Hot Mess pt. 2

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Two days had passed since Emily and Hotch "moved in" to their new home, and luckily no new bodies. They'd made nice with their new neighbors, Alice and Jeff Hamlin. They found out that the first couple, Elizabeth and Bradley Henderson were their close friends.

The Hamlin's invited Emily and Hotch to their house for drinks by the pool. They took it as an opportunity to get more information from them. "You were so right, Rossi." Emily said over the phone. "They love to gossip. It reminds me a lot of high school."

"I told you. Any new information?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah, apparently the Henderson's were having marital problems. I managed to get us invited to their house for drinks. I'll try to get more information from them and keep you guys posted."

"Ok. Don't forget. Check in's at nine." Rossi said in a concerned voice.

"Thanks, Rossi. Talk to you in a bit." Emily hung up the phone. She gathered the rest of her things and headed over to the Hamlin's house.
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"No!" Emily exclaimed in shock. "You're not serious?"

Alice nodded. "I'm dead serious." She said in almost a whisper.

"I can't believe Elizabeth was cheating on Brad. How'd you find out?" Emily asked trying to sound amused by the gossip.

"My friend Cheryl told me. She lived across the street from Lizzy and Brad. Brad was gone for work a lot, and Cheryl said she kept seeing a car she didn't recognize in their parking lot."

Alice and Emily were sun bathing in two pool chairs by the Hamlin's pool. Under normal circumstances, Emily would've loved to hear some hot gossip, but she was working the job. Talking to Alice had proven rather easy. It was very similar to how she used to talk to politicians at the events her mother constantly arranged. "Did Cheryl ever see the man she was having an affair with?"

"Yeah. She said he was tall with dirty blonde hair and pretty buff looking. He was closer to Lizzy's age."

"What was the age difference between Elizabeth and Brad?" Emily knew the answer. She was just playing along.

"About twelve years. Lizzy had just turned twenty-six, and I think Brad was about forty."

Emily chuckled. "Hmm. Well, age is just a number."

Hotch and Jeff came out to the pool area with drinks in hand. Hotch couldn't help but admire Emily in her simple black bikini with a sheer white scarf wrapped around her hips. He stared at her long, toned legs. He didn't realize how toned she was until he took all of her in. Her hair was pulled into a bun as her glasses covered the rest of her face.

Hotch cleared his throat as he walked toward his subordinate. "Here you go, Em." He said with a small smile, handing her a bottle of beer.

Then Emily did something neither of them had expected. She gently grabbed the side of his face with her hand and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, babe." She said with a small smile.

Maintaining his shock, Hotch managed to the gesture of the small smile. Emily turned her attention back towards Alice, and Hotch and Jeff walked over to his grill. "So," Alice began with a smirk. "How long have you and Aaron been married?"

Emily found it strange when she heard Hotch's first name. In all the time they'd been here, Emily somehow avoided calling him by his first name. It was somehow easier to call him pet names rather than his first name. She quickly glanced over at Hotch. "Only two years, but it feels like longer." Emily said dreamily, playing the part.

"Well, he's certainly handsome. You chose well." Alice winked. "What's the age difference between you two, if you don't mind my asking."

Although Hotch was only five years older than her, he looked older than he appeared due to constant overworking and his severe lack of sleep. "Ten years." The brunette Agent ended up saying.

Alice simply nodded. It was clear she wanted to change the subject; Emily wasn't opposed. "Anyway, back to what I was saying about Lizzy. He came around a lot. Like a lot a lot."

"Really? How often?" Emily asked leaning in.

"About a month I think."

"Did you ever see any other cars you didn't recognize driving around the neighborhood? Or anyone you didn't recognize?"

Alice chuckled and took a sip of her drink. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to conduct your own investigation." Emily laughed nervously, trying to play it off. "But now that you mention it, there was an AC guy who came over to Lizzy's house a lot. She told me the AC hadn't been working for days. I think the same thing happened to that other couple that was killed. The Martin's I think?"

Just then, Emily had found her connection. "Huh, I hadn't heard about the other couple." Emily shrugged.

"Really? It's been all over the news. Where'd you guys move from again?"

Emily had to think fast. "Manhattan." Emily said simply.

