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“Don’t you think it’s weird that she never talks about guys?” Penelope asks, staring intently at JJ, as though this is the most important thing she’s ever had to figure out.
JJ just shrugs. “I guess. I always thought she was just personal about her love life. Or didn’t really have one.”
Penelope nods dismissively. “Emily was totally working up to kiss this girl last night, JJ. I could sense it.”
JJ can’t help but giggle at Penelope. The way she focuses so intently on such trivial things has always been something she’s admired. A healthy amount of whimsy makes this job all the more bearable.
“Even still, maybe she doesn’t want to share. Who cares?”
“I care.” Penelope clutches her chest, as though shocked that JJ would think she didn’t care. “You’re just upset cause she’s gonna tell me first.”
JJ laughs at that. “Yeah, as if she’d tell you before me.”
“Why wouldn't she?”
JJ crosses her arms, finally giving into Garcia’s games. “She likes me more.”
“Prove it then.”
JJ nods. “I will. I bet I can get her to crack before you can.”
Penelope holds her hand out, and JJ shakes it. “May the best woman win.”
———
Emily Prentiss stands in front of the coffee maker, desperately waiting for the pot to finish brewing so she can pour herself a cup.
She hadn’t slept well the night before. After spending most of her weekend with a family friend who had come to visit, she had needed to catch up on laundry and other housework, and she hadn’t noticed how late it had gotten until it was already 4 hours past her usual bedtime. She didn’t regret it though, even if it turned her into a zombie at work. Their last case had been a particularly long one, leaving Emily with a messy house and a lot of laundry to catch up on.
Finally, the pot was nearly done, so she grabbed a mug from the cupboard and put a scoop of sugar inside.
“So Em, how was your weekend?” Penelope asks, coming up behind her and grabbing a mug of her own.
She heads to the kettle instead though, and starts it so she can make tea.
Emily just shrugs, too tired to put together more of a coherent thought. “Fine. It was really busy.”
Penelope’s brow furrows. That’s all she has to say? “I saw you out for dinner Saturday night,” She starts, hoping to get more of a response from Emily. “How was your date?”
The coffee pot finishes, and Emily quickly grabs it and pours it into her mug until it’s nearly overflowing.
Despite it being freshly brewed black coffee, and therefore incredibly hot, Emily takes a big sip before replying. “Wasn’t a date. Just an old family friend come to visit.”
“Oh, ok… Well, have you been on any dates lately?”
Emily laughs. “What’s with the interrogation Penelope?”
“Sorry, I just…” She needs a quick excuse. “I know this guy who’s looking to get out and date and I was wondering if you’d be interested.”
“Oh. I uh…” Emily takes a sip of her coffee, trying to figure out the easiest way to let Penelope down. “I’m not really dating right now.”
Damn it. Not the response she had been hoping for. “At all?”
“Sorry.” Emily shrugs.
Penelope nods. “It’s ok, just thought I’d ask.”
The kettle goes off then, so she quickly makes herself a tea in silence, then rushes off to where JJ is.
“Any luck?” JJ asks when Penelope gets to her desk. Penelope shakes her head.
“Any luck with what?” Spencer chimes in, having stopped walking when he heard JJ.
“Nothing,” They both say quickly.
Spencer isn’t convinced. “What is it?”
JJ keeps her mouth shut, but Penelope folds quickly. “Ok but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.”
Spencer nods.
“We’re trying to figure out if Emily’s a lesbian,” she whispers.
“What makes you think she is?”
Penelope shrugs. “Just a hunch.”
“I wanna play.”
Penelope snorts. “Yeah right, as if she’d tell you.”
Spencer looks offended at that. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”
“I just don’t think she’d tell you before us.”
Spencer shakes his head. “Sure she would.”
“Then prove it,” JJ pipes up.
“Ok I will.”
—
Penelope groans in frustration. “I’ve tried everything, JJ, and I still dont know if Emily’s into guys.”
JJ just laughs, trying to act casual; as though she isn’t aching to know the answer. “Maybe she doesn’t want you to know.”
“JJ, i have an idea, and I need you to go with me on this, ok?
“What is it?”
“You’re gonna seduce her.”
JJ’s eyes go wide. “I- I- what?” She can’t help but smile; Penelope always has the most elaborate schemes.
“You seduce her. You know, be flirty and stuff, and if she’s flirting back then bam. Proof.”
