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There are quite a few benefits to your girlfriend also being your coworker, Emily has found.
More time spent together, being one of them, on the list along with being particularly tuned into the other’s thoughts during investigations, and sharing hotel rooms on cases away from home. And more recently, since they’ve moved in together: packing a shared lunch for days that they’ll be stuck in the office.
Or more so: JJ packing them a shared lunch, because for whatever reason, she has decided that Emily is not to be trusted in the kitchen.
(A reason that has nothing to do with Emily burning her attempt at dinner on the first night in their new apartment, consequently setting off the fire alarm and forcing the entire building to be evacuated by the fire department.)(It had turned out to be a surprisingly effective way to meet all of their new neighbours and make a lasting impression, at least?)
With the variety of home-made lunches, it appears that JJ has vowed to force Emily into eating a more balanced diet – which she thinks is mighty rich, coming from Miss ‘Cheetos-for-lunch’, but alas – consisting of sandwiches, salads or soups along with pre-cut fruits and veggies to snack on. It fills Emily with a sort of giddy joy, being taken care of in such a gentle, thoughtful and domestic way. It’s the kind of thing her hyper-independent and self-sufficient self could have never imagined, before she met JJ and fell head over heels.
Morgan likes to tease her about her smitten behaviour when it comes to JJ, but Emily will never apologise for openly loving the most amazing woman in the world. Everyone else can just deal with the fact that she lets them know over and over again how lucky she is.
Not that any of the team really seems to mind, anyway. Morgan teases, but it’s all in good humour. Penelope just about melts anytime she sees them together in any capacity (and will forever claim it was thanks to her less-than-subtle nudging that they ended up together), Spencer continuously rattles off the statistics on the benefits of being in a happy relationship, Hotch still stoically looks the other way when they divvy up the hotel rooms and Rossi has less-than-subtly offered them his mansion and backyard as a wedding venue no less than five times at this point.
All that to say, though Emily had been somewhat apprehensive about the team dynamics with an inter-team relationship, there have been no issues so far. If anything, it has brought everyone closer together.
They’re halfway through a meeting dedicated to a developing case Morgan has been consulting on, when Hotch calls for a break. Files get pushed to the centre of the roundtable, the team getting up to briefly stretch their legs and grab some food away from the office. Penelope invites them along, but Emily declines, watching eagerly as JJ walks down to the bullpen to grab their lunch from the fridge.
“Pasta salad,” JJ presents with a flourish when she gets back to the empty roundtable room. She hands Emily a fork and they dig in, taking this minute alone together to chat a bit about the upcoming weekend; like how they need to pick out a paint colour for the living room soon, or else they will unintentionally end up living permanently with the deep purple accent wall the last owner left them with.
Pasta salad gone, JJ swaps the empty container for one filled with a variety of fruits.
“Ooh, strawberries!” Emily exclaims. It’s been a while since she had some, and she fishes one out from between the blueberries and raspberries.
JJ makes an affirming noise. “Grabbed them from the farmer’s market on Sunday. I think we’re finally getting to the right season for them.”
JJ is probably right: the berries are bright red and Emily happily takes a bite. “Just the right amount of sweet and spicy,” she says through a mouthful of strawberry.
A blank look draws across JJ’s face. “Just the right amount of what now?”
“You know,” Emily prompts, swallowing. “Sweet and spicy.”
“Spicy,” JJ deadpans. Her eyes search Emily’s face, though Emily isn’t sure what she’s looking for. It’s not like she just said anything revolutionary. “Strawberries aren’t spicy, Emily.”
What a weird thing for JJ to take a stance on. “Yeah, they are,” Emily says again. She returns JJ’s inquiring look. Is JJ trying to mess with her? Or should Emily have been more specific? “You know, the way it tastes a little funny and tickles your throat. Just like kiwis do.”
“Kiwis.”
Emily nods. “And mangos, sometimes.” Nothing about this conversation is particularly interesting to her, and she reaches for the container of fruit between them, plucking another strawberry from the mix and popping it into her mouth.
For some reason, JJ watches her closely as she chews, horror growing on her face.
Emily swallows and scratches at her neck with a sigh. “What?”
“Are those- Em, you’ve got red spots on your skin.”
“That happens sometimes.” Emily shrugs it off. One of the curses of skin as pale as hers, is that any changes to it show up awfully well against the blank canvas. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing to”—Emily reaches for another strawberry, but JJ catches her wrist halfway through the motion – “Surely that is something to worry about! Did you ever have a doctor check it out?”
Emily pouts at the bright red, perfectly shaped strawberry she’d been eyeing, turning her best doe-eyed look towards JJ when JJ pushes the plastic container out of reach. “It all goes away by itself eventually. There’s no need for a trip to the doctor over something small like that.”
JJ sighs. “So you’ve never gotten tested for food allergies?”
Emily shakes her head.
“And you’ve never thought to question why strawberries are spicy and make you break out in hives?”
“No,” Emily drawls. “Why?”
JJ gives her an incredulous look. “Because to me those sound like pretty good indicators that you are allergic to them.”
Emily’s brows knit together. “Allergic? I’m not allergic. I would’ve known if I was. Besides, I can still breathe just fine.” She remembers her college housemate showing Emily the EpiPen she had in case of emergencies, and this is certainly nothing like that.
JJ makes a tortured noise. “There are more degrees to allergies than just anaphylactic shock, you idiot.”
“I’m not allergic,” Emily stands her ground. So what if strawberries are spicy to her and not to JJ? That’s basically the same as them seeing the same colour a slightly different way.
JJ slides down in her chair like a sack of potatoes, head knocking back as she stares at the ceiling with a blank look, appearing to contemplate her life’s decisions.
Emily watches apprehensively, not sure if she’s supposed to do something to fix it. She didn’t actually do anything wrong, right?
They sit in silence for a good minute or two before JJ makes another tortured sound. “Oh my god, I had Pen bake you a strawberry cake for your last birthday.”
“…It was a really good strawberry cake?”
Based on JJ’s glare, that wasn’t the right answer. “How many times have I packed us a lunch that included a ‘spicy’ fruit?” Emily isn’t sure if that’s a rhetorical question or not. “We went on a picnic on one of our first dates where I brought chocolate covered strawberries.” Okay, definitely a rhetorical question.
The silence continues, interspersed with the occasional comment as JJ remembers another time where they did something together that included a fruit on Emily’s ‘spicy’ list. Considering they’ve known each other for years and have been together for nearly two now, there are plenty of moments to mention.
By the time lunch is over, and the rest of the team filters back into the round table room, JJ is still in the same position, face up to the ceiling, though her eyes are now shut, a distressed look on her features. Emily leans forward inch by inch, keeping an eye on JJ as she slides the container of fruit back towards herself.
“JJ?” Penelope asks, tentatively lowering herself into the chair next to JJ’s. “Are you okay?”
JJ’s answer is nothing but a tired sigh. The others throw the pair of them curious looks, though Emily just shrugs when they look at her in question. When Hotch enters last, closing the door behind him, he pauses to take in the scene, raising a brow.
“Everything alright here?”
Emily nods and pats JJ’s arm in comfort. “We’re fine.”
With her free hand, she fishes the last strawberry from in between the other fruits and takes a bite.