Three Years - Emily Prentiss
Criminal Minds Masterlist
Summary : Three times Emily flirts with you but you don't notice and one time you do.
Warnings : alcohol consumption (please, be careful with your alcohol consumption), being embarrassed, fluff, happy ending, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.
Word count : 3.6k
French version
Request : made by @mrsines here's the link to the request. Thank you for your request, I loved writing it and sorry for taking so long to write it. Promise, I will be writing your other requests very soon. In the meantime, I hope you'll like this one 🫶
Your arms are holding a box filled with your personal belongings while there is a bag on both of your shoulders; all of this weight is starting to be heavy, you don’t pay attention to it, though. You stare at your reflection in the mirror of the elevator very closely. Today is your first day at the BAU and you have to make a good impression.
You struggle to smooth your blouse and then, you check your make up. Your inspection stops when you hear a ding and the elevator doors opening. A woman with black hair and bangs comes in and stands next to you. You stay silent at first, quickly admiring her beauty while she greets you and presses the button of a floor, you don’t notice she is going to the same one as you. You stop staring at her, not wanting to embarrass her. Discreetly, you keep checking your reflection while the bag on your left shoulder slowly falls. You try to move as a way to keep it in place but it just quickens its fall and it finds its way on the crook on your arm. You sigh loudly, accepting your fate.
“I’ll help you,” the woman says with sympathy, putting your bag back on your shoulder.
“Thank you,” you smile.
You look away, however the woman keeps her eyes on you. She admires every inch of your skin, on top of your beauty, she sees your nervousness. She also perceives your annoyance as soon as you realize your necklace is not sitting correctly on your neck, the clasp is in front of it, instead of behind your neck. Full of hope, you try to hold your box on one hand, yet the second you feel it titling, you quickly bring back your hand in its initial place to stabilize it. Noticing your distress, the woman catches your attention.
“May I?” she asks, pointing at your neck.
“Yes, please.”
You gaze at her fingers getting closer to you and delicately, she turns your chain. You hold back your breath until the clasp is in its rightful place. Gazing up, you notice how close her face is to yours, her eyes looking deeply in yours. You can make out her floral perfume, making her even prettier. You clear your throat, trying not to show the effect she has on you before talking.
“Thank you very much, you’re a lifesaver!”
“Don’t mention it. You seem stressed,” she remarks without a trace of judgment.
“It’s my first day and I want to make sure I’m perfect.”
“You are,” she genuinely affirms. “Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be alright.”
“We’ll see.”
The ding can be heard again, indicating you’ve reached the correct floor. You sigh in relief, happy to get rid of all of this weight from your body. The woman lets you walk out first and you thank her. You’re about to walk through the glass doors, but turn around to the woman to ask her a question.
“Could you show me where Agent Hotchner’s office is, please?”
“Sure. Wait,” she adds, understanding who you are, “you’re the new profiler?”
“That’s me, yeah,” you confirm with joy while your right shoulder is hurting you.
“I’m Emily Prentiss, nice to meet you. Come with me,” she tells you, taking the box from your hands which you’re grateful for. “You’ll see, the team is nice, there’s a good atmosphere. You’ll fit right in, I’m sure. You can put your stuff on my desk in the meantime, you’ll feel lighter.”
Once you’re rid of your bags and your box, you keep following Emily until you read on a door with a plaque with the inscription ‘A. Hotchner’ on it. Automatically, you smooth your blouse.
“Your outfit is perfect, don’t worry,” Emily repeats, hoping to ease your nerves.
“I hope, I spent a whole hour to find the right one,” you explain, laughing nervously. “I want to be taken seriously.”
“And you will. Hotch might look stern but he isn’t,” she informs you. “See you later, Y/N. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
Emily gives a crooked smile and leaves you at the door. You knock and wait for Hotch to allow you in. From her desk, Emily gazes at you and she can’t help but be excited to work with you and discover who you truly are. She hopes that once you’re more at ease, you’ll pay more attention to her flirty looks.
Mics in hands, JJ and Penelope are singing … Baby One More Time by Britney Spears while the lyrics are rolling on the screen in front of them and also on the ones on both sides of the makeshift stage. You stare at them performing and chuckle, the alcohol they drank clearly influencing their singing skills. You shout encouragement and Penelope points at you with a big smile while she sings, or rather screams, “when I’m not with you, I lose you my mind.” A bartender comes to your table and sets a sex on the beach in front of you, interrupting your entertainment.
