champagne problems x jemily/hotchniss

eight

so far i've been good about updating daily, we shall see how long that lasts🤪

also i did what the writers simply couldn't do😚

happy readings and stay safe besties! -salem🤍

TW: angst, minimal swearing, mentions of smoking
word count: 3944

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Emily: "You come home, make some tea, sit down in your armchair and all around there's silence. Everyone decides for themselves whether that's loneliness or freedom." Author Unknown.

Emily sighed as she pulled into the parking lot of the BAU. She had managed to slip under the radar of the team for the weekend. She claimed that she was going out with Clara and some other old friends from college now that the two had gotten back into connection. That wasn't the case. Emily felt ashamed to admit to her team that she was going through a heartbreak. The one where the two of you aren't even dating somehow hurts the most.

She sat back in her car and bit her lip. She reached up into her sunglasses compartment and grabbed the small carton and lighter. She grabbed a cigarette and placed it between her teeth. Emily rolled down her window slightly before lighting it. She took a deep inhale of the nicotine before releasing it. Her eyes shut as it relaxed her. The raven-haired woman stuck the bud out of the window and flicked away the ashes.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Emily grabbed her phone and answered it with a smile as she saw the name. "Hello?"

"Hi, mom," the boy said kindly—Emily's heart filling with joy.

"Hey, honey," Emily said and smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't call this weekend. I was busy with work and some other things I needed to take care of."

"No, I understand. I'm about to go into school right now, but I wanted to let you know I'm going to have tryouts for the basket team tonight. Can we move the catch-up dinner to tomorrow?" Declan asked and kicked a rock that was under his foot. Emily smiled softly.

"Of course. How about I go and pick you up instead of us staying over there. I know you've been wanting to come back down to D.C. for the diner. And you better make sure to call me before your tryouts for some words of encouragement," Emily said and placed the cigarette between her teeth, inhaling the nicotine.

"Sounds great. And I think I got it, mom," he said and laughed.

"I know you do. I just want to be there any way that I can, Dec," Emily said and exhaled the nicotine. She glanced over at the clock. 8:14. "You go ahead and head off to school—the bells about to ring. Have a good day. Be careful."

"Bye, mom! Love you!"

"Love you too, honey," Emily said softly as Declan hung up the phone. She sat there for a second and sighed. She missed her son more than anything as of right now. Although her and Declan's relationship was unusual, the two made it work. She made sure to see him at least once a month. But Emily had made the decision early on as she brought him here to the States that she'd make sure Declan wasn't around to be used as leverage because of her job. Emily had Ian's mindset. If nobody knew about him, nobody could hurt him. Of course, Emily was a lot more involved with Declan than Ian ever was. She made sure to show her love and support in any way she could. And because of that, Declan started proudly calling her mom. He said that she was like a second mother to him after Louis. Emily was almost in tears when he first called her that at eight. Now at ten, things haven't changed. Emily still gets tearful at the sound of mom being called out for her.