arrived. Having a small smile on his face, Spencer scurried to the front door and opened it. It revealed one handsome Derek Morgan, who was holding a large pizza in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in the other.
“I saw in the group chat that everyone else bailed on this.” Derek said.
“Yeah but this could be a date night for us.” Spencer smiled at his little proposition. Derek smiled, showing off his brilliant pearly whites, as he entered the apartment.
The couple spent their night-in watching movies, eating pizza, and Spencer going off tangents on his passions. Whenever Spencer starts to rant about one of his passions, Derek just stared at his little genius and smiled at how happy his boyfriend was. And that continued all night long, Derek listening to Spencer talk about 19th-century British literature, coupled with watching random movies of various genres.
Nearing 1 am, the couple laid on the couch, with Spencer in Derek’s arms. The tv was playing Julie & Julia in the background. Spencer was half asleep and noticed that Derek was sleeping already. He gently wiggled out of Derek’s arms and stood up from the couch, scratching his scalp and messing up his already messy curly hair.
“Hey. Let’s go to bed.” Spencer softly said, patting his boyfriend’s shoulder. Derek woke up, feeling groggy. Spencer led the way to his room, holding Derek’s hand. They both flopped onto the bed and Derek wrapped an arm around Spencer’s waist. They were used to sharing a room together, even a bed due to mistakes occurring at the hotels they stayed at when they were on cases. Sleep washed over them as the golden dust of the Sandman worked its magic.
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Standing across from Derek were Spencer and Cat Adams. The hitwoman had a gun pointed at one scared Spencer Reid. Internally, Derek was screaming. On the outside, he kept his cool and calm composure.
“Morgan, get out.” Spencer demanded.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Derek said, his voice shaking a little.
“Hm… I guess we’re back where we started. You and me with a gun.” Cat said without a care in the world, keeping the gun aimed at Spencer.
“Reid, it’s time.”
“No.”
“We don’t have a choice. We have to do it,” Derek said. Spencer kept shaking his head no. “We found your father.” the unsub stood there in shock for a few seconds, before rage set inside of her.
“You’re lying. I don’t like men who lie. You men are all the same.” Cat said as she gauged the trigger on her gun. She shot Spencer in the head and without hesitation, Derek started to shoot at the unsub. Derek ran over to Spencer and held his dying love in his arms. He tried to keep him alive until the paramedics came. The last words Derek said was “I love you” before his boy wonder went limp.
Derek woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He heard himself breathing heavily and felt anxious from the nightmare he just had. The frightened man groggily rubbed his eyes to get rid of the Sandman’s dust. Leaning his back against the headboard, Derek stared at the wall across from him, concentrating his eyes on one spot. He hoped that this technique would help him fall back asleep. Alas, he was shaken up from the nightmare.
The dazed man anxiously searched for his phone, wondering how much time has passed. Fumbling through the grey sheets and trying not to wake up Spencer, Derek found his phone, turning on the touchscreen, the blue screen lit up brightly. 3:20 am. Derek took a deep breath and sighed, leaning his head back onto the headboard and looked over to see his baby-faced boyfriend fast asleep. A soft smile appeared on Derek’s face, reminding him of his reality: Spencer being his angel.
Feeling restless, Derek pushed the comforter off of himself and quietly got off of the bed. He opened the bedroom door and went to the bathroom that was down the hall. His hands turned on the faucet and cupped together to gather the running water. Derek splashed cold water onto his face, making him more alert and awake. His eyes caught the sight of his face in the mirror. Smile lines decorated his face, which contrasted the dark circles forming underneath his eyes. Derek sighed and made his way towards the kitchen.
Derek has come over to Spencer’s place many times before, so much so he knows the way around like the back of his hand. With ease, his muscular hand grabbed a tall glass, with an accompanying coaster, in one of the cabinets above. He filled the glass with water from the faucet below. Loud gulps could be heard as Derek drank the water, cool and fresh like he had found an oasis. Just as Derek gently placed the glass on the coaster, his ears caught the shuffling feet of a tired Spencer.
“Derek?” Spencer tiredly said. “What are you doing up?”
“Just needed some water, that is all.” Derek said his half truth-half lie. The young man shrugged and went towards the refrigerator.
Unknowingly, Derek started to tap his fingers against the dark grey laminate countertop. Spencer caught the sound with his ears and turned to face his boyfriend.
“Derek? Are you okay?”
“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Because you’re tapping your fingers across the countertop.” Spencer pointed out. When the tired genius mentioned the action, Derek immediately stopped, his eyes glancing at Spencer.
“We’re profilers, Derek. You can’t hide anything from me.” Spencer said, feeling concerned for his best friend. The mousy-haired man felt like a hypocrite after saying that to Derek. During the many years he worked with the handsome man in front of him, Spencer developed a crush on him. At first, it was just a silly little infatuation, but as time passed, it changed to being a crush. The young man was able to hide it well. That was until Derek reciprocated his feelings. That same crush turned into Spencer dating Derek. In these past few months, Spencer wanted to tell his angel of a boyfriend that he loved him, but he was scared that Derek would run away from him, just like everyone else in his life.
“Ha– you’re right, pretty Ricky,” Derek said in defeat, hanging his head low. Spencer came up behind Derek slowly, hesitant to show some affection to his probably scared boyfriend. He mustered up his own fears and gave Derek a hug from behind, and felt his boyfriend relaxing in his arms. The couple stood in silence for some time, savoring the unspoken quietness between them.
“Remember when you had to go in as bait for Cat Adams?” Derek asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh– yeah. Why are you asking?” Spencer responded, not getting the hint where the conversation was going.
“Two weeks since that case, I had these nightmares. I thought I could get through with it, but I can’t. My nightmare was about that. I dreamt that you were shot by Cat.” Derek explained.
“Derek…” Spencer felt shocked while his heart was breaking. He felt like he had to do something. But all he could do was sit and listen to his boyfriend get everything off his chest.
"I wish this is a nightmare that I could just wake up from... but it feels all real... and I hate every second of it. I felt like I was going to lose you when it actually happened,” Derek’s voice cracked a bit as tears pricked his deep brown eyes. “And I don’t want this to repeat. I wouldn’t forgive myself.”
“I won’t let it happen again,” Spencer quietly said, caresses Derek’s cheek. “We will make sure she stays in prison, alright?” Derek brought Spencer in for a long embrace. The mousy-haired man wrapped his arms around his athletic boyfriend’s waist as he placed his head in the crook of Derek’s neck. The soft warmth coming off of Derek comforted Spencer, clashing with her cold pale skin.
“I just uh…” Derek said tiredly.
“Yeah.” Spencer replied, smiling softly. He knew in his heart that Derek said “I love you” to him.
summary: little blurbs of jj and elle being in a relationship
pairing: jennifer jareau x elle greenaway (jelle)
word count: 1.8k
☆。*。☆。
lemon tea: mornings
Usually, Elle and JJ were up in the early hours of dawn, getting ready to head for work. The two of them don’t slow down as they just want to get out of their shared apartment. On the weekends, however, these two liked to take their time, savoring the calmness. Sometimes they rolled around in bed as Elle peppered butterfly kisses on JJ’s nose and cheeks. Sometimes, JJ woke up before Elle and made coffee for both of them. Two creams and two sugars, just how Elle liked it. And they spent their time in bed, sipping on their coffee and have sleepy conversations.
peppermint tea: ice skating
During one of their visits to New York, Elle and JJ were ice skating at Bryant Park in the crisp December air. Neither of them were experts at it, so a few tumbles onto the ice were granted. JJ held onto Elle’s arm tightly, as she was scared to fall down. After a while, JJ was able to balance and slowly skate alongside Elle. The two of them went skating around the rink, bypassing the other couples. At one point, Elle slowly brought JJ close to her and placed a chaste kiss on her chapped lips. After their time ice skating, Elle and JJ went to go get hot chocolate at the nearest kiosk and walked around the park before heading back to their hotel.
chamomile tea: bedtime
Either of them doesn’t have a set sleep schedule. They sleep when they can. But during the rare times when they get home early, Elle and JJ liked to take their time doing their nightly routine. JJ made some chamomile tea for the both of them while Elle fed their pet cat. They both drank their tea and talked on the balcony, letting the tea calm their body and mind. Slowly, they yawned and put their mugs away in the sink. JJ flopped onto the bed as Elle grabbed the blanket to cover the both of them. JJ cuddled into Elle’s arms and the two women fell fast asleep, catching dreams of moving to India forever.
earl grey tea: flirting
Elle was known to be the flirt in the relationship and JJ loved it whenever Elle flirts with her and makes her blush, even though the blonde wouldn’t admit to it. One day, JJ wanted Elle to get a taste of her own medicine. When both Elle and JJ working from home on a Friday, the blonde mustered up all her courage to at least try out her pick-up line. JJ called out Elle’s name and the brunette looked at her girlfriend. JJ said her cheesy pickup line and Elle laughed, but not at her girlfriend. It was at the pickup line. JJ pouted and slumped in defeat. Elle smiled happily and quickly pecked her sad girlfriend’s lips.
milk tea: hugs and kisses
Elle snuck up on JJ as the blonde was cooking breakfast. The brunette tickled JJ’s side as the shorter woman laughs hard, trying not to burn herself from the oil. Wanting the ticking to be stopped, JJ shooed away Elle, but her sneaky girlfriend couldn't keep her hands off of her. Elle gently wrapped her arms JJ’s waist as the blonde was curious as to what the brunette was going to do next. Elle placed two kisses on JJ’s cheeks. Then her forehead. Her nose. Finally, her lips. JJ deepened the kiss between herself and Elle. It was like it was only them and nothing else matter. That was until Elle smelled burning eggs and JJ furiously tried to salvage them.
iced tea: moonlight
Stars twinkled across the night sky as Elle and JJ took sips of their red wine. They were having a date night in and decided to finish off the night at the balcony. The moon shined bright, almost like a spotlight on Elle. JJ took in the sight that was next to her. The blonde was lost in her thoughts until Elle called out for her. Once being back to reality, JJ blushed in embarrassment and looked away. Elle tried her best to comfort her girlfriend, hoping that they could continue their quiet night while watching the moon.