“I didn’t order anything,” you state, frowning.
“Someone is offering you a drink.”
“Who?” you sigh, expecting he’ll be showing a random man who only wants to hit on you.
“Her,” he replies, pointing at Emily who is sitting in one of the barstools.
“Oh,” you say, surprised yet reassured, “very well, thank you.”
You jokingly roll your eyes while Emily gets closer to you, a cocky expression on her face. She sits next to you and leans at the same time, you're mixing your drink with your straw.
“For a second, I thought it was one of those lame guys who wanted to flirt with me,” you laugh.
“It’s only me,” she affirms with eyes full of innuendos which go over your head.
“You know you don’t have to offer me a drink, right? I can pay for a round.”
“I just wanted to do it,” Emily admits, hoping you’ll understand her flirty attitude.
“Anyway, you didn’t have to do it like that,” you insist, taking a sip of your drink.
“It was worth it, the smile that was on your face when you understood it was from me was pretty.”
“You know,” you start, not paying attention to her compliment, “I’m glad I agreed on coming tonight when you asked me.”
“I’m glad you agreed, too, after all these months of asking,” she says before adding with a tone that’s supposed to be light, “and also that you told JJ and Penelope about it, clearly they need to relax as well.”
In truth, Emily thought this night out would be a one-on-one moment, nevertheless she wasn’t explicit enough apparently when she asked you out for a drink. As soon as you accepted, you turned to your two colleagues and asked them if they were also coming to which they said ‘yes’ in a heartbeat. Penelope is always willing to hang after work and JJ needs a break from cases and her personal life.
“Actually, you might need it more than the rest of us,” Emily adds, “You work too much and coming from me, it says a lot! You’re a real workaholic.”
“I know, I’m working on it, ironically,” you joke, realizing your improvised pun. “Anyway, you’ve all helped me to let go more often. I’m so happy I got into this team, particularly with you,” you specify, making Emily’s heart miss a beat, “you’re a really good friend.”
Upon hearing those words leaving your mouth, Emily feels her soul leaving her body. She had hoped the drink and the way she’s leaning toward you would make you understand she is flirting with you, but it seems like you still haven’t figured it out.
At first, she thought you weren’t being reactive to her flirty comments because you were in a professional context, that’s why she bet everything on tonight the minute you finally said yes to her, and yet, it wasn’t enough.
“That, I am!” she states, hiding her pain with a pinched smile. “You like what I ordered you?” Emily asks as she sees you drinking again.
“I love it, you made the right choice.”
Emily is about to add something when Penelope interrupts your moment by joining you.
“Stop looking at each other with puppy-dog eyes and come with us!”
Without giving you the time to protest, Penelope takes your hands and forces you to leave your chairs. She drags you both to the stage where JJ has already found the song you’re about to sing. The bar employee gives you the last mic, you have to share it with Emily, while the first note of Dancing Queen by Abba begins.
You need some time before humming the lyrics, as for JJ and Penelope they are focusing on every single word. Emily takes your hand and forces you to look at her while singing, the mic between your faces. Your eyes gazing deeply in hers, you find the courage to sing more loudly, Emily encouraging you by making you dance.
Emily makes the most of this improvised karaoke to get closer to you, however as every time she makes advances, it goes over your head. Regardless, Emily won’t give up yet, she needs to be more direct, that’s all. One day, you’ll finally notice she wants to be more than just a ‘really good friend.’
You violently drop your pen on your desk and shake your hand as a way to ease the pain. You sigh and throw your head back. You wish you could rub your eyes who are stinging but your make up stops you from doing it so you just massage your temples. You can’t see the end of this paperwork. It really is the part of the job you hate the most! You’ve been focused on this file for so long you can’t even read yourself anymore. You have to correct several mistakes and you struggle to find the right way to form your sentences. You need at least ten seconds to figure out how to write it.
Bringing your head back again, you see Emily at her desk, yawning, instinctively you do the same.
“It’s almost been three years since I've been here and I’ll never get used to it. This paperwork will kill me,” you complain.
“Tell me about it! I only want to jump in my bed and snuggle with Sergio.”
“Same.”
“We should stop for tonight, it’s getting late,” Emily states, glancing at her watch.
“If I don’t finish it now, I won’t be able to do it later,” you reply as she begins to put her stuff away.
“If you want to give a file full of mistakes, be my guest, but I’m telling you, we should stop.”
