Stellar {s.r.}

Chapter Two: Motion Sickness

"I have emotional motion sickness.

Somebody roll the windows down.

There are no words in the English language

I could scream to drown you out."

~

Friday nights at Kevlar's Bar were a local hotspot for FBI agents after a hard week of work, so much so that Y/N thought it was mandatory that she attended. After her first week on the job almost a year ago, Garcia seemed almost offended that she planned on going home after the week had ended. She was promptly escorted into an orange Cadillac lovingly named "Esther", and the whole team made it a night to remember.

Now, walking into the familiar brick building with Emily on her right arm, she was ready to get a much-needed reprieve from the man Morgan so lovingly referred to as "pretty boy." It wasn't like she needed an escape, but if one was being offered to her in the form of alcohol she would sure as hell take it.

The chilly autumn air whipped through her hair, sending it flying backward as she and Emily burst through the front door. It was surprisingly cold for mid-October, so she had to unwrap a coat and several other layers from her body before she could join the team in their regular booth in the back. Sliding onto the red pleather seat, she let out a quick breath of relief when she counted only five other heads. Hotch seldom came out on Friday nights now that he was the sole parent of his son, Jack, so that meant that Spencer must have known she was coming and decided not to show up.

Fine, Y/N thought. I'm not bothered at all.

"Em! Y/N! So nice of you to join us," JJ smiled, sipping what looked like a whiskey sour through a little straw.

"Ooh, that looks so good. I think I'm gonna get one of those," Emily exclaimed. "Y/N?"

Y/N turned to look at her best friend.

"An old-fashioned, please."

Morgan whistled across the table as Emily walked away to the bartop, and Rossi held up his very own old-fashioned as he acknowledged Y/N, "That's my girl."

She smiled at the older gentleman, regarding him warmly as she leaned her head onto Garcia's shoulder. Garcia slunk a little lower in her seat to give her more access. Physical touch was her love language, and Y/N made sure to give her friendly touches as often as she could.

"Sorry we were late, I got held up finishing my report," Y/N apologized. "Em was kind enough to stay back with me until I turned it in."

Morgan scoffed and sent her a smirk, "Yeah, you got held up alright."

Eyeing him suspiciously, she bit back a retort. Whatever Morgan saw, if he even saw anything, he most definitely did not understand. What looked like a normal act of friendship between co-workers was actually a cruel jab. Reid would never bring her coffee except to prove a point, which only brought to Y/N's attention that he did purposely leave her out of normal coffee runs. Also, how in the hell did he know her coffee order? It wasn't like it was complicated--only two sugars and a splash of cream--but still? It was abnormal.

"Oh my god, don't look, but Em has an admirer!" Garcia squirmed, causing Y/N to raise her head and disobey Penelope's orders.

She whipped her head in the direction of the bar to discover that Emily did, in fact, have an admirer. His back only left so much to the imagination, but he was tall, she'd give him that. Dark hair, casually dressed, and most definitely a man, she waited for the inevitable.