What Happens Next

XIX. Coffee

"JJ, huh?" Emily grinned, announcing over the silence which ensued after Reid recounted his entire story to his friend. 

She watched him gulp down the coffee in his mouth and she followed his line of sight as he watched himself place his cup on resin coated wooden table. He kept his head down, but raised his eyes to meet hers. He smiled.

"What?" his eyes returned to his cup, "it was my only option." 

"Really?" Emily pressed, "why couldn't you have stayed with Rossi?"

He cleared his throat, his hands turning his cup on the table. He stared past Emily, watching the raindrops trail down the glass storefront behind her. The rain was light, but it darkened the sky a great deal regardless.

"Uhh," was all he could muster for a moment. 

Finally he settled on an excuse that seemed feasible enough to say, "well I don't really know Krystall that well."

"Uh huh," Emily said slowly, watching the man's face turn pink, "so how was it?"

"What?" 

"How was staying with JJ?"

"I don't- it was fine. Good. Fine."

Emily laughed, watching Reid adjust his long graying hair. He had more color than her, but she appreciated the consistency in her own hair. 

"So why'd you leave?"

"I told you. I wanted to stay by my kids."

"Right," she paused, continuing to stare him down, "That's the only reason?"

"Yes," he gave a curt nod, but his lips pressed together, and his eyes refused to meet hers once again.

"You're not protecting yourself from anything? At all?"

"Nope," he shook his head violently.

"Are you going to try and work it out with Max then?"

"I don't know, Emily," he sighed, beginning to feel agitated at the former profiler's pushing. 

"Okay," she paused, "Have you talked to Morgan?"

"No."

"You should."

"Okay," he sipped his coffee, using the break in conversation to flip the interrogation onto her.

"So you have a dog. Who else do you have in your life, Emily?" 

"I have a standing coffee date with Garcia every other Sunday. She FaceTimes me and we try to brew fancy coffees at home. . . and Hotch and I call each other on occasion."

"So nobody new?"

"My assistant, Eve, eats lunch with me most days, and I talk to a couple people at the dog park. Theres a bulldog named Deebo, I like his owner a lot."

"So nobody new," Reid repeated. 

Emily scoffed, attaining the same position she had forced Reid into minutes prior. Although she retained her defensive personality throughout her embarrassment.

"I just told you-"

"You just told me about your nameless dog owner friend and somebody who is paid to hang out with you," Reid interrupted. 

"You just walked away from JJ. Again. Because you're too scared to take a risk," she paused, "so I guess we both have problems."

The two sat quietly after that, reflecting in their own situations. They drank their drinks slowly, listening to the muffled rainfall outside, and the indistinct chatter around them. Unwilling to speak to each other, but far more unwilling to separate from one another.