You mentally weigh the pros and the cons while Emily stands up from her chair, you glance one last time at the sheet in front of you then close the file.
“You’re right.”
“I’m always right. This is what we’ll do,” Emily continues walking to your desk. “We go home and we rest like we deserve and tomorrow night, you come to my place to eat. Promise, I’ll order food.”
“Yes, that’s better, I wouldn’t want to die,” you joke, putting your belongings in your bag. “Although,” you resume after thinking, “that’d prevent me from finishing this file and you’ll be charged with murder and so you wouldn’t have to do paperwork anymore. On second thought, you should cook, it’d solve all of our problems.”
“I’d like it if I could avoid your death, especially if I’m the cause of it,” Emily retorts, laughing. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without you,” she adds, looking deeply in your eyes.
“You managed just fine before me,” you say, avoiding her eyes, overwhelmed by your proximity.
“Yeah, but it’s different now. Anyway, you come to my place tomorrow night and like this, our brains will be rested and we will be able to work on the file correctly.”
“Works for me,” you smile.
The following day, you go to Emily’s apartment, a bottle of red wine in hand. As soon as she opens the door, you find her beautifully dressed. She is wearing a black loose-fitting shirt and pants, her hair is curled — though you like all of her hairstyles, this one is your favorite — and her make up is natural nevertheless it still makes her face even more breathtaking. You forget how to respire for a second, not expecting to find an Emily this stunning.
“You…” you start, clearing your throat, “you’re beautiful.”
“So are you.”
“You’re kidding, right? I put on the first pieces of clothing I found.”
“I still stand by what I said,” she insists before stepping aside. “Come in. I ordered Chinese food, it should be here anytime now.”
“Perfect. I've brought this,” you say, giving her the bottle.
“You didn’t have to! I’m gonna open it. Go sit on the couch.”
Emily walks in her kitchen to grab a corkscrew. She opens the bottle and pours two glasses before going to find you in the living-room, a big smile on her face, thinking about the night you’re about to spend together. Though, her smile vanishes the second she sees the file from yesterday on the coffee table.
“Do you want to work before or after eating ? I only have a few things left to write,” you inform her.
“Oh, huh… I’m almost done, too.”
“We’ll do that after eating, then.”
“Works for me,” Emily states, pretending to not be disappointed.
You thank Emily when she hands you the glass of wine. You take a sip and so does she. Emily is disconcerted. She thought you understood she simply wanted to eat with you, one-on-one. She hadn’t planned to work while you were there. Clearly, she should have been more direct.
Fortunately, during the meal, you don’t talk about work, though the file watches you eat from the coffee table. Emily enjoys learning a bit more about you and the few times you return the questions, she avoids the subject. You quickly understand she does not like to talk about her life before the BAU so you don’t insist.
While you’re eating noodles, you struggle to bring a portion to your mouth, lightly staining your face. Emily chuckles as she watches you moving your head to swallow the rebellious noodles.
“I have it all over my face, don’t I?”
“A bit,” she replies, mocking you nicely. “Wait,” Emily adds before taking a napkin.
She gets closer to you, her knee touching yours. Her left hand delicately grabs your chin to make sure you don’t move while her right hand approaches the corner of your mouth. After Emily wiped everything, she does not back off. You gaze at each other, time standing still, and slowly, your faces get closer. Her lips are only a few inches away from yours when your phone rings, indicating a new text. Instinctively, you back off and grab your phone on the coffee table. Emily, as for her, is cursing whoever dared to interrupt your moment. Sure, you didn’t understand this was more than a random dinner between two colleagues, but she managed to sort it out; until a few seconds ago.
Upon opening your texts, you discover it’s from Penelope. She sent you a picture of a saucer she crocheted with a message.
Message from Penelope to you, 9:50 P.M.:
[1 picture]
Look at this beauty I just finished! I’m gonna crochet one for you, too!! Xx ❤️
“Look at what Penelope made,” you tell her, showing her the picture.
“Very cute. It’s going to go perfectly with her cups,” Emily exclaims, trying to seem interested.
“It will!” you reply, writing back to Penelope. “Anyway, we should work now,” you resume, grabbing the file, “it’s almost ten.”
“You’re right, I’m gonna go grab mine.”