black tea: baking
JJ and Elle were baking cookies for a Christmas cookie party. They were having fun until Elle threw some flour at JJ’s face. JJ stood in shock as Elle smirked, feeling proud of herself. That was until JJ scooped up some flour with both her hands and dropped it on top of Elle’s head. This started a food war between the two women, who were also wasting a lot of baking ingredients that were necessary for the Christmas cookies. JJ realized this in the midst of this food fight and had to stop Elle from throwing some sprinkles at her. The two women laughed to their hearts’ content and started to clean up themselves and the kitchen, hoping to salvage something for the rest of the Christmas cookies to be made.
pomegranate tea: fireworks
It was the Fourth of July and both Elle and JJ made plans to watch the city’s firework display. Packing up a small picnic for dinner, JJ hummed as she was making sandwiches. Once finished, JJ called out for her girlfriend to head out and seek the best spot. Elle appeared in time and the pair went their way to the nearest park. Elle set the blanket while JJ took out the food she made earlier. They quickly ate their sandwiches and guzzled some ginger ale. JJ quickly cleaned up their area in time for the firework show. The blonde cuddled up to Elle’s chest as the two women watched the sky is filled with many colors. They enjoyed their time watching the fireworks display. When it was over, Elle and JJ went on their way home, but not without having some ice cream to end the night.
matcha tea: drunken conversations
Elle and JJ were giggling loudly at a bar in their city. JJ took her last sip of her beer as Elle fumbled to try and find her wallet. Once the tab has been paid, Elle hooked her right arm with JJ’s left and the drunken pair slowly waddled out of the bar. Since the apartment wasn't too far, it wasn’t necessary to hail a cab. JJ shushed Elle as they entered their apartment building and was greeted by their stoic doorman. Their giggles got muted as the elevator door closed, JJ closing the gap between her and Elle.
chai tea: holding hands
JJ played with their hands as they were laying in bed late at night. Elle intertwined the fingers and softly placed a kiss on each knuckle on JJ’s hand. The blonde snuggled into Elle’s side and slowly closed her eyes. Elle watched her girlfriend, whose sound asleep, for a few minutes. She took in the beautiful sight in front of her. Gently pushing her blonde locks away from her face, Elle placed a kiss on JJ’s forehead and prepared herself to sleep. The brunette closed her eyes for the night as she continued to have her fingers intertwined with JJ’s.
hibiscus tea: road trips
Music played loudly as a car zoomed along the interstate. Elle and JJ had taken a month off to do a little road-tripping. JJ held her hand out of the window to feel the rush of the cold wind. Sometimes Elle would take little glances at her girlfriend to remind herself of the beautiful memories they will make. The blonde reeled her arm back in and started to search for the snack bag for one thing. When she couldn’t find it, she asked Elle, who in turn didn’t know. That started a very silly argument about where the Cheetos bag went. Soon enough, JJ found the bag of Cheetos right behind her passenger seat. She sheepishly smiled as she opened the bag, Elle laughing beside her.
green tea: bonfire
Elle poked at the small bonfire to get the fire going as JJ prepared ingredients for s’mores. The brunette sat down by her girlfriend, wrapping herself and JJ with a large plaid blanket. JJ handed a marshmallow on a stick to Elle and started to roast her own marshmallow. The crackling of the fire provided warmth as the brisk November wind passed by. Once the marshmallows were ready, both Elle and JJ constructed their s’mores as quickly as possible before the marshmallow would fall onto the ground. Giggles were heard as a smear of chocolate appeared on Elle’s upper lip. JJ took this opportunity to lick it off and laugh at Elle’s shocked expression.
russian caravan tea: music
Soft indie music played into the night as Elle and JJ danced slowly across the cold kitchen tiles. It was one of those nights where either of them couldn’t sleep. JJ had her head in the crook of Elle’s neck as the brunette had her arms wrapped around JJ’s waist. They let the music serenade them as they circled around the kitchen. Wanting to check up on JJ, Elle looked down and saw that JJ had closed her eyes. Elle gently waddled her way to turn off the music while trying not to wake up JJ. She picked up JJ in bridal style and walked over to their bedroom, gently putting JJ down on the comforter. Elle scooted up next to her and cuddled her in her arms, falling asleep to JJ's gentle heartbeat.
english breakfast tea: beaches
Elle and JJ held hands as they walked along the beach. The waves gently touched their feet from time to time. Something sparkling caught JJ’s eye and the blonde took the time to pick it up. To her discovery, it was a half piece of a seashell lined with nacre. Elle complained that she didn’t want to take home a smelly seashell but JJ wanted it. JJ was able to convince Elle into taking it home by her charming looks that Elle can’t resist. A smirk appeared on Elle’s face as she thought of a mischievous idea. Elle dragged JJ into the ocean up to their knees. JJ shrieked due to the cold salty water and proceed to scold her girlfriend for ruining her dress.
rooibos tea: anniversary
Both Elle and JJ would rather have a lowkey day for celebrating their one-year anniversary. Neither of them expects any gifts, as they do not want any expectations presiding in their relationship. They would have breakfast in bed together and reminisce their memories over the past year. Afterward, they would get ready for a hike at Shenandoah National Park. Depending on their mood, they pick a trail that could either be easy or more difficult, so they can challenge themselves. But once they reach the top, Elle and JJ take in the view of the sun slowly setting down over the trees and hills. Elle would grab JJ’s hand and take a look at her beautiful girlfriend, how the sunset rays filter her already beautiful face. They tell each other happy anniversary as they sit on the craggy boulders, watching the sunset over the horizon and the moon rise up into the twilight sky.
summary: jj holds a press conference while on a high-profile case. she has to deal with the stupid male reporters. after the conference is done, jj goes to the nearest bathroom, away from the crowd, and screams and swears to her heart’s content
word count: 6.2k
content warnings: mentions of emotional and verbal abuse, guns, violence, blood, suicide
a/n: inspiration for this fic is from criminal minds season 4 episode 16 “pleasure is my business”
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It was a rough start to a Wednesday morning for a particular FBI agent. She almost twisted her ankle on her early morning jog, got stuck in traffic, and had to wait in a long line for her co-workers’ coffee orders. Soon enough, she started to wish that she took the metro instead. Media communications liaison Jennifer “JJ” Jareau woke up today and chose violence. She huffed in frustration at how her morning went.
Walking toward the bullpen with the coffee orders in her hands, JJ was greeted with “hellos” and “good mornings”. Not wanting to have her co-workers profile her, JJ bottled up her frustration and grumpiness and put a smile on her face. It was a rule amongst the group to never profile each other. With learning an assortment of profiling tactics, JJ knew how to form a realistic smile without genuine happiness. Creases around the eyes, smile lines contoured the mouth, sparkles in her baby blue eyes. The short blonde perfected the fake smile that could fool anyone, even expert profilers.
“Good morning, guys.” JJ said with a bright smile on her face. She held two cardboard trays filled with various coffee orders. She placed one of the trays on Emily’s desk, so she can pass out the orders to her co-workers. She called out the order name as she passed the cup to the person.
“One French vanilla latte for Ms. Garcia. Two black coffees for Emily and Derek. And finally, a coffee with extra cream and sugar for Spence.” Everyone said their thank you’s to the blonde. Then, there was one coffee cup left. A cappuccino.
“Happy Wednesday, my nerds.” Rossi said as he approached the group of tired agents. JJ smiled and handed the cappuccino to the elderly man.
“Grazie.” He thanked the media liaison for her efforts to bring his favorite morning beverage. The group spent some time chatting nonsense before the case briefing. Thirty minutes went by and all of them disbursed into their desks to finish up the paperwork. JJ headed down to her office to work on choosing the next case after the one that was currently ongoing.
After settling in her office chair, JJ took a look around her office. Messy stacks of pending files scattered her desk. Empty coffee cups and water bottles lined the file cabinet. JJ checked the time on her watch. 8:12 AM. About two hours to kill. The blonde put her hair up into a ponytail and took in a deep breath. She dove into the nearest pile of manila files, looking through all the documents and photographs to determine which case for the BAU team to take on after the current case.
As the clock ticked closer to 10 AM, JJ picked up today’s case files and head out of her office. Strutting through the bullpen, JJ entered the briefing room slightly out of breath.
“Sorry I’m late, everyone,” JJ said while passing the manila folders out to her co-workers. After handing out the necessary materials, she grabbed the remote from the center of the wooden table.
“Sam Winchester was found in Fulton Park, in the Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eighteen stab wounds to his chest and neck,” JJ explained as she clicked on the remote to switch between the crime scene photos. “He is one of the victims dumped at various locations of Brooklyn that was found last night.”
“Hold up. One of the victims?” Derek asked.
“Yeah. So far this killer built up a rep sheet of five kills.” JJ stated. Hotch raised one of his eyebrows at the new information.
“Seven? Why haven’t the NYPD notified us immediately after the first three kills?” Hotch asked the media liaison.
“Probably the department thought they could handle the crimes,” JJ explained. “That was the case until they realized that they needed help.”
The young blonde switched to the next slide, showing one of the other victims dumped in North Williamsburg.
“What’s interesting about the locations is that the first victim was drowned in the Hudson River. And as more victims appear, the disposal methods get more dramatic. Maybe it plays some role in the unsub’s pathology.” Spencer said as he looked at the screen, observing for any patterns.
“Like with one of the recent victims, the disposal site is in Cobble Hill. It’s typically occupied by those who are relatively wealthy.” Rossi said to continue Spencer’s thoughts.
“This unsub is getting bolder with his disposal sites. I’m concerned with there being an end game to this.” Emily stated. Everyone at the round table shifted through the various crime scene photos and documents. Rossi took hold of one of the crime scene photographs: a reversed ten of cups tarot card. “It is also apparent that the unsub is leaving tarot cards at the scene of the crime.”
“Tarot cards? What’s the significance?” Derek asked.
“Maybe to tell of the inevitable fortune the victims faced?” Emily said.
“Well, each card has a different meaning when it is upright and reversed. And usually, when doing a reading, three to five cards are pulled to tell a fortune.” Penelope explained as she typed away on her work laptop. It had not surprised anyone that the technical analyst had an interest in tarot readings and astrology.
