Deception - Hotchniss

Chapter 8

After saying their goodbyes to both Sean and Veronica, Hotch and Emily found themselves standing outside of the cafe, both waiting for the other to say something. Anything that would make the situation less awkward. The elephant in the room had a heavy presence at this point.

"So-"

"I-"

They both began to speak at the same time, causing them to even further withdraw from the conversation. "Sorry, you go ahead," she insisted with a small smile.

He wasn't quite sure what to say. He looked into her eyes as she stared back at him, awaiting his response. "Thank you for agreeing to go with me today."

"Oh, it's the least I can do for all you're doing for me," she replied honestly.

"I mean it. You were very convincing in there."

Emily bit her lip. He was referring to the kiss. "You think fast too, Hotchner," she said, referring to the entire made up backstory he created on the spot.

He nodded, "who knew that two FBI agents could be so good at lying?" he joked, causing Emily to laugh as they began to walk to their cars, conveniently parked beside one another.

"Hey, listen," she said, stopping in her tracks. "Sorry if I made it weird in there- with the kiss thing. I just thought-"

"It's okay," he interrupted, "I guess we should get used to it, right?"

Emily smiled. She was glad that he understood, to say the least. They began walking again, this time in silence. The silence between them had never been awkward, but rather a comfortable type of quiet in which they both understood what was going on in the other's head.

As they drove their separate ways, both agents thought about what was to come next. More family interactions? More coffee 'dates'? Both of them were equally as anxious for the wedding. One week together was certainly a step up from spending an hour together every Friday evening.

Nevertheless, it was needless to say that they both enjoyed the time they spent together. This was the first time in a long time that Aaron felt truly alive. He had laughed and smiled more than he had in a long time, and for that, he was grateful.

XXX

Throughout the next few days, the BAU team was working in Georgia on a case of serious murders that occurred within the past month. Thankfully, the team didn't need to travel far, and the case was over within a matter of days. Throughout those days, Aaron and Emily worked side-by-side on nearly everything that was presented to them involving the case.

It was needless to say that the team had picked up on the new found friendship between the two of them. And the strange thing was that it seemed to happen overnight. It felt like just yesterday they were barely talking to one another outside of working a case, or arguing over case details. Now they were sitting next to each other on the jet, driving together, sharing theories with one another, and looking out for one another in the field.

These actions especially didn't go unnoticed by a very observant Derek Morgan. Every interaction and every conversation seemed to raise an eyebrow. Once the man had finally obtained enough evidence to question Emily about it, he jumped on the chance to sit beside her on the jet, just before Hotch could sit down.

"Hey Prentiss," he said in a joyful tone of voice, almost as if he hadn't seen or talked to her within the past week.

Emily watched as Hotch made a u-turn to sit beside Rossi after Morgan sat were he was going to sit. Each of them had a view of the other. When he sat down, he shot her a small smile.