With an awkward expression on her face, Emily stands up from the couch and goes to search for her work which is on the kitchen table. This moment definitely did not go as planned. Emily is getting desperate. She doesn't know how to flirt with you. Either, you don’t see her making moves or you’re too polite to turn her down. Yet, she’s sure you have a special bond, however maybe it’s only from her side…
The following months, Emily preferred to flirt less with you, undoubtedly, it’s not working so she has to understand what it means. Therefore, she keeps talking to you, but she stops implying things you’ll never catch.
During one of the rare afternoons you have free, you ask Emily to go drink a coffee and go to a park which she accepted with joy. For once, you’re the one who is making plans! That is how you find yourselves sitting on a bench under a tree with a take-away cup in your hands. As usual, Emily hangs on your every word, half of her body turned toward you. Without realizing, you both started talking about your past relationships.
“My ex didn’t understand why I was working so hard,” you explain to her. “It was one of the main reasons why we used to argue. I mean, I’m not going to pretend I’m all innocent. I know I should have done better and found the right balance between my work life and my personal one, but she didn’t even try to understand me.”
“Now, it’s easier to find this balance, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is, mostly thanks to you!”
“Which is ironic considering I’m like you,” Emily giggles.
“Seems like we needed to meet so we could understand how to do it. Anyway, it wasn’t the only thing,” you resume, sighing. “We broke up because we were together out of habit, not out of love. We stopped going on dates, gifting each other random things. There wasn’t only one problem.”
“You deserve better, someone who will give you the attention you need, who understands you,” Emily affirms with a determined expression on her face. “You know, I would never do what she did. If I was lucky enough to be your girlfriend, I wouldn’t let you slip through my fingers, especially that way.”
Following her sentence, you stay silent, your brain going a thousand miles an hour. The way Emily is turned toward you, what she just said… ‘Is she flirting with me?’ you wonder. You open and close your mouth several times, not knowing what to say. You feel like you’re reading too much between the lines. Emily cannot be flirting with you. It’s impossible. Surely you misunderstood the situation.
“This sounds like you’re flirting with me.”
“I have been trying to do that for three years now.” she replies with a mocking smile.
“What do you mean three years?” you ask, frowning.
“From the moment I met you in the elevator, I tried flirting with you, you were too nervous to notice, though.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Nope!” Emily confirms, emphasizing the last syllable. “But I’m glad you finally noticed.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see anything until today!” you complain, putting your head in your hands. “How many times did I miss it?”
“Oh, I stopped counting!” she laughs while you sink in the bench. “I even thought you were being oblivious on purpose, however considering your current reaction, you really are just oblivious. The most recent moment was four months ago.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I invited you over so we could see each other outside of work and get closer and not to work,” Emily informs and your eyes are wide open.
“And I brought the file! I want to slap myself! Why didn’t you say anything? I’m so embarrassed, you have no idea! At least, I understand better why you were all dressed up that night,” you specify after having an epiphany. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re always beautiful but that night! God, I was struggling to act normally, in particular when we were close before Pen texted me. I wanted to kiss you so much at that moment.”
“Me too,” Emily announces, tenderly gazing at you.
“And I ruined everything…”
“Don’t feel bad, I could have been more direct,” she reassures you, putting her hand on your shoulder.
“Oh, no, all of this is my fault! I’m supposed to be a profiler and I didn’t notice you were hitting on me for three years… Fortunately, I’m better with UnSubs. For my defense, I’m not used to people flirting with me,” you inform, avoiding her eyes.
“I got that. You’re embarrassed, it’s cute,” Emily states with a smile you find adorable.
“It’s not cute, I’m stupid!” you correct, rolling your eyes. “Especially because I’ve been attracted to you since we first met, too,” you add, looking deeply in her eyes.
“I’m happy to know it wasn’t only me. Does that mean you want to go eat together sometime?” Emily asks before adding with a humorous tone, “it’s a date, by the way, in case you hadn’t understood.”
“Ha ha. Very funny,” you retort, deadpan.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” she laughs. “So what do you say?”
“I’d love to go on a date with you,” you say, taking her hand in yours. “Promise, this time I won’t bring work.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.”
Emily squeezes your hand and brings you closer to her. She wants to kiss you so bad, more than usual, except she doesn’t move. You probably want to wait until your first date. Besides, you finally noticed she was flirting with you, she can’t push her luck and ask to get even closer. Though, for the first time, you perfectly guess what she thinks and decide to lean toward her and finally press your lips on hers, breaking three years of romantic tension.
Criminal Minds Masterlist
Emily Prentiss tag list : @thoroughly--confused