“You know, the first documented tarot packs were recorded between 1440 and 1450 AD in Milan, Ferrara, Florence, and Bologna when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. These new decks were called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards are known simply as trionfi, which became "trumps" in English. The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 Visconti-Sforza tarot decks painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan. The Duke of Milan described a 60-card deck with 16 cards having images of the Roman gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds.” Spencer talked about the history of tarot cards, with hand gestures to accompany his little ramble. When he finished, everyone at the table stared at him. The young FBI agents sheepishly smiled as Emily poked his left cheek.
“Since when did you learn about tarot cards?” Emily asked.
“I learned about it when I took a college course on the Italian Renaissance.” Spencer sheepishly smiled.
“Well, whatever it is, it seems like there is a story to be told––or rather to be heard.” JJ said as she stared at the crime scene photos, her eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment.
“That’s what we need to find out. Wheels up in 20.” Hotch called out.
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The BAU members sat comfortably on the jet, each in their little world. That was until the unit chief called on everyone for a case discussion.
“Let’s go over victimology.” Hotch said to call on the group. Everyone moved closer to the unit chief to better discuss the case. Derek sat in an armchair, with Emily next to him. Across from them were Spencer and JJ. Hotch leaned against one of the seats, practically sitting on the adjustable arm of the plane seat. Rossi sat on the tan velvet couch, adjacent to JJ.
“Reid.” Hotch called on the genius of the group.
“White. Male. Between the ages of 45-55. Jobs ranging from a stockbroker to assets protection manager. All of them have cheated on their wives multiple times and some even had sexual harassment accusations.” The young curly-haired man said to start the discussion.
“Even if these men cheated on their wives and got those accusations, they still didn’t deserve the multiple stab wounds to meet their end.” Emily said.
JJ looked through the case file to see the reports on all five victims.
“The victims’ names are Igor Andreevich, Lucas Duncan, Hunter Mcevoy, Sam Winchester, Jared Kalinski.” JJ called the names out like it was a roll call.
“These are the five victims that this unsub killed so far?” Hotch asked. The blonde nodded her head and said “yes, sir” in response.
“As the victim count increased, the more stab wounds appeared on the body.” Rossi said to point out an observation.
“But the M.E. said that most of these stab wounds were created post mortem. Meaning that the initial stab was to get the job done efficiently and he went back in to fuel his rage and/or sexual needs.” Spencer
“Are we assuming his sexual orientation? Because there aren’t many homosexual serial killers, kid” Rossi said.
“It could be a possibility. We have to consider our options.” Hotch said.
Just then, the laptop turned on and showed the beautiful Penelope Garcia.
“How’s it going, my crime-fighting musketeers?” Penelope asked. Everyone, even Hotch, smiled at her cheery greeting.
“Garcia, start compiling files on each of our victims,” Hotch told the technical analyst. “Everything financial and personal. Bank statements, credit card bills, investments, wills, trust funds. Anything that will tell us more about the victim’s lives.”
“Faster than a Hotch rocket.” After that was said into the air, Penelope felt embarrassed while Hotch looked at her with his usual stone-cold face. Derek sighed and shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee to hide his second-hand embarrassment for his babygirl.
To break the silence, Rossi grunted and coughed into his fist.
“Based on the jobs these men had, we could safely assume that they were killed in the financial district of New York. Then, the unsub transported the bodies to a dumpsite.” Emily said as she read off from the case file in her hands.
“But why from Manhattan to Brooklyn? That is a lot of weight to carry.” Derek asked.
“Maybe Brooklyn holds a lot of significance to him. Something from his childhood and he can’t let go.” JJ said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as they all closed their files.
“Once we land, do you want me to get in contact with the media to inform the public?” The media liaison asked the unit chief.
“No. We need to hold back on it. Giving him the media’s attention is exactly what he wants. He wants his story to be heard and we will not give him that.” Hotch explained. JJ nodded in response and wrote down media concerns in her small blue notepad.
“Dave, You and Prentiss go to the crime scene,” Hotch instructed the group. “The rest of us will get up to speed at the precinct.” Everyone nodded in agreement with the unit chief.
After discussing the victimology and the nature of the case, everyone separated and occupied their own space on the jet. Derek on the couch, listening to music. Spencer by the window, reading the Hound of the Baskervilles. Rossi and Hotch in the back, conversing whatever two elderly men talk about.
The blonde media liaison stared out of the window until she felt a presence next to her. She looked away to find Emily standing in the aisle with a cup of coffee and a bag of Cheetos in her hands.
“Want some company?” Emily asked as she took the empty seat.
“I don’t mind at all.” JJ smiled at the brunette. The shorter woman felt special that Emily did this for her. She took the Cheetos and the coffee mug from her co-worker. As she grabbed them, their fingers brushed against each other. A little pink blush formed on JJ’s cheeks. Not wanting Emily to know about the silly crush the blonde had on her, JJ covered half her face with her beloved blue blanket. Emily chuckled at JJ’s actions and placed her hand on the blonde’s right shoulder, closing her eyes for a quick nap.
JJ carefully took some of her dark blue blanket and wrapped it around Emily’s right shoulder. She looked at the brunette who was sleeping on her shoulder and softly smiled.
The blonde took sips of the coffee as she stared out of the window. The sunlight bounced off the water particles in the clouds, creating a mini rainbow over the tops of the white clouds. The media liaison took in the silence as a treat, before landing into the chaos of New York.
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A government-mandated black SUV arrived at the 25th precinct. Everyone––sans Emily and Rossi––got out of the car and was greeted by a lively short woman.
“Detective Miller? We spoke on the phone.” JJ shook hands with the short woman.
“Please, call me Kennedy. Thanks for coming in.”
“No problem. These are agents Hotchner, Morgan, and Doctor Reid.” JJ introduced them while gesturing at the person, in respective order.
“Hey, why don't you go on inside and make yourself comfortable.” Kennedy said. The remaining BAU members nodded their heads and made their way inside the busy precinct. Police officers swarmed everywhere as the federal agents weaved their way to an empty conference room.
Everyone worked at a swift pace to get everything set up. JJ and Derek went with a police officer to get boxes filled with case files and other materials. Hotch talked with Detective Miller to get information on how her officers dealt with the unsub so far. While all this is happening, Spencer worked on the geographical profile, so the agents know where to look for the unsub.
“What do these tarot cards mean?” Hotch asked the group. Everyone shook their head “no”, signifying that they had no clue what each card meant.
“I’ll call Penelope and ask her about the meanings of the cards.” Derek said as he took out his flip phone to dial Penelope’s number.
“Live from Quantico, Virginia, it is the Divine Miss Penelope.” Penelope greeted the group.
“Hey, sugar mama. I need something from you.” Derek said.
“Talk to me.”
“I need you to interpret the meanings of the tarot cards that were left at the different crime scenes.”
“Ah- I’ll be your little witch today. Hit me with have you have.”
“Alright, I’m putting you on speaker.” Derek puts down the phone on the wooden table, so everyone could hear what the technical analyst has to say.
“Ten of Cups, Garcia.” Hotch said.
“When upright, the Ten of Cups embody happiness, joy, contentment, and emotional satisfaction in your family, relationship, or companion. It represents an idyllic state of comfort, harmony, peace, and love which makes you feel like you are in paradise. When reversed, it could mean shattered dreams, disharmony, or a broken family.” Penelope explained.
“Reversed Wheel of Fortune card.” Spencer called out.
“When the wheel is reversed, it means that luck has not been on your side and misfortunes have been following you. When it's associated with this card, you must understand that these are due to external influences that you cannot control.” Penelope said.
“Reversed Justice card.” Derek said next.
“A reversed Justice tarot card could indicate various things. One Justice reversal meaning is to show you are living in denial. You are not willing to accept the consequences of your actions or others. You are running from your guilt. You must, however, be aware that these are actions that are in the past. Other Justice reversal meanings could be injustice, retribution, dishonesty, corruption, dishonesty, unfairness, and avoiding accountability.” The technical analyst interpreted.
“Lastly, the reversed Emperor.” JJ said the final card they had.
“The Emperor reversed is a sign of abused authoritative power. In your social life, it can manifest in the overreach of power from a father figure or a possessive partner.” Penelope described the final tarot card.
With all the information in their heads, the BAU members felt puzzled about how to move forward.
“How are these cards related to the crime scenes?” Derek asked.
“It’s like a performance,” Penelope chimed in. Everyone turned their heads to listen to the cheery woman on the phone. “Like there is a story behind these killings. The cards are telling how the unsub is feeling. She wants us to know her story.” Everyone stood in shock when Penelope made a breakthrough in the case.
“Wait, Garcia. You said ‘she’. Why do you think it is a woman?” Hotch asked.
“Well, sir. The first victim was drowned, with no signs of sexual assault on his body. Doesn’t that usually indicate that the unsub is a woman?”
“Not necessarily but it is a quiet and efficient way of murdering someone.” Hotch explained.
“Female serial killers are a fascinating field. We don’t have much information on them. But what we do know involves throwing the riles completely out of the window,” Spencer started going on one of his rambles. “For example, female serial killers typically don’t leave a signature.”
“But this one leaves tarot cards at the scene.” Derek pointed out.
“Maybe it was what Garcia said: she’s telling us her story.” JJ said.
“Alright. Let’s start from the beginning. What could be inferenced from her childhood?” Hotch asked.
“She could have had a domineering father who worked on Wall Street. And with that dynamic, he could have sexually and emotionally abused her, making her feeling like damaged goods.” Spencer explained the backstory of the unsub. “Also because the victims cheated on their wives, we could also conclude that the father also cheated on the mother, who always forgave her husband and tried to rationalize to stay for her daughter. And that made the unsub feel rage and being inferior. That she didn’t do anything to help her mother and herself.”
“But there is no indication of sexual gratification.” Hotch interjected.
“However, there’s a reason why there are so many lacerations on the later victims. It could be the rage from her abusive father that this unsub is using against the victims, who acted like surrogates.” Derek said.
“The stressor?” Hotch asked.
“To follow her father’s footsteps, she may have also worked in the financial field. As a stockbroker, a financial analyst, or even as a secretary for a company,” Spencer said. “And as she continued at her job, she had a bunch of little comments and slights against her”
“As for the trigger, maybe she got passed up for a promotion by a male co-worker who was less qualified than she was.” JJ explained.
“Any sane person would get miffed about it, but she’s built differently,” Derek said.
