in the interlude
emily prentiss x fem!reader | 1.4k words
happy flufftober everyone!! this totally became something i didn't expect. thank u blue for the amazing prompt <3
summary: in a freezing cold hotel room, emily helps you warm up.
content: @emilys-bangs flufftober day 5-6 — blanket. sharing a bed. lots of teasing. reader like compliments (described as pretty/beautiful). soft!emily. kissing! fluff.
Emily shuffles in the dark, the springs in her bed squeaking as she stands. The only light in the room emits from the small portable heater between your beds (the hotels abysmal offering in an attempt to stop you from declaring the room inhabitable) and too far away to light up her face.
You frown into the darkness. A shiver running through your body as your teeth continue to chatter obnoxiously. “What are you doing?” You whisper, burying your chin further into the duvet in an attempt to warm up and then immediately regretting it as you’re hit with the thick musty scent that clings heavily to everything in the room.
You cough, eyes watering. “Get back into bed you mad woman.”
You were beginning to consider contacting Garcia to see if she could find you somewhere else to sleep, but that would mean exposing yourself to the harsh air of the awful hotel room (and yes while you had faced down multiple serial killers and run into burning buildings — the cold was proving to be your downfall). You glare at the sputtering heater and it’s piss-poor attempt of providing any warmth to the space.
You were going to wake up with frostbite.
Or worse you weren’t going to wake-up at all.
“Here.” Emily murmurs, draping the heavy blanket from her bed over you. “You take it.”
Your eyes widen as you try to spot her face in the dark. “What?” You squawk. “No! You'll freeze!”
“It's okay.” She says softly, “I'm not that cold. And you clearly need it more than me.”
“No. Not happening.” You shake your head stubbornly, sitting upright, goosebumps erupting over your skin as they're exposed to the chilly air. You blindly reach for her hand and aren't surprised when you come into contact with icy fingertips.
“Emily,” You sigh.
She tugs her hand from your grip. “I'm fine.”
You hold back an eye roll.
“You're incredibly chivalrous, but if you're not going to take it back then you're going to have to get in here with me.”
“What?” She questions, dumbfounded.
“You heard me.” You smirk, scooting up the bed to make room for her. You peel back the covers, “Get in, quick. It's cold.”
“I'm not—”
“Em, In. Now.” You snap, curtly as a shiver courses through your body.
She grumbles but does as she's told, sliding under the covers with a sigh.
You shuffle down, automatically burrowing towards the warmth and incidentally towards her. A nervous smile lights up your face as you lie on your side and her delicate features are finally revealed to you. You've never been this close to her before, able to track each individual eyelash and it makes your stomach flutter.
“Hi.” You whisper.
“Hello.” Emily responds, her eyes twinkling as her chapped lips spread into a soft smile.
You beam. Biting your lip to stop yourself before it spreads into something ridiculously cheesy. Something that you were pretending so wasn't a problem right now.
“Now that wasn't so difficult was it.” You tease.
She rolls her eyes, “Someone had to do something to stop your incessant teeth chattering.”
“Excuse me for being cold.” You huff, poking her playfully in the chest beneath the warming covers.
“You're just always so dramatic about it.” She jokes. Her hand catches yours before you can take it back, her brows drawing together. Your heart flutters, as you track her delicate features: the crease of her brow, her open mouth and slightly chapped lips—
"Are you any warmer?" She asks.
You sigh, pushing through your haze. "A little." Your body felt warmer, the body heat Emily was emitting helping much more than the blanket, but your hands and feet were still hanging a bit behind.
"Good." She breathes, her cool fingers rubbing against yours and trying to return heat to the digits.
Your breath stutters. "Sure, this wasn't some gigantic ploy to warm yourself up?" You enclose your other hand over hers, trapping it between yours and rubbing gently to help return warmth to her fingers.
Her brows crinkle, clearly unimpressed and not entirely sure how she'd become the recipient in this scenario. Still, she doesn't pull away which you're grateful for. Instead, watching attentively as your hands heat hers.
The wind howls outside, loud and wrathful, but you pay it no mind. The cold that had been all-consuming moments before, now becoming a distant memory as you warm your hands together. You spare a thought to the fact your hands look good intertwined together before you mentally hit yourself.
Ridiculous.
You chance a glance at Emily’s face. Her gaze hasn’t left your hands, a thoughtfulness in her brows, that you ache to kiss away.
She must feel your gaze because she reluctantly lifts her head. Her eyes shine for just a second and then she blinks and it’s gone. So quickly you aren’t sure what it means.
An easy smile takes over her face, "What were we— right." She clears her throat. "Ploy. No. You're great, but I was thinking it was either this or shipping you off to sleep with Reid. And that felt unfair to both of you."
"You think I'm great?" You grin, tongue jutting out between your teeth. And then frowning when her other words process, "Wait—"
She chuckles, her eyes lighting up. "You're unbelievable."
"Can’t a girl enjoy a compliment." You huff.
"Hm.” She muses, her head shifting on the pillow. “I think you're great. And funny. And incredibly smart—"
Humour coats her every word. She's teasing. Trying to rile you up and it was working just not in the way she wanted.
"Emily," You shake your head, your smile fading away.
"—You're thoughtful and kind. Even when you shouldn't be.” Her voice turns soft, her eyes dancing over your features. “You have the prettiest eyes I think I've ever seen. You're beautiful—"
You struggle to remember how to breath, your body reacting even as you try to keep your composure. "Stop,"
"—Incredibly beautiful. Distractingly beautiful. Make it difficult for me to do my job sort of beautiful." She whispers, trapping you with her deep stare.
Your eyes scan her face as your mouth opens and closes. The joke was over, this was too soft, too intimate. Too close to the the part of yourself that you’ve spent years ignoring.
You blink, tears ghosting your eyes as you fear giving in. "You don't mean that."
She sighs, her eyes not leaving yours as she responds, "I really do."
"Emily," You utter in disbelief, bringing yourself closer to her. Her hand lands on your waist, stroking gently and sending prickles of electricity firing through your body. You stare at her stunning coffee brown eyes, tears in your own, as her warm breath hits your lips.
You gently cup her cheek, caressing the soft skin, eyes widening in disbelief as her breath falters.
“I…” You murmur, heart pounding. Unsure what to say.
Her fingers squeeze on your waist, pulling you closer and finally closing the distance. Your lips colliding in soft, delicate kisses. You clutch at her, pulling her tighter to you. Something between a sob and a sigh escaping your lips.
“Emily,” You exhale, pulling away when breathing becomes necessary.
She smiles. Her hands cupping your face and soft eyes taking note of your kiss-stained lips before she dips her head and begins peppering kisses all over your face — your cheeks, the tip of your nose, your forehead, even your eyebrows — as you giggle loudly in surprise.
You catch her before she can draw back, kissing her lips through a smile.
“You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” You whisper.
Emily’s brows lift, “No I’m pretty sure you have that one covered too.”
She caresses your cheek gently and you lean into the pressure, placing a soft kiss against her palm. “Well, we’ll need to come to some sort of agreement.”
Her eyes twinkle. “Hm,” She dips her head, kissing you again. “How do you plan we do that?”
“I was thinking we start with a lot more kissing and go from there.” You whisper, your eyes not leaving her lips.
She kisses you again, her breath hot and making your toes curls. “And this will help us how?”
“I’m not sure but it’s a good starting point. Right?” You mumble, drawing her back to your mouth for another tender kiss.
“Definitely.” She hums, her mouth meeting yours again.
Definitely.