It… almost could work, though JJ didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want to admit that she was almost excited about Penelope’s plan. She didn’t wanna have to think about it.
“I… hate to say it but that’s actually a good plan.”
“I know! Aren’t I brilliant? Now go!” She nudges JJ towards the door to the bullpen, where Emily is.
“Ok, ok, give me some time and I’ll try and crack her.”
—
When a new case comes in, JJ hatches a plan. It’s not a very bold one, but she doesn’t want to go too far before she feels out a vibe. If she comes on too strong, and Emily’s straight, it’ll make things awkward. So she tries to be subtle at first.
She sits beside Emily on the jet, which she often does, so nothing unusual. Today though, she pays more attention to Emily, hoping she’ll notice JJ’s eyes on her.
“The first victim, Susan Richards, went to St. Mary’s High School, and had just broke up with her boyfriend a few weeks ago.” Ried states as he scans over the files.
“But the second victim is totally different,” Emily adds. “She dropped out of school a year and a half ago and has been working at a local diner ever since.”
JJ shifts closer to Emily as she speaks, and Emily gives her a soft smile in return.
“Rebecca Baker has a criminal record, it says here she was in juvie for a year for assaulting a fellow student.” JJ says, flipping through her own pages.
They continue to run through the case until they’re all caught up on details, at which point Spencer excuses himself to go play chess, leaving Emily and JJ alone.
JJ’s still looking at Emily, having only taken her eyes off her to look at the case file.
Emily speaks first. “How’s Henry? I haven’t seen him in forever.”
JJ nods. “He’s good. He got an A+ on his first math test this year.” She leans in closer to Emily again, and catches a faint whiff of her perfume; light and floral. She smells delightful.
“You smell nice,” JJ adds, smiling.
“Thank you! It’s L’occitane Jasmine & Bergamote.”
JJ nods, though she really didn’t process anything after Thank you; she was too busy staring at Emily.
“It suits you.” The words come out quickly; unexpected.
“Emily tilts her head slightly, a cheeky smile on her face. “Does it?”
JJ suddenly becomes aware of how close they’re sitting. Their knees brush when the jet shifts, and all she can smell is that gorgeous perfume.
She feels like she’s being sucked in by Emily, as though she’s the one being seduced, rather than doing the seducing. Suddenly it doesn’t feel so pretend.
“Yeah,” she says. “It does.”
Emily looks back at the case file, and there’s an amused smile on her face, like she knows something JJ doesn’t.
Or maybe she’s waiting to see what JJ does next.
JJ just stares at her, trying desperately to keep her composure.
“So, Henry still obsessed with dinosaurs?” Emily asks after a moment.
JJ nods. “Oh definitely.”
Emily smiles. “Good.”
Their knees brush again when the jet shifts, and they sit like that for the rest of the way, falling into a comfortable silence.
—
In the end, it’s Spencer who figures it out.
They’ve just returned from a case, and he walks over to her desk, where she’s packing up to leave. “Hey Emily, can I ask you something?”
She nods. “Sure, what’s up?”
He wrings his hands nervously. He’s never really had the chance to talk to many people about this, so he is genuinely a bit nervous. It’ll be worth it though, to win.
“It’s private.”
She nods, understanding instantly, and leads him over to a more secluded area.
“So? What is it?”
“Well…” he starts, “I think I might be bisexual. And I’m not entirely sure what to do about that and I thought maybe you’d be able to help because, well…” He pauses. Because what? He doesn’t want to say it’s because he thinks she’s a lesbian.
“Because I’m a lesbian?”
His eyes widen. “Yes! Yes because you’re a lesbian!” He grabs her hands and raises them triumphantly. “Emily, you’re a lesbian!”
Emily just laughs. “You gotta wait to tell anyone you won though, ok?”
“Wait—you knew about this?”
“Obviously. You guys are not good at subtlety. Especially Garcia.”
“So why can’t I tell anyone?”
“Honestly?” She leans in closer to him, her voice just above a whisper. “Garcia and JJ teamed up, and Garcia’s genius plan is for JJ to seduce me.”
Spencer looks at her confused. “And?”
“And I’m not gonna pass up and opportunity to kiss her.” She grins smugly, nudging Spencer, who smiles.
“Ok, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Good. Now, did you actually need help with your bisexuality or was that just a ruse?”
“A bit of both, actually.”