“So much so, she killed five men so far.” Hotch said.
“And she did it in an efficient manner where no one had any idea until now,” Derek said right after the unit chief. “But how did one woman kill five men in one borough and disposed of them in another?”
“She must know the area like the back of her hand. Brooklyn is what? Around 72 square miles?” JJ said in response to Derek.
“Uh, 69.5.” Spencer corrected JJ. The blonde sighed, not surprised that the boy genius would know the exact measurement.
“And the fact that no one has seen her either abduct or dispose of says she knows the city and its patterns well.” Derek said to continue what JJ had said before she was cut off by the boy genius. Just then, both Rossi and Emily had returned from the latest crime scene. In Emily’s hands were coffee cups on cardboard trays while Rossi had Chinese takeout. Everyone shared the food as they continued to work on the case. Being the little tease he was, Derek flung a wonton piece at Spencer, who was struggling to eat with the wooden chopsticks. The wonton piece gently hit Spencer’s forehead and the boy genius pouted, hiding his frustration at both the chopsticks and Derek.
“The M.E. said that the cuts were clean, no serrated edges. It would have to be a very sharp knife to be able to cut through human skin like nothing.” Emily said, to drive the discussion about the M.O.
“A knife like that could get the job done efficiently. Could be the work of a throwing knife. Take out the victim with a single throw to have them die quickly, then she stabs them to feel something.” Derek said.
“Throwing knives? What is she? A secret agent of the Dai Li?” Rossi joked sarcastically.
“From Avatar the Last Airbender?” Hotch retorted, remembering that his son Jack watches that show on Saturday mornings.
“What’s Avatar the Last Airbender?” Spencer asked. Nobody bothered to answer the young man’s question.
“But this one is different. It’s like the more she kills, the more anger builds up inside and it gets released on the victim when she goes back in.” JJ stated.
It became silent in the conference room, quite the opposite to the noise of the New York precinct in the evening rush hour. Tired from both traveling and working, Hotch could see that the rest of his team was also exhausted from the day. The unit chief called everyone to head to the hotel and rest, as they can always come back to the precinct tomorrow morning.
Slowly one by one, each of the agents packed their things and get out of the New York precinct, and hopped into the cars, praying the soft hotel beds would lull them into a deep slumber.
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Day Three at the New York precinct. All the BAU members were getting irritated that they hadn’t proceeded much on the case. Derek tossed a small basketball up and down to pass the time. Spencer twirled a pen as he stared at the geographical profile, the gears turning in his mind. Both Hotch and Rossi were discussing the case quietly while JJ and Emily doodled on each others’ arms. The blonde was innocently drawing hearts and flowers until Emily came up with an idea. Feeling a tad mischievous, Emily took her sharpie marker and started to outline something on the media liaison’s left forearm. JJ raised an eyebrow, questioning what her co-worker was doing. As the image came together, JJ gasped softly, however, not surprised that Emily drew a vagina.
Emily quietly laughed as JJ, annoyed by the brunette’s actions, took her sharpie marker and tried her best to transform the vagina drawing into a flower. Taking her time, and with only a sharpie, JJ showed off her artistic talent by creating a masterpiece: a carnation blooming out of a vagina.
Emily rolled her eyes when JJ stuck out her tongue at the brunette. Taking Emily’s right arm, the media liaison started to outline a grid for a game of tic tac toe. The brunette started the game by marking an “x” in a spot and JJ took her turn. The two women continued their game of tic tac toe and
Everyone was silent in their own world until Hotch’s phone rang. The unit chief picked it up and it was a number he couldn’t recognize. Hotch silently motioned Derek to call Penelope to start triangulating the call’s location.
“Hotchner.”
“Hello, Aaron.” A sultry voice talked. On the other side of the call was the unsub, Taylor Evans.
“Seems you know my name.” Hotch asked.
“I researched you in preparation for this phone call,” Evans said. Through the phone receiver, Hotch could hear the soft whooshes of pages turning.
“You reading a book? What’s the title?”
“Le monde comme il va by Voltaire,” Taylor closed her book. “Have you read his work?”
“No, I haven’t. You seem highly educated.” Hotch stated.
“You seem to know a lot about me.” Taylor retorted.
“But I don’t know you that well since the start of this phone call.” Hotch responded.
“What would you like to know?” Taylor asked.
“May I know your name, for starters?” Hotch asked. A cold laugh could be heard through the landline speaker.
“Evans. Taylor Evans.” the unsub replied.
“Nice name,” Hotch complimented her to bring her guard down.
“Now that we are acquainted, you can ask me questions.” the unsub’s content sigh could be heard on the landline.
“Has life been hard on you?” Taylor asked, wanting to jump the gun.
“I try my best.”
“Try my best,” Taylor said mockingly. “Is that the best you can do for your family?” A sarcastic tone filled Taylor’s voice, not liking what the unit chief said in response to her question.
“With what I’ve got.” Hotch said.
“You got any children?” Taylor said to divert the conversation.
“I have a son.”
“How often do you see him?”
“I try to see him every week.”
“Do you see him every week?” Taylor tried to put Hotch under pressure, to get him to crack.
“No, I don't get there as often as I want.” A pitiful sigh was heard on the phone.
“I believe you, but don’t compare yourself to the men I see and work with. You are nothing like them. You’re just another whore.” Taylor said with such disgust in her tone.
“How am I a whore?” Hotch asked.
“You come when called on short notice. Begging to be put to work. Saving your reputation. However, even though you’re a workaholic, you make the time to see your son. You care for your son. You want the best for him.” Taylor explained.
“You’re right. I do want the best for him” Hotch said. The unsub sighed, wishing that she had a good man, like Hotch, for a father.
“Enough about you. What do you have to say about me?” Taylor asked the unit chief.
“You've been betrayed so many times, You don't know who to trust, And that's why that first murder felt so good. But each one since has been less and less satisfying.” Hotch explained.
“Good deductive reasoning,” Taylor said. “But how do you know if what I find provides me less satisfaction each time?”
“It’s a part of your nature. Until you hit a psychotic break and start devolving.” Hotch said.
“Hm. Want to find out, Agent Hotchner?” She hung up on him after that last sentence. Everyone in the conference room stayed silent in awe. The unsub injecting herself into the investigation surprised all the agents in the room.
“She contacted us,” Spencer said in astonishment, breaking the silence.
“She’s getting impatient. Have Garcia look up everything on Taylor Evans. We need to find if she lines up with the preliminary profile.” Hotch instructed Derek. The olive brown-skinned man did exactly what the unit chief said: call Penelope and extract as much information as possible on the potential unsub.
“Her use of the word whore is interesting,” Spencer quipped. “It suggests she's trying to disassociate herself from her actions.”
“But she's become more personal with the murders,” Emily said. “This doesn’t make sense. She is contradicting herself.”
After gathering the information, and debilitating on the facts, everyone came to the same conclusion: Taylor Evans was their unsub.
“Reid, tell Detective Miller that it’s time to deliver the profile.” Rossi said.
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Every law enforcement officer occupied the main space of the precinct. All of the BAU members stood at one side, making it like a stage. JJ stood beside Emily, thinking to herself that she could have been this girl in a way. Both her and the unsub look eerily similar, maybe even mistaken for each other.
“We wanted to give out the profile as soon as possible. We’re looking for a white female, between the ages of 20 and 25,” Hotch said to start the profile. “Her name is Taylor Evans. Dirty blonde hair with grey eyes. She’s organized, methodical, and knows how to blend in with the crowd.”
“When this unsub kills, she does so mercilessly and without an ounce of pity. She also wants her victims to know they are going to die by her hand.” Rossi said.
“That’s why her preferred weapon of choice is throwing knives. They provide a clean cut. No mess required.” Emily said, slowly rocking on her heels.
“With her choice of weapon, she can be quick and efficient with her kills, as murder is her only goal,” Spencer paused to catch a breath. “But all the bottled-up rage gets released when she goes in for a second time, post mortem, and stabs the body multiple times.”
“It is a way for her to get sexual gratification. And revenge, from her years of being emotionally and sexually abused by her father,” Rossi said. “The victims fit the description of her father and they are surrogates for him.”
“She is also a textbook psychopath, exhibiting all of the classic traits: incapability of feeling any empathy towards others, neither guilt nor remorse, and claiming no responsibility for her actions. Like others of her type, she is highly intelligent, manipulative, and narcissistic.” Spencer explained the unsub’s pathology.
“Evans had received higher education. She graduated with a business degree, most likely a subconscious influence from her father. With the business acumen and the social skillset, this unsub can easily blend in with all the other business people and manipulate them.” Hotch explained, walked slowly around the large room.
“Based on her background, she came from a wealthy family. However, the family wasn’t perfect. Her father constantly cheated on his wife. The mother always forgave him. As a young girl, Evans most likely has experienced emotional and sexual abuse from her father. It was a way for him to control his daughter, and she had resented that for years.” Emily said about the unsub’s childhood.
“She mostly has experienced misogyny in her professional life. Had little comments and slights against her. Perhaps a less qualified male co-worker took a promotion that she deemed herself to be of a better fit,” Derek explained about the stressor. “Something in her work life triggered her to start killing the men who represented her father.”
“With this profile, we should search for Taylor Evans’ location and any potential victims. We suggest going public with the information as soon as possible… Thank you very much.” Hotch ended the profile with his parting words. Everyone at the precinct was disbursed from the room to get back to their work. The agents huddled together to prep themselves in case something big were to happen.
“JJ, I would like for you to conduct a press conference,” Hotch said.
“Why is that, sir?” The media liaison asked.
“I would like to draw her out. Have it known that we are after her.” The media liaison nodded her head in agreement and left the main room to work on getting a press conference together.
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Before entering the press room, JJ took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself down. Thoughts were rushing in her mind. Don’t let them get to you, JJ. She neatly fixed her hair to seem presentable. Taking her golden heart necklace, the media liaison kissed it for good luck.
The media liaison walked into the conference room with great confidence and stood behind the mahogany podium. Standing tall, JJ was not willing to lose a fight with the media, especially with a high-profile case.
“Ok, can I have everyone's attention,” JJ said to gather the media’s attention to her. “Please, if you could just take your seats…”
“There have been a series of murders that appeared in random locations around Brooklyn. There is sufficient evidence that the victims were murdered on Wall Street then transported to their disposal sites.”
