warning: happy couple (not really a warning i'm just a jealous hoe)

Elle and I don't sleep. We both pretend to, but her breathing never evens out, and I know she knows I'm awake. So we lay there side by side and stare at the ceiling. I desperately wonder what she's thinking.

Is she mad? She said she wasn't, but she could be. Maybe not at me, but at Hotch. The worst thing is that she could regret ever loving me. It takes me a good while to shake those thoughts, and after a while I've had enough.

"Ellie."

"Hm?"

"Come here." I scoot closer and she meets me in the middle, shifting into our familiar position. Her head lays on my chest and I let my eyes drift shut as she presses a kiss to my collarbone.

The next morning isn't so peaceful. We're both on edge as we get ready, and the all-too-familiar nausea rises in my stomach.

"I got an email." I break the taught silence of our morning. "From some guy telling me what floor I'm on and that I start in two weeks."

"Oh, wow. They switched you already?"

"It honestly feels like they prepared this. Hotch literally told me last night."

"I wouldn't put it past them. I don't trust them. I-" She huffs frustratedly.

"It's okay. I loved White Collar."

"You loved the BAU."

"Mm." I say, looping my arms around her waist. In my heels, I'm a few inches taller than her.

"Not as much as I love you." I say, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"I love you." She whispers, leaning into me. I let out a small grunt as I'm pushed into the counter. It seems to be a favorite pastime for Elle, pinning me up against things- especially, apparently, my kitchen counters.

"You're going to be late."

"No, we're not." She says, shutting me up with a kiss.

We're late. My New York driving style comes out as I attempt to navigate through DC, the morning rush hour traffic unbearable. I'd agreed to drive Elle to work, since I had to pick up my stuff from the BAU office anyway.

"You're funny when you drive." Elle teases.

"Oh, don't start." I will admit, driving in together now that we're no longer hiding is pretty nice. Environmentally friendly, too.

"No, really, the southern accent coming out as you shout at a taxi? Charming."

"I don't have an accent." I grumble and she looks away from me, shoulders shaking slightly.

"You're laughing at me!" I smack her arm and her amusement becomes audible. There it is, her laugh. Among the hellstorm of Spencer, Hotch, and FBI Bureaucracy, there's Elle. Her laugh and smile, the way she lights up when we're alone. The way she loves me. The way I love her more than anyone.

I'm pulled out of my reverie by a phone ringing.

"Mine or yours?" I ask as she quiets her laughter.

"Yours. It's your sister."

"Ooh, answer it."

"Does she know about me?" Elle asks, suddenly looking panicked.

"Of course she does. She keeps asking when she gets to meet you."

"Oh. Uh-I kind of suck with families."

"I'm sure you don't. And it's not like you have to meet her now."

"Okay." She answers the phone and changes it to speaker.

"Aunt Sawyer!" Mary's voice comes through.

"Mary! Hey, sweetheart!" I'm thrilled to hear my niece's voice. She was definitely one thing I missed most about New York.

"Mommy says that you have a girlfriend!" And, there we go, right to the point.

"I do." I glance at Elle, who's staring at the phone in her hand like it's going to bite her.

"Mommy also said that you have a nice apartment and she and Daddy want to go to Georgia to see Grandma and can I come stay with you for a few days?"

"Wow, she said all that, huh?" The sudden topic change and hurried self-invitation is amusing.

"Well, sort of. She also said not to call you until she was out of the shower, but she's taking a long time."

"Sounds like her." I joke. "How do you even know how to use a phone?" It's mostly a joke, but the pure offense in her voice kills me.

"I'm six years old, Aunt Sawyer. AND I'm not stupid. So there."

"So there, huh?" A wave of homesickness washes over me as I listen to Mary explain how she's smarter than all the kids in her class because of her spelling abilities and superiority at math. I lace my fingers into Elle's free hand, resting it on the console in between us as we get closer to Quantico. Elle feels like home now, too. 

"Sawyer, hey." Marina's voice interrupts as Mary suddenly stops talking.

"Hey, Mar. Finally done showering, huh?"

"I told her to wait."

"She's part Vanderbilt. Don't think she knows how." Marina scoffs.

"What all did she say?"

"Lots about spelling. School. Coming to stay with me for a few days while you and Tom visit Mom."

"Oh, you two have hatched a plot now?"

"Nah, that's all her. I'll gladly be an accomplice, though." She laughs.

"That would be nice. We were thinking about going down Friday, staying for a week. That cool with you?" God knows I'll have plenty of free time with my new job not starting for two weeks. It occurs to me that I haven't told Marina yet about the job switch. It's not a phone call topic anyway.

"Yeah, bring it on. You and Tom should have dinner with us."

"Ooooh." She drags it out. "You and your girlfriend?" I can practically hear her wiggling her eyebrows through the phone.

"Yes. My girlfriend-" I glance at Elle. "Who is sitting in the car with me."

"Oh, god. Hi. Hey. Sorry." Mary says.

"Hi." Elle says. "Nice to, uh, sort of meet you."

"You too. You have a nice voice."

"Marina, don't make it weird." I chide and she makes an indignant noise.

"I wasn't making it weird, she has a nice voice!"

"Thank you." Elle says, laughing slightly.

"Anytime. Shoot, I gotta get Mary to school."

"Tell her to kick ass in spelling today."

"I'm not telling her that."

"Party pooper."

"Idiot." She fires back.

"Wow, you're so mature."

"I'm hanging up." She says, and the dial tone sounds.

"She sounds fun."

"She is fun. She's old, though. So less fun."

"Isn't she only, like, 34?"

"Yeah, but I'm young. And sprightly."

"You have a bum shoulder."

"Uh, yeah, cuz I got shot, Elle." I say, mustering as much mock indignation as I can.

"Hmm." She says, squeezing my hand as I turn into the FBI parking garage.

"And we're here." I say slowly.

"Yeah." I stare through the windshield at the elevator doors, watching a guy get on. I'm jealous of this random man, that he's probably going to his same, good, job that he didn't get reassigned from.

"You ready?" Elle asks, popping open her door.

"Ready for everyone to stare at me? Ready for Morgan to look like a kicked puppy? Tears from Garcia? No."

"You'll still be here. They'll be okay."

"Yeah, but I can't guarantee I won't sock Spencer in the jaw."

"Maybe...don't?" She bumps her shoulder into mine as we walk towards the elevator.

"Ugh, fine. If you insist."

"I love you. No matter what." She says as the elevator doors close.

"I love you too."

here's some fluff or whatever before the confrontation you all want. swag on 'em. 

also sorry for not updating for like a month i got hit by a car and was in the hospital for a few days and was hardcore failing school lol i'm good now though dw abt it i'll update more now bc things are less chaotic

thanks squad -sasha<3