“Why don’t we go get a coffee and we can talk about it some more?”
Spencer smiles, then nods, and the two grab their things and head out.
—
JJ notices something is wrong with Spencer almost immediately the next morning. Not wrong exactly, just… more smug.
He keeps glancing over at Emily’s desk like he’s trying not to smile, and every single time, Emily catches him and smirks back.
JJ’s eyes narrow in suspicion.
Across the bullpen, Garcia notices too. She walks over to JJ.
“Oh my god,” She whispers dramatically, grabbing JJ’s arm. “One of them knows something. Do you think he won?”
“No,” JJ says immediately.
Mostly because she doesn’t want it to be true.
Garcia squints. “You sound weirdly upset about that.”
“I am not upset.”
“Mhm.”
JJ ignores her. What she can’t ignore, however, is the growing suspicion twisting in her stomach every time Emily glances her way.
Because Emily has been acting different. Subtle enough that no one else would notice. But JJ does.
She lingers closer now. Smiles longer. Keeps finding excuses to touch JJ’s arm when they’re talking.
She can’t help but wonder if she fucked up somehow. It had never occured to her that if Emily is a lesbian, and she is flirting with her, that maybe Emily would develop feelings. And she had never stopped to consider what she’d do if that happened.
By the end of the day, JJ feels like she’s going insane. She can barely focus on her paperwork.
So, before she can lose her nerve, she stands up and walks over to Emily’s desk.
Emily looks up immediately. “Hey.”
JJ crosses her arms, attempting to appear casual. “Are you busy after work?”
“Depends,” she says. “Is this official FBI business?”
JJ laughs. “No.”
“Then no.” Emily smiles. “I’m free.”
JJ nods once. “Drinks?”
Emily’s smile widens. “I thought you’d never ask.”
—
The bar is quieter than JJ expected. This only makes her more nervous. Between the lighting and the music and the general atmosphere of the place—well, it just doesn’t feel like a coworker thing anymore. Or a friend thing, to be honest. It feels like… a date, maybe. That scares JJ a bit.
When Emily walks in, JJ nearly chokes. She looks gorgeous.
Not that she doesnt always, but at work it’s easier to miss, with everything going on. Here there’s nothing to do but admire the way she looks in that dress.
They talk for a while at first about easy things. Henry. Cases. Their lives.
JJ relaxes slowly, laughing into her drink.
Emily tilts her head slightly, looking at JJ. “You’ve been looking at me differently lately.”
JJ nearly chokes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Right… so how long exactly where you planning on seducing me?”
JJ’s face goes beet red. Oh.
Spencer told her.
That’s why he’d been acting so weird.
That little twerp.
“Oh my god,” JJ says aloud, dropping her face into her hands. “Reid told you?”
Emily bursts out laughing. “No, you people are just incredibly obvious.”
JJ groans. “Garcia?”
“Mostly Garcia, yes.”
“I’m gonna kill her.”
“I thought it was cute.” Emily swirls the wine in her glass innocently, as though she hadn’t just stopped JJ’s entire world.
“You did?” JJ asks quietly.
Emily nods once. “You’re not very subtle either.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on actually—“ she stops herself abruptly.
Emily’s eyes widen slightly, then she smiles. “Actually what?”
JJ just stares at her drink for a second.
Because what is she supposed to say? That somewhere between pretending to flirt, and sitting close to Emily on the jet, and noticing the scent of her perfume… things had gotten so real.
“I wasn’t supposed to actually like you.”
Emily lights up, her smile widening.
“Oh, JJ,” she starts, softly. “I was hoping you would.”
JJ laughs nervously, heart pounding so fast she’s worried Emily can hear it.
“You know, for someone who’s supposed to be seducing me, you seem pretty nervous,” she adds.
JJ laughs again, quieter this time. “Turns out you’re harder to flirt with when I actually mean it.”
Emily’s expression melts at that.
She reaches across the table slowly, giving JJ plenty pf time to pull sway, and rests her hand lightly over hers.
JJ doesn’t pull away.
“Good,” Emily says softly.
JJ blinks. “Good?”
Emily smiles. “Because I’ve been flirting back.”
JJ stands so quickly she nearly knocks her drink right over.
Emily laughs, looking at her warmly. “Smooth.”
“Shut up.”
Emily’s grin widens. “Make me.”
JJ kisses her immediately.