“We believe she may have experienced a psychotic break recently, causing the unsub to escalate to murder to regain a sense of control. You should increase your patrols in and around Wall Street… “
“Why would you focus your profile on the finance guys when the unsub has also contacted members of the FBI?” A male reporter interrupted the media liaison.
JJ stood at the podium in shock. How could he know about that? We kept that under wraps.
“I- How did you obtain that information?” JJ asked.
“I overheard one of the cops saying it.” The journalist said casually. The blonde’s right eyebrow lightly twitched in anger. What couldn’t those cops just shut their mouths, JJ thought.
“What you heard from these officers isn’t true,” JJ lied to keep confidential information private. “Now, do you have any questions about the case?” A new wave of hands came up. JJ took a few more questions to answer. After a while, it was time to end the press conference.
“If anyone works in or around Wall Street, and sees anything unusual, please do not hesitate to call the number on your screen. Thank you.” JJ said her final statement, ending the press conference. As she walked down the steps down the small stage, a reporter called out her name.
“Agent Jareau! I have something that may be of interest for you!” A different male reporter called out. JJ turned to face him, excepting the same male reporter from earlier. Trying to keep her anger inside, she greeted the news reporter with dignity.
The male reporter handed the media liaison a letter. JJ took a look at it and was surprised at what she saw: the signature of their unsub.
“How did you get this?” JJ asked the man.
“It was sent to me yesterday, directly to the New York Herald.” The man said. JJ called for one of the officers by the wall to collect the letter for evidence.
“We are going to take this in for evidence processing. One of the officers here will take you in for some questioning.” The man nodded as another officer whisked him away for interrogation.
JJ sighed and went to search for the officer that unknowingly leaked information. She saw him with another cop, talking, against the wall outside of the press conference room.
“That information was not for the public!” JJ said, angrily at an NYPD officer.
“Listen, lady. I don’t know how and where he got the information from,” The beat cop explained himself. “He could have been creeping around the crime scenes or the precinct.
“Keep your mouth shut, pal, as this case is private and under federal jurisdiction.” JJ huffed as Derek grabbed her shoulders and slowly tried to drag her away. The blonde complied with her co-worker, not throwing a fight as this was not her battle to fight in.
Once Derek loosened his grips, the media liaison dashed out of the conference room to find her own space to calm down.
JJ speed-walked once she was out of the hallway’s vicinity. She rushed into the nearest bathroom. Breathing heavily, the media liaison slowly walked into one of the stalls and locked the door. Taking a deep breath, JJ prepared herself for the biggest scream she would take in her life.
“Fuck. These little shits. Those bastards. Assholes. Son of a bitch. Fucking shit. Why can’t they keep their mouths fucking shut! Those cocksucking motherfucking god damned jackasses!” JJ yelled at the top of her lungs. Her chest fell hard as the blonde was taking deep breaths. She felt better after taking out her anger by screaming. Feeling a little tired, JJ sat on the closed toilet and placed her head between her knees to calm herself down. A few minutes went by, and someone knocked on the bathroom door.
“JJ… Are you okay?” Emily’s voice could be heard on the other side. JJ sighed while getting up. She opened the stall door and tried to make herself more presentable. Unlocking the silver lock, she opened the door slowly to reveal a relieved Emily Prentiss.
“Ah–,” Emily gently grabbed JJ and brought her in a warm embrace. They stood together in that position for a few minutes before heading back to the conference room, where the others were, preparing themselves to capture the unsub tonight.
Later that evening, the BAU team, along with SWAT, raided a luxury apartment building in Downtown Brooklyn. Upon entering the only penthouse, Derek broke the door with his strength. The group of agents entered the area and in the middle of the living room, was Taylor Evans. Black mascara ran down her cheeks as she held a gun in her left hand and the final tarot card in the other.
“Just in time for the show, agents.” Evans croaked. Her sad grey eyes filled with tears, her cheeks flushed from her mental breakdown.
“Taylor… Listen. You’re young. You don’t have to do this. If you come with us, you can get a lighter sentence and live your life.” Emily said to calm down the broken girl.
More time passed by as Emily and Spencer tried their best to negotiate with the unsub, but the end was already written. Taylor Evans planned to do an end game, one where she put herself out of misery.
“I’m sorry….” the blonde girl whispered. In a swift motion, Taylor pulled the trigger onto herself and shot herself underneath the jaw. Her body dropped quickly but Derek ran up to the body to catch it.
“Damn it,” Derek said. “She was young. Broken. Felt like she had to prove herself that she was something.”
“There was nothing we could have done to help, Morgan. She already had planned her end. She was long gone before anyone else could have noticed.” Hotch responded to Derek’s little monologue.
Right next to her body was the Emperor card. A beautiful deep purple with gold lining depicting an emperor. The gold detailing reflected against the tall mirrors in the room. The card was reversed, like if she purposefully did that to tell the end to her story.
Matt quietly walked down the wooden stairs to not wake up the baby. He quickly made his way to the spacious living room, where his wife just got the delivery for Chinese takeout from the front door. The tired man sighed and flopped onto the black leather couch, wrapping his left arm around Kristy’s shoulder.
“Hopefully, this kid won’t wake up for a while.” Matt said tiredly. The redhead, sitting beside him, chuckled softly as she started to open the different takeout boxes. The athletic man took the tv remote off from the coffee table and turned on Netflix.
“I hope so too.” Kristy said as a soft smile appeared on her worn out yet beautiful face. With a pair of wooden chopsticks, she took a small fantail shrimp and fed the piece to her husband. Matt silently thanked Kristy as he ate the shrimp.
“So, what do you want to watch?” Matt asked his wife, feeling like he already knows the answer to his own question.
“Valentine’s Day.” Kristy replied without hesitation.
“Is it because it’s actually Valentine’s Day and it has Patrick Dempsey?” Matt asked. Kristy stopped eating a vegetarian spring roll when her husband perceived her about the movie. Her deep russet eyes stared at the man in front of her.
“Uh… yeah. It also has both McDreamy and McSteamy.” Kristy said matter-of-factly, hoping to get a slight reaction from her husband. Matt playfully shook his head at his wife’s obsession over two fictional surgeons. He pressed the play button to start the movie and proceeded to start eating some of the food. The couple continued to enjoy their date night, inside the comfort of their home, with their baby sound asleep upstairs.
After a while of eating, with the movie playing in the background, both Matt and Kristy worked together to pack the leftovers. Matt took it upon himself to save the leftovers in the refrigerator while Kristy got the task of getting them a drink for the night. While searching in the tall wine cabinet, Kristy felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, and a soft kiss on her cheek.
“We haven’t even drunk anything and you’re already getting cuddly with me.” Kristy teased her husband.
“Am I not allowed to show affection towards my own wife?” Matt scoffed sarcastically. He released his arms from Kristy’s waist and walked back to the living room. The redhead chuckled as she made a mental note of adding a point to their silly little competition they had going for a while. Grabbing a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, the woman opened it with a wine opener with such ease. With the open bottle and two wine glasses in her hands, the woman made her way to the living room and sat by her husband. She poured the wine into both of the glasses, trying her best not to spill onto the white carpet. Matt took one of the wine glasses and took a small sip to taste.
The couple enjoyed their date night-in thus far with takeout and wine, just like how they did before they got married. Kristy placed her head on Matt’s shoulder, her eyes drooping slowly.
As the movie was coming to an end, an idea sprang into the woman’s mind. Sitting upright, Kristy took out her phone and searched for a song to play. Matt looked at her, with confusion in his eyes. With a tap of a finger, I Look to You by Whitney Houston started to play softly. Matt furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he watched Kristy get up and held out her hand towards him.
“May I have this dance?” Kristy asked. Matt took her hand and stood up, pulling his wife closer towards him.
“You may.” The couple started to slowly dance around their living room. Kristy placed her head on the nape of Matt’s neck, the warmth radiating from his body comforting the auburn-haired woman. Her eyes stared at one of the pictures hanging on the walls. It was the day Matt proposed to her while on their camping trip in Denali. They took that trip after her husband left the army. On that night, Matt was a nervous wreck, stuttering his lines and accidentally dropping the ring into the snow. According to Matt, there were a million ways the proposal could have gone better. But to Kristy, it was perfect. She wouldn’t change it for the world. That was three years ago. Three long years filled with happiness and hardships.
“Can we always be this close?” Kristy asked her husband, looking into his beautiful brown eyes. Matt placed a chaste kiss on Kristy’s lips.
“Forever and ever, love.” Matt pulled Kristy close to his chest, his wife listening to his heartbeat. The couple stood together in the living for some time, taking in the silence.
Everything was at peace, until the sounds of David’s cries were heard. Both the parents sighed, as their little date came to an end.
“Can you get him, please?” Kristy said with a soft voice.
“Yeah.” Matt placed a quick kiss on his wife’s cheek and made his way to the staircase. As he made his way upstairs, Kristy smiled to herself, thinking how she’s the luckiest woman in the world to have found Matt. He’s her partner in crime. Her shoulder to cry on. Her best friend. Her lover. Her soulmate.
Stars twinkled across the midnight sky as passing clouds filtered the moonlight. A large bonfire crackled brightly on a chilly late November night. A group of college friends hung around the fire in Luke’s backyard, having a get-together. Laughter and clinks from beer bottles made up the melody of the night. Everyone was having one last family fun before the stress of the holidays and final exams.
“Hey! Let’s play a game, guys!” Derek said, calling for everyone’s attention within his vicinity.
“What do you suggest, chocolate thunder?” Penelope asked, sneaking in a quick wink at her friend.
“How about truth or dare?” Luke suggested. A plethora of nods and a few disgruntled grumbles were heard.
“Ok, I’ll start,” Luke said, clapping his hands together in excitement. He looked around the group to choose his target and his eyes set on one of his friends. “Tara, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” Tara said while taking a sip of her beer. Luke took his time to think of a question.
“What is the most expensive thing you have stolen?” Luke asked.
“I stole an antique gramophone.” Tara said honestly.
“Really?” Spencer asked in excitement.
“Well, it was worth 3,000 dollars.” The graduate student said cooly. Everyone gasped in shock. No one in the group would have thought that Tara Lewis had the guts to steal an item, let alone an antique gramophone.
