✓ | 𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗘 · ͟͟͞͞➳ spencer reid

EMILY ━━━

# ! | EMILY
- it's just so very
fun to imagine what
could have been

━━━ DARK HAIR SPLAYED out on Emily's pillowcase. A pile of rings on her nightstand. A pile of black clothes on the agent's floor. Prentiss stands in her doorway and smiles at the woman in her bed, passed out from hours and hours of... well, use your imagination. Emily perches on the bed and brushes hair out of Meryl's face. "Morning, sunshine."

Meryl hadn't been on the team for long and last night they'd all gone clubbing, where Meryl had started something by grinding on her teammate to the tune of "Pony". Meryl's green eyes flutter open and a smile graces her lips. "Morning already?"

"Time flies when you're having fun." And indeed they had been, making late night muffins, watching a movie, making it about twenty minutes into the film before Emily slid off the sofa and between Meryl's legs. The young doctor smiles. "Get over here and we can have some more fun." Emily crawls over her new lover and straddles Meryl's naked form, slender hand cupping around her throat as Meryl's lips lock on hers. Emily bites down on Meryl's lower lip, relishing in the sound of the younger woman's light moans.

"I really like you, Meryl," Emily relents, pulling back to look her coworker in the eyes. "Not just for last night. I want to... I don't know, whatever is between us, I'd like to give it a try."

The shorter lights up like a neon sign. "Yeah? I'd like that, too."

Emily had made it clear last night that she wasn't much for receiving pleasure, so as she pulls back the sheet covering Meryl's mouthwatering body, the doctor clamps her thighs together. "I'm so sensitive, Em."

Short, dark red painted nails drag across her thigh. "I'm so sorry, pet. What gave you the impression I care? I can be gentle."

"If you can, I've yet to see it," grumbles Meryl. She gets the bright idea to slip her fingers under the hem of Emily's shirt, pulling it over her head with limited resistance from the older woman.

Almost in tandem, their phones chime with a text from the lovely but incredibly ill-timed Penelope Garcia. Emily plants a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. "Your little stunt will have to wait, sweetheart."

Meryl huffs. "Don't think I'll forget."

And so the romance blossomed, evolving over the course of several years and several adversities. Meryl found a home in Emily, something strong and sturdy to keep her grounded. Emily found fun, something to keep her engaged and motivated in a life where she'd really only been focused on moving up. They moved in together after seven months, got a dog together, and now they join the team for the Thanksgiving following the year where Christmas was spent in Montana.

The team is gathered around a large wooden table in Rossi's dining room. The children play on the ground, Meryl and Emily's dog keeps them entertained. Penelope holds Morgan's hand under the table and Aaron rushes to help Beth in the kitchen, ushering her and her growing baby bump back to her seat. JJ and Reid sit by the fireplace, talking animatedly about a guy Reid had noticed several times at the library by his house. A Sinatra album spins on the record player in the corner of the room. Emily stands, Penelope discreetly begins recording on her phone.

The conversations quiet, and Meryl's heartbeat picks up. "I've spent my whole life reaching for the next milestone," Emily begins, "The next promotion. The next raise. The shiny plaque on the wall telling me I'm good at what I do. But I don't need a trophy to know that we work, Meryl. To know that we're good. To know that I'll never need more than you for the rest of my life." She reaches into her jacket pocket and drops to one knee, flipping open a velvet box and allowing the black diamond ring inside to catch the light of the chandelier above. "You are everything I need, and everything I want. Will you marry me?"

Meryl stands and Emily follows cautiously, dark eyes widening in shock and then relief when Meryl grabs her face and kisses her, pulling back only to present her hand. The ring slides on perfectly and both women burst into tears when they look at it. "Yes," says Meryl, "I forgot to reply, didn't I? But yes. Yes, yes, yes."

That won't be the only time tonight she's screaming that, Emily thinks, but she smiles widely at her fiance in the meantime. Derek picks Meryl up from behind and spins her around. "Get some, sweet thing!"

The two women take turns trapped in the middle of tearful hugs, murmured heartfelt compliments, and refills of wine. Hotch smiles as Meryl approaches him later in the evening. "Everything okay?"

"Never better. Hey, um, I was wondering, since Ren isn't getting any younger and it's already gonna be a pretty draining trip for my folks, would you give me away?" Her green eyes are wide as she asks, still a little red around the rims.

Unexpectedly, the unit chief gets a little weepy as well. "It'd be my honor, Mer. My absolute honor." They embrace once again, interrupted only by Penelope's excited chatter, already envisioning how perfect the wedding is going to be, whenever it ends up being.

"One step at a time, Penny baby," Meryl quips, sliding one finger into the belt loop of her lover's pants, her thumb sneaking under the hem of her shirt to rub circles on Emily's skin. She leans into her ear. "I just wanna focus on tonight. Whatever you want." A smile breaks across Emily's face and she replies, "Whatever I want? That's a dangerous game you're playing, Dr. Murphy."

"Let's give Dr. Prentiss a try. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

# ! | AUTHOR'S NOTE

hihi! a couple qs before you leave:

1 ) smut chapter? give my
dumb lesbian brain something
to do.

2 ) an alternative version
where she ends up with someone
else? maybe hotch? lmk >:)