"Long ways."

"Yeah. I wanted to enjoy the sunshine." Emily smiled.

Alice leaned in closer as if she were going to tell Emily a secret. "I heard a rumor that the FBI is here to investigate. Cheryl said she saw them come over to Lizzy's house a few days ago."

"Really? That's crazy!" Emily said trying to act surprised.

"On a lighter note, Jeff and I are going to The Palm tonight for dinner. Would you and Aaron like to join us?"

Emily gave Alice a bright smile. "We'd love to! What time?"

"Seven o'clock."

"Ok. I'll see you guys then." And with that, Emily got up from her chair and walked over to Hotch who was waiting for her by the gate. "We just got invited to dinner." She smirked.
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A few hours had passed, and now Emily and Hotch were getting ready for dinner. Hotch had just gotten back from a run when he came into their bedroom to the sound of a female voice singing. He soon realized that it was Emily singing ABBA.

I was so lonesome, I was so blue
I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I
Always thought you knew the reason why

Hotch smiled at himself as he listened to her sing. She had a good voice, and the acoustics of the bathroom helped. Hotch's phone rang. It was Rossi. "Anything new?" Rossi asked.

"Apparently Elizabeth Henderson was having an affair, and so was Amanda Martin. Both had electrical issues, so we're thinking the unsub is an electrician. Have Garcia run credit card records to find the company they ordered service from." Hotch said through the phone. Emily was still singing in the shower.

Falling in love with a woman like you
Happens so quickly, there's nothin' to do...

"Who's singing?" Rossi asked.

"It's Prentiss. She's taking a shower."

Hotch could practically hear Rossi's smirk through the phone. "So you two are sharing a room?"

Hotch sighed. "No. I'm waiting for the shower. The master bathroom is the only one with a shower."

"Whatever you say. I'll tell Garcia." Rossi hung up.

Hotch hadn't noticed that Emily came out of the shower with a towel. And Emily hadn't noticed Hotch standing in front of her because she was texting Garcia. Hotch turned around and saw Emily standing in front of him in a towel; her hair slick back and wet. Hotch's eyes went wide, and he knew he had to look away. But he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful woman in front of him.

When Emily finally looked up from her phone, she met the eyes of her boss. Hotch immediately turned around and just stood there with his back to her. "I'm so sorry, Prentiss." Hotch said in a cold voice.

"I-it's ok. The shower is all yours." Emily said making a beeline for the walk in closet.
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After that awkward interaction, Emily and Hotch didn't speak to each other for a while. Emily had taken her dress and makeup to the other bathroom in the house. She didn't want to interact with Hotch. She saw how he scanned her body up and down.

Emily dried her hair and cured it. She did a brown smokey eye and a red lip. She slipped on her dress and gold heels. As she checked her phone, it rang. The caller ID was Penelope. Emily immediately answered it. "Hey, Em." She said cheerily. "How's the mission?"

"It's fine. Rossi was right about these neighborhoods though. They love gossiping about one another." Emily let out a small sigh that she thought would go unnoticed by her blonde friend, but boy was she wrong.

"What happened?" She asked.

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"Someone who says 'they're fine' is never fine. So spill! What happened?"

Emily let out another sigh. She was going to regret saying this. As much as she loved Penelope, she was the worst person to tell a secret to. "It's Hotch."

She could her Penelope perk up at this. "Oh? And?"

"I was coming out of the shower, and Hotch saw me. And I'm pretty sure I saw him staring a bit too long before he turned around."

"Of course he did, Emily! You're hot!"

"He's our Unit Chief. There's no way that this would ever happen. And you aren't going to say anything about this. If you do, I'm taking all your coffee mugs."

"You wouldn't dare." Penelope challenged.

"Try me." Emily challenged equally as hard. She heard footsteps come towards the front of the house. "I gotta go, Pen. I think Hotch is ready."

"Alright! Bye, my love. Talk soon!"

Emily ended the call and put her phone in her small purse, walking towards the front door. She wrapped her sheer black shawl around her arms. When she rounded the corner, she saw Hotch wearing a three piece navy blue suit with a black paisley tie. Although she'd seem him in suits before, this one was fitted more, extenuating his broad shoulders and strong arms. Emily stared for a bit before clearing her throat.