“How?” Spencer asked.
“A magician never reveals their secrets.” Tara winked. Everyone groaned as they wanted to hear the story behind the stolen gramophone.
“Ok, I’m gonna spice things up. Emily.” Tara called the brunette’s name.
“Yeah?” Emily asked.
“Truth or dare?” Emily smirked, ready for any challenge.
“Dare.”
“Strip as many clothes off as countries you have lived in.” Tara said, feeling proud of herself for thinking the idea. Emily stood there in shock. She had lived in plenty of countries during her childhood. Thanking the universe that she had lots of layers on, Emily began to strip her clothes one by one, as she calls out a country she had previously lived in.
“Japan.” Emily unraveled her red plaid scarf around her neck.
“Argentina.” Emily pulled the gloves off her pale hands.
“England.” Emily took off her hiking boots.
“South Africa.” The brunette slipped off her black socks, her feet touching the frosty grass.
“Iran.” She took off her dark blue parka jacket.
“Germany.” It took Emily a few seconds too long to take off her turtleneck sweater, the cream-colored one that JJ sometimes would steal from her close.
“Egypt.” The girl took off her thermal shirt, goosebumps forming from the contact with the wind.
“France.” Emily pulled off her tank top, the final layer on her torso. Out in the open was her chardonnay red bra. The jocks of the group whistled loudly, but Emily could care less. She stood proudly, not wanting her ego to get hurt from a little wind.
“See. Did it. And now I get to pick the next person.” Emily said proudly.
“You don’t want to cuddle up next to your girlfriend?” Derek teased the brunette.
“Shut up, Morgan. Because you teased me, I get to ask you now. Truth or dare?” Emily asked, rubbing her arms to feel the warmth. The brunette silently cursed at the universe that it was a cold night. To her left, JJ had a look of pity for her girlfriend. Wanting to wrap Emily with her jacket, JJ decided against it as she would get yelled at by the boys.
“Dare!” Derek shouted excitedly. Emily took a few seconds to think of a dare that was perfect for Derek. Once the idea popped into her mind, the brunette smirked mischievously.
“Call the third person on your contact list and say, “I think I might fart,” and then hang up.” Emily said, without a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Ha– easy.” Derek grinned as he took out his phone from his jean pocket. Scrolling through, his previous smile turned into a frown. His thumb wavered over the contact of the one person he didn’t want to mess around. Hotch. Derek was dreading to call his friend, knowing that he will get yelled at once he heads back to their apartment. Wanting to rip off the band-aid, Derek called Hotch, hoping he would pick up.
“Hello?” A rough voice said on the other line.
“I think I might fart.” Derek quickly said the statement and hung up the call. Everyone around him started to laugh, the noise ringing into the starry autumn sky. Derek rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer.
“Shut up, Prentiss,” Derek said sarcastically. “Now, who’s ready to be the next victim?” The tipsy man thought for a while before picking the next person.
“Matt, truth or dare?” Derek said to call out the athletic man.
“Hm… Dare?” Matt said after a few thoughtful seconds. Derek smirked as the perfect dare appeared in his mind. Knowing that Matt had a crush on a particular redhead, Derek wanted this opportunity for them to get together.
“I dare you to… get your crush’s phone number.” Hearing those words sent a chill down Matt’s spine. Across from him, Kristy lightly blushed as Derek told Matt the dare.
Matt handed his drink to Luke and made his way to where his crush stood.
“Nice to meet ya,” Matt greeted her. “What's your name?”
“Kristy. What’s yours?” The auburn-haired girl asked.
“Simmons. Matt Simmons.”
“Alright, Simmons,” Kristy said, with a teasing tone. “Impress me with your so-called moves.” A small smirk appeared on the redhead’s slightly flushed face.
Matt softly coughed into his fist as he thought of a way to get his crush’s number. Wanting to be cute, the jock thought of an idea.
“Are you the sun?... Because you’re so beautiful, it’s blinding me.” Matt said, with a soft smile on his face. Feeling nervous, he shoved his hands into his jeans’ front pockets while waiting for an answer from the girl in front of him.
The redhead smiled and softly laughed at Matt’s attempt. The jock now felt like he ruined his chances with the most beautiful girl in his eyes.
Kristy asked Penelope for a paper and pen, knowing that the eccentric girl was prepared for anything with her stationery collection in her purse. With a sparkly pink gel pen, the auburn-haired girl quickly scribbled something on a piece of stationery paper. Once done, Kristy folded the paper and placed it in Matt’s hands.
“See you later, Simmons.” Kristy winked at Matt, taking her stuff, and left the party. Everyone watched the whole scene unfold, in awe that Matt Simmons actually did the dare.
Matt unfolded the piece of paper in his hands and gasped softly at what was written. It was Kristy’s name and phone number. The boy was shocked that he was able to get his crush’s number. He smiled softly to himself, telling himself that nice jocks do get the girl.
all at once (you are the one i have been waiting for)
summary: the lights are out. roads are flooded. jj and elle are stuck at jj’s apartment due to a thunderstorm. what secrets will be revealed when these two friends are alone in the dark?
pairing: jennifer jareau x elle greenaway (jelle)
word count: 2.8k
a/n: memories are in italics
☆。*。☆。
A pair of women ran across the fresh wet lawn from a car parked in the distance, a few feet away from the apartment building. Giggles could be heard clearly from across the road. They skipped up the small steps and reached the entrance. Under the porch roof, the blonde shook her head like a wet dog, while the brunette attempted to dry her hair with her cold hands. The friends entered the building, working their way up to the blonde’s apartment, all while causing a commotion within the hallways. JJ haphazardly took out her keys from her baby blue raincoat and unlocked her apartment door. She took off her jacket and hung it on the antique coat hanger, with her muddy hiking boots by the door.
“Sorry… uh- make yourself at home,” JJ said. “I’ll grab some towels from the linen closet.”
“Yeah sure,” Elle responded while observing the apartment. Inside, was a home fit for a young career woman. Clean minimalist furniture. Books and academic papers were sprawled across the cheap Scandinavian coffee table. A few coffee mugs were scattered around the living room. A blue blanket sprawled across the cushions of the sofa. The same blanket that Elle bought for JJ on one special Christmas.
The brunette shook her head, thinking that it was typical of JJ to keep her place slightly messy. She was brought out of her thoughts when a soft cotton towel was presented to her.
“Thanks, JJ,” Elle said as she tried to dry her hair. The blonde nodded happily as she tried her best to drain water from her hair with another towel in her hand.
“Want something to drink?” JJ asked as she walked into her small kitchen.
“Just some water,” Elle called out. The brunette flopped onto the couch, feeling tired from the day. A minute went by and JJ came back with two glasses filled with water. Elle thanked the blonde when she was given the glass.
“Want to take a shower?” JJ asked innocently. Elle slightly choked on the water.
“Wh- what?”
“A shower. Because you must feel cold from the rain we ran through earlier.” JJ softly laughed at Elle’s outburst. The brunette grumbled.
“Yeah. I’ll take one. Only because I know you’ll make me if I refuse,” Elle said as she got up and made her way to the bathroom. Once the showerhead noises were heard, JJ went to her room to pick out some clothes to share. Once she changed, the blonde knocked on the bathroom door, with a sweatshirt and shorts in hand. Sounds of the shower went by, and Elle opened the door, in a towel and all dewy from the hot steam. A peach blush appeared on JJ’s cheeks, barely noticed by the brunette. In their long years of friendship, JJ hadn’t felt like this about her best friend until eight months ago.
“Thanks.” Elle took the clothes from JJ’s hand and shut the door. The clang from the now-closed door took the blonde out of her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, JJ walked away from the bathroom door. As she passed by a window, onto her way to the living room, her eyes took a peek to see how the weather had been. It had gotten worse. Dark clouds rolled in quickly and the rain got heavier, with the low rumblings of thunder playing songs in the sky. An idea struck JJ’s mind. I should get some candles from the cabinet, in case of a power outage. Arriving at her destination, JJ raided the closet and found her soy candles. As she placed them aside for later, Elle came in from her shower.
“Hey. What are those for?” Elle asked.
“Since the weather is getting worse, I decided to be more prepared. Better to be safe than sorry.” JJ said as she also pulled out a few blankets.
“Since we don’t have anywhere else to go, wanna just Netflix and chill?” Elle proposed. JJ raised an eyebrow at the brunette’s wording.
“Just Netflix and chill? Ha- you could have worded that differently,” JJ said. Elle shrugged and grabbed the remote. The blonde sat next to her friend, making the both of them comfortable with the heavy blanket she brought. For the rest of the afternoon, both Elle and JJ watched one Studio Ghibli movie after another.
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As the evening went by, the weather got worse. The rain beat down harder on the asphalt. Trees swayed along with the hard wind. Rolling thunderous sounds moved closer to the area with each passing minute. This was one of the worst thunderstorms this town had ever experienced.
The power went out during the second hour of watching Netflix. In the dark, both Elle and JJ worked their way around the blonde’s apartment, taking out every electrical plug to prevent any accidents. After that job was done, JJ went into the kitchen while Elle started to fold the large blanket they were once under. After the brunette finished, she sat by the window on the leather loveseat, watching the storm rage across the sky. She turned on her phone to the radio, weather reports about the storm softly playing.
“When do you think this is gonna let up?” JJ asked, coming up behind Elle with two mugs filled with water. Elle took a mug and whispered a soft thank you.
“Well, from what the news is telling us, it’s going to be a long night of heavy rain and strong wind,” JJ said as she stared out of the window. Elle sat next to her friend and placed her chin on JJ’s left shoulder. Silence occupied the living room. The pitter-patter of the rain against the windows created music that filled the air. The orange light from the candles set a soft ambiance. Quiet. Peaceful.
“Seems like I won’t make it home tonight,” Elle joked.
“You don’t even have your car here! Besides, the roads are flooded and there are trees blocking said roads,” JJ said, pouting at the brunette’s silly little joke.
“Sorry.” Elle softly smiled. The sounds of laughter rang away, being replaced by silence again. A few minutes went by and JJ got struck with an idea.
“I have something fun for us to do!” JJ said.
“And what’s that?” Elle asked.
“We should make a blanket fort,” JJ said, smiling from her plan. “It’ll be fun! Taking away some of the sadness from the thunderstorm.”
Elle nodded in agreement and the two women started working on the pillow fort. The brunette started by getting the kitchen chairs to build the framework while the blonde looked for more blankets. JJ grabbed her largest white cotton bedsheet as the initial cover.
“Elle, help me with putting this sheet on.” JJ said. Her brunette friend nodded her head and the two women tried their best to gently drape the sheet over the four dining chairs.
“Oh shit. I forgot to get the clothespins.” JJ left the sheet and speed-walked to her small linen closet to gather as many pins she needed. With a handful of some wooden clothespins in her hands, JJ came back to the living room and shared some of the pins with Elle to get the bedsheet draped properly. After the first sheet, the blonde picked a colorful paisley-printed sheet to decorate over the white bedsheet. Both the women worked their way to pin the sheets carefully together and onto the chairs.
“Didn’t know you liked floral patterns.” Elle teased JJ, who typically prided herself to be more of a “tomboy”.
“Shut up.” JJ playfully punched Elle’s right shoulder. The brunette chuckled from the light punch.
After the main structure was built, JJ filled the inside with a plethora of pillows and blankets. With a thick plaid blanket as the foundation, the blonde piled on two more to provide a soft space to sit. Elle grabbed the fuzzy blue blanket off from the couch, so she and JJ could cuddle together with it. Scents of honey and milky french vanilla wafted throughout the living room, reminiscent of untamed yet peaceful meadows of the French countryside. The lit candles glowed against the roof, the paisley patterns being well seen enough to be traced.
Both the women smiled at their creation and entered the little fort. Elle sighed contently as she flopped onto the mountain of pillows. Meanwhile, JJ sat with her chin on her knee. Feeling unsatisfied, the blonde went out of the fort and went to search for something to drink. The coldness from the kitchen tiles clashed against the warmth from JJ’s feet. Opening a cabinet that was leveled to the floor, JJ crouched and looked at the different wines she had in her collection.
“Whatcha getting?” Elle asked loudly.
“Some wine, because why not,” JJ said as she was deciding on which bottle to choose.
“Oh.”
JJ came back to the fort, where Elle sat at the entrance, with a twist-off red Bordeaux wine bottle and two wine glasses in her hands. The blonde handed one of the wine glasses to the brunette and twisted off the closure of the glass bottle, filling both eh glasses halfway with the aged wine.
Both laid on their backs, drank wine, and talked the evening away. From arguing about who would win the next Super Bowl to debating their interpretation of Plato's Republic, the two friends started to reminisce about the journey that took them to where they are now.
“Hey… Remember our college graduation trip down the California coast?” Elle asked. JJ thought for a few seconds. A smile appeared on her warm ivory face.
“Yeah… I do.” A soft smile appeared on the blonde’s face as she started to remember the fond memory.
The blue fire crackled as Elle added a few pieces of salty driftwood to make the bonfire warmer. The brunette went back to sit on the large colorful towel next to her best friend.
“Can’t believe we graduated college,” JJ said as she stared at the night sky. Elle nodded in agreement. “Now we can start our lives. Who knows what will bring.” The blonde rested her head onto the brunette’s shoulder, taking in the scenery of the multiple constellations shining in the night sky.
“Hey, Elle… do you think we’re still gonna be friends? After we go our separate ways?”
“I know we will,” Elle responded.
“You better stay in touch.” JJ playfully punched Elle’s ribs. Elle laughed from the weak punch.
“Don’t worry,” Elle looked at JJ. “I don’t plan on going off the grid anytime soon.” The blonde huffed in annoyance. Elle chuckled lightheartedly. After a while, the crashing of the ocean waves filled the air as the two recent college graduates stargazed for the rest of the night.
“Oh! How about the time you helped me get through a breakup with that New Orleans guy?”
“I remember that,” Elle sighed. “Thank God you’re not in that relationship anymore.”
The blonde cried into the shoulder of her best friend as she hugged the brunette. Elle rubbed circles on JJ’s back to calm her down. The three-year relationship that made JJ so happy now made her so heartbroken.
Elle tried to comfort her friend during the breakup for the past six weeks. She wanted JJ to know that she was more deserving of someone who would treat her better. No more wasting time and tears over someone who did not care about her in the first place.
“JJ, you’re better off without him. Better yet, you deserve better.” Elle said. The blonde sniffled and wiped her tears away. Elle smiled as her friend sat up straight. JJ slowly realized there were other people in the world, and she was more deserving of someone who would treat her better.
“You know what?” JJ said as she looked at Elle. “You are right. I can’t sit and mope around, waiting for something to happen. I need to take charge and show who is boss.”
“You mean girlboss?” Elle asked, with a smirk on her face. JJ laughed.
“Yeah… girlboss.”
“Thanks to you, Elle. I am happy to be single for a year and a half.” JJ said while holding up her wine glass, pretending to take a toast. Elle laughed at her little gesture.
Feeling slightly chilly, JJ pulled her blanket closer to her body, her fingers feeling the softness of the fabric.
“Remember the Christmas that we spent together?: JJ asked.
“Yeah.” Elle felt amused as the soft blue blanket in her hand was reminiscent of the time they spent the holidays together.
“And you gave me this blanket. The best present anyone could have given me.” JJ stated. Elle lifted one of her eyebrows.
“Really?” Elle asked, with a hint of joy in her voice. JJ nodded.
After a while, having a conversation tired their voices. Instead, they sat in silence comfortably. JJ turned her head to face Elle, who had her eyes closed. The blonde took this time to take in the beautiful sight in front of her.
The soft golden glow from the candles highlighted Elle’s olive-toned skin. Her chocolate brown locks perfectly framed her face. The fringe of her bangs fell into her equally beautiful deep amber eyes. She looked good in the grey sweatshirt that she borrowed that evening. JJ’s heart beat faster the more she stared at the beautiful brunette next to her. As far as she knew, Jennifer Jareau was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Elle Greenaway.
The brunette opened her eyes, as she felt like someone was watching her.
“Hey,” JJ said.
“Hey,” Elle replied.
“Had a nice nap?”
“Ha- very funny, Jareau.” Elle playfully slapped the blonde’s shoulder. A few seconds of silence went by before JJ posed a question.
“Wanna play 21 questions?” JJ asked.
“We already know each other, silly.”
“It’s just for fun. What else can we do when the power is out?”
“True. You ask the first question,” Elle said. And so, JJ asked the first question. A simple one. What would your dream house look like? Elle chuckled, knowing that her friend already knew the answer, and responded. This went back and forth between the two women. Until they hit the last number. 21.
JJ took a deep breath and exhaled in nervousness, as it was her turn for the final question.
“What do you wish for in life?”
Elle paused. The silent wait fueled JJ’s anxiety.
“I just want a girl who loves me. The authentic me,” Elle said. The brunette turned her head to face the blonde, who was nervously biting her lips. “And to live with her in an apartment in a city, with a few plants and maybe a cat.”
JJ looked at Elle with loving eyes. To her, she never met the most genuine person in her life. All their late-night adventures, silly arguments, and untold secrets. Led up to this moment. The one that could change the course of their tight friendship.
“I have something to tell you.” JJ said.
“Oooh… Are you about to profess your undying love for me?” Elle joked.
“Yes, I am.”
“.....What?”
“I love you, Elle Greenaway.” Elle looked like a deer in headlights. Her soft pink lips slightly parted as she gasped under her breath. After being in love with her best friend for so long, Elle’s feelings finally got reciprocated.
“I love you too, Jennifer Jareau.” J
oy and relief showed on JJ’s face. For once in her life, she felt sure about what she was doing. And this was something she wanted to last for a lifetime.
Elle lightly brushed some hair out of JJ’s eyes.
“I could stay here forever.” Elle said, softly caressing JJ’s cheek. Slowly, Elle brought her face close to JJ, their noses touching. Her lips softly grazed against JJ’s own in anticipation to what to happen next.
Feelings bit impatient, JJ closed the gap between herself and Elle, gently kissing and savoring their moment in time. After a few seconds, the two women parted, slightly out of breath. Closing her eyes, Elle placed her head on JJ’s left shoulder, a small smile appearing on the taller woman’s face. JJ wrapped her arms around Elle’s body, feeling the warmth engulf her. Both slowly drifted into sound sleep, filled with dreams of what was to come next for their relationship.
i wonder if he knows he's all i think about at night
summary: spencer pinning after derek, even though derek is in love with penelope
pairing: spencer reid x derek morgan (moreid)
word count: 917
a/n: all credits to Teardrops On My Guitar belong to Taylor Swift
☆。*。☆。
A particular set of dark brown eyes looked at him from across the bullpen. Bright and full of joy and mischievousness. Matched with a contagious smile. One of the many reasons why Spencer loved his best friend. The well-built man walked over to Spencer with two coffee mugs in hand. Derek handed the scrawny man his favorite Star Trek mug. Coffee with lots of milk and sugar. Just how he liked it. Spencer thanked him, with a small smile tugging on his face.
“No problem, pretty boy.” Derek said. Spencer’s heart stopped for a second and a light flushed appeared on his cheeks when Derek called him that. Pretty boy. The curly-haired man never got called nicknames until he met Derek Morgan. Every time he got called a nickname by Derek, Spencer fumbled over his words and became shyer around the one he yearned for. He tried. The young man tried to become more confident and lessen his mumbling of words. But how could he? When that’s how he naturally acted around the man he loved.
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing
Everything that we should be
Spencer wondered why. Why did he feel this way for his best friend? I’m mad at you. For making fall for you. I’m mad at myself. Why did I let myself fall for you? These thoughts intruded the young man. So much so, he laid in his bed, wide awake at 3 AM. Every waking moment, his heart aches for Derek to be in his arms. To be his.
Whenever Spencer started to infodump on a topic, Derek would stay and listen. And that made the young man seen and heard, and made him fall even more with his best friend. From his infectious smile to his wise-crack jokes, Spencer felt lucky to call Derek his best friend. But, he felt unlucky to fall for him. Because Derek Morgan being in love with someone else. The one and only Penelope Garcia.