Hotch looked up and tried his hardest not to gasp. Emily was wearing a single strap black dress that fell below a few inches below her knees. It had a small slit that ended halfway up her thigh and hugged her waist perfectly. Her gold scrappy heels made her a few inches taller, and her hair was curled in gentle waves that fell below her shoulders. Hotch cleared his throat as well and straightened up. "Y-you uh...look good." He said looking down trying to not show any emotion.

Emily gave him a small smile. "Thanks. You don't look to bad yourself. Ready to go?" She asked.

Hotch checked his watch. "Yeah, lets go." He said opening the door for Emily.

They walked to the car and drove to the restaurant in silence for a while before Hotch finally decided to break it. "You have a good voice." He said.

Emily felt a small blush creep up her cheeks as her head dropped in slight embarrassment. "Heh. Thanks! I only really sing in the shower." She said with a small smile.

They say in silence for a moment longer before Emily heard Hotch's breath hitch. "I'm sorry about earlier. I should've knocked." Hotch said; his voice was softer this time.

"It's ok. You saw me in a bikini earlier. It's not really too much different." Emily shrugged. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it. She damned herself mentally for saying what she said.

Hotch gulped. "Yeah." He said simply, his voice higher than usual.
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Dinner with Alice and Jeff was more enjoyable than Emily or Hotch had anticipated. They hadn't gotten as much information as they'd hoped, but as they drove home, Emily was on the phone with Penelope. "Talk to me, Pen." Emily said. "You're on speaker."

"Right. So I cross referenced electricians that worked on the couple's houses around their time of death. It's called 'Sunshine Electric'." She said quickly. She must've had more coffee.

"What about employees who worked on the houses? Any of them match our unsub's profile?" Hotch asked.

"Ah see that's where I hit a little bump. Sunshine Electric always sends in teams of two. The two that worked on our victims houses were Joshua Culver and Ian Haas." Penelope replied.

"Run background checks on them. See if either of them have a record that correlates with the profile." Emily said.

"Done and done. I'll call you back when I get something. Sleep well love birds!" Penelope hung up. Both Emily and Hotch's breath hitched at Penelope's comment.

They rode the rest of the way in silence until they arrived to their house. As soon as the door closed behind them, Emily let out a long sigh as she took off her heels. "Sometimes I forget how much it sucks being a woman." She sighed, groggily walking to their room.

Hotch began walking over to the couch where'd he'd made a bed for himself previously. "Where are you going?" The raven haired girl asked.

"To bed." He shrugged.

"Hotch. Come on. That can't be comfortable. You can sleep with me. Just don't try anything funny." Emily eyed him.

Emily turned around to change into her pjs. She washed the makeup off her face and let out a sigh. She slipped out of her dress and put on a baggy grey t-shirt and black shorts. She quickly brushed her teeth and exited the bathroom. "It's all yours." Emily said gesturing to the now vacant bathroom.

Hotch was sitting on the bed wearing a navy blue shirt and green, black, and white plaid pajamas. When Hotch looked up he saw how innocently beautiful Emily looked. He'd never seen her without makeup or in casual clothes before. He liked seeing this side of her.

Emily jumped onto the bed and began reading a book. "Huh. I never took you for a night reader." Hotch said with crossed arms.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Agent Hotchner." Emily said with a smirk, not taking her eyes off her book.

He let a small chuckle escape his lips and a dimpled smile appeared as well. "I'm going to check in with Rossi." Hotch said standing up from the bed and walking out the door.

"Ok." Emily nodded watching Hotch leave.

Later that night, Hotch returned from his phone call with Rossi to find Emily asleep. She fell asleep with her book. Hotch gently took the book from her hand, placing it on the nightstand and pulling the covers over her. He admired how peaceful and beautiful she looked while she was sleeping. He slid in next to her and turned off the light.

Although the two of them would most likely never speak about what happened that night, it was a memory they'd hold onto for years to come. Throughout the night Emily had unconsciously moved closer to Hotch, eventually ending her back against his chest. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. The two of them would soon wake up in each other's arms with no regrets of what happened.

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