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without
The mousy-haired man listened to Derek talk about his baby girl. His god-given solace. Every day Spencer felt his heart chip away, piece by piece, and all he could do was be a supportive friend. A friend who fell in love with his friend who didn’t see what was right in front of him. Pinning after a man who himself was pinning after a girl. Silly, wasn’t it? But how can Spencer stop loving him, when his heart made him fall more for him.
Drew talks to me
I laugh 'cause it's so damn funny
That I can't even see
Anyone when he's with me
Penelope came over to the two men and rewarded them with bear hugs. Spencer noticed that the hug between Derek and Penelope was a bit longer than usual. His smile may say one thing, but his sad brown eyes said something less. Why not me? Spencer sighed and walked away from the “couple” and prepared himself for the morning briefing.
Spencer sat across from Derek at the round table. He tried to pay attention to the case but his eyes always wandered to the man in front of him. A few minutes went by and Spencer was snapped out of his daze by JJ calling for his name.
“Spencer, you okay?” JJ asked. Spencer mumbled over his words in embarrassment.
“Yeah- uh… I’m fine. Totally okay.” the young man kicked himself mentally for almost giving himself away. After Hotch said “Wheels up in 20”, everyone dispersed from the room to get ready for the flight. The only one left was Spencer. He sighed and thought about Derek. He wanted to push the thoughts out of his brain to focus on the case. But how can he when the memories still were all in his head, in burning red.
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car
I keep singing, don't know why I do…
He was in love with his best friend for years and not once did Spencer tell Derek how he felt about him. Secrets shouldn’t exist in friendships. But the young man was afraid of rejection. Fear. Abandonment. He did not want to lose a friend. Spencer’s heart deeply hurt as he could not bring himself to say the words. I love you, Derek. Forever and always. But moving on from him was impossible.
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
Even though they were both profilers, Spencer wore his best fake smile, to hide his love and hurt he had for his friend. Soon, the young FBI agent has to learn to let go of his feelings for Derek Morgan. The Stark Trek coffee mug was left on the wooden table. Standing up from his chair, the young man walked out of the briefing room, readying himself for the case. Spencer took his jacket, go bag, and leather crossbody bag from his desk. He walked out of the BAU’s glass doors, heading for the car to be taken to the airway strip. He mulled over the case details in order to forget the one who intruded his mind.
Aaron Hotchner could be found sound asleep in his king-sized bed. Half the blanket was off the bed and one of the pillows was on the floor. The early morning rays created a soft golden filter on his skin. With his eyes closed, hair sprung all over the place, the older Hotchner looked young and innocent, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Agile footsteps could be heard from down the hall. The sound got louder as the person in question approached the bedroom door. The door creaked as it slowly opened and a young child entered the room. The young boy ran up to the bed and jumped onto his father, disturbing his peaceful sleep.
“Daddy! Today is the day!” Jack said. Aaron rubbed his face to get rid of the Sandman’s golden dust.
“Yeah. It is, buddy. Ready to spend the day with fun?” Aaron asked his son. Jack nodded gleefully. The little boy slid off the bed and grabbed his father’s large hand, tugging him in an attempt to get a head start on the day. Aaron chuckled at his son’s enthusiasm and slowly crawled out of bed. He picked his six-year-old son, Jack making airplane sounds, and speed-walked to the bathroom to get ready.
Both the Hotchners got ready, ate breakfast, and head for the apartment complex garage. Aaron strapped Jack into his car seat, closed the door, and got into the driver seat. He put in the address for a zoo in Washington, DC.
“Ready, kiddo?” Aaron asked as he looked at the rearview mirror to see Jack. The little boy smiled and nodded his head in excitement. Aaron smiled softly and proceeded to start their journey. Driving for an hour, the Hotchners have arrived at their destination. The Small Mammal House.
Aaron got Jack out of the car and they both head toward the entrance to start their father-son day. The brunet man picked up a paper-made map and opened it while taking a seat at a bench. Jack peered over his father’s hairy arm, trying to understand the map. The boy pointed his finger at a random exhibit.
“You want to see the Southern two-toed sloths first?” Aaron asked his son. Jack nodded in agreement. Smiling for a brief second, the brunette folded and carefully put the map in his back jean pocket. Taking his son’s hand, Aaron led the way to the sloth exhibit. Once arrived, Jack broke the hold his father had on his hand and walked briskly toward the sloths.
“Wow.” Jack stared at the slow movements of the sloths. Aaron stood a little behind his son, trusting Jack that he wouldn’t runoff. Jack tugged on his father’s arm to read the palate that held information about sloths. Aaron read off the long paragraph to Jack, who’s soaking up the new information like a sponge. Getting bored with the sloths, Jack told his father he wanted to see something else.
“Where do you want to go next, bud?” Aaron asked his son.
“Skunks.” Jack said. Aaron blinked at his son in astonishment.
“You… want to see the skunks?” Aaron asked. The little blonde boy nodded his head “yes”, establishing their next destination.
“Alright then.” Aaron picked up his son and made his way over to the skunk exhibit. Once they arrived, Jack squealed in happiness as he saw the skunks roaming around their secured environment. As he placed the young boy on the ground, Aaron thought for himself about why Jack liked skunks. Why does he like skunks now? What is it about them? The brunette man shook his head in acceptance that his little man liked skunks.
Jack watched the skunks playing around their home. Then, all of a sudden, one of the skunks got spooked by the other and sprayed its repulsive scent. The young blonde boy laughed at the scene while everyone else covered their noses from the stench. Covering his nose from the accident, Aaron picked his son up and walked out of the exhibit. He did not want to wash Jack after the skunk incident.
“Daddy. The skunk farted.” Jack said while giggling.
“Yes, it did. Now, I hope you don’t stink too bad.” Both Aaron and Jack laughed at the little mishap of the day. For the rest of their day together, both the Hotchners went around to the different exhibits. There were a plethora of mammals: Black-footed ferrets, Dwarf mongooses, Screaming hairy armadillos, to name a few. As a break, both the Hotchner boys went to their favorite diner in the city. They sent some time there before heading back to the miniature zoo that belonged to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Both the Hotchners arrived at the red panda exhibit. Jack ran up to the exhibit and placed his hands against the glass window. The young blonde boy stared in awe at the furry creature, who was sleeping on the large tree branch.
“That’s you when you’re sleeping, Jack.” Aaron said. Jack gasped and made an attempt at an angry face. The brunet man chuckled at his son’s actions and both watched the second red panda in the enclosure playing with its toys.
It was nearing evening and Jack Hotchner yawned, signifying he got tired from exploring the different animals.
“You tired, Jack?” Aaron asked. The young blonde nodded his head tiredly. The brunet man picked up his son, carrying him in his arms. Jack snuggled his face into his father’s neck, letting his warmth comfort him. Aaron smiled at his tired son.
A young man gently stroked the ivory keys of the baby grand piano. It was a somber day for the young Doctor Spencer Reid. Four months had passed since that fateful day. The day that Derek Morgan told Spencer they can not be together anymore. It left the young man heartbroken. Tears slowly dripped down his soft pale skin, his skinny fingers shook from crying as he played a sad melodic song.
Where did it go all wrong? Did he just didn’t love him anymore? The dark pain ate away Spencer’s heart as the days went by, the familiar feeling settled in, making its home in his mind. He experienced this before, but not at the magnitude that he was feeling at the moment. It almost felt unbearable. Everything reminded the young mousy-haired man of his previous lover. The baseball from the game they won against the Marines. The giant stuffed teddy bear Derek won for Spencer at a carnival. The framed picture of them together on Clooney’s birthday. Oh, how Spencer wished he could take a ride on the TARDIS and go back in time. To when they were happily in love, in their own world.
Derek Morgan was the best thing to ever happen to Spencer. The young man never felt more loved in his life when their relationship was still alive. Five years of being in love. All of the trips, memories, nicknames. Gone. Into the dust.
Tears fell hard and splattered across the ivory piano keys. Spencer did not care. No thoughts formed in the man’s mind except for memories of Derek Morgan. Reliving through these memories from his eidetic memory was the only way Spencer could get serotonin.
Spencer had woken up to kisses being peppered onto his face. Turning around while being half-asleep, the curly-haired man smiled at his handsome boyfriend.
“Happy birthday, pretty boy.” Derek said in his deep morning voice. Spencer smiled and snuggled into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck.
“Thank you, Der.” Derek placed a kiss on Spencer’s forehead and unwrapped his arms from the smaller man’s waist. The birthday boy pouted, wanting to stay in bed with the love of his life.
“I’ve to get your gift. Wait for a sec.” Derek left the master bedroom to get the present and make coffee the way his partner likes. Fifteen minutes passed by and Derek had returned. With a perfectly wrapped present and a cup of coffee.
Sitting more upright, Spencer took the mug from his lover’s hand and thanked him. The purple mug warmed up the young man’s cold hands. Derek nervously placed the gift on Spencer’s lap.
“What’s this?” Spencer asked. The present was expertly wrapped. Purple paper adorned with golden leaves and vines. A gold ribbon tied around, bringing the look together.
“Open it.” Derek said. Spencer neatly took off the ribbon and the decorative paper. Inside was a book. 18th Russian literature novel. Bednaya Liza by Nikolay Karamzin. Original edition and in Russian. Small tears formed in Spencer’s burnt sienna eyes.
“Thank you, Derek. I love you.”
“I love you too, Spence.”
That day was Spencer’s happiest moment of his life. He felt so happy and full of love. That day was all about Spencer Reid and Derek showered his former boyfriend all the love he deserved.
Finished playing the song, Spencer got up from sitting on the piano bench for too long. He dragged his legs towards his bedroom, where he would wallow for the rest of the day. He went into the built-in bathroom and turned on the shower. Long warm showers were good for the over-thinker. Struggling to take off his dark green button down shirt, Spencer angrily unbuttoned the shirt and threw it across the bathroom. He stood underneath the shower head for the next forty-five minutes, letting the water wet his long curly hair and soothe his aching muscles. He turned off the knob once he had enough, grabbed his towel, and went out to dry himself.
Only in a white loose-fitted tee shirt and grey sweatpants, the curly-hair boy flopped onto his messily made bed and curled up into a fetal position. Memories hadn’t subsided and took over Spencer’s mind. As time passed by, the heartbroken boy was left to cry and fall asleep to the only man who ever loved him.
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