Paris - Hotchniss

Somewhere Only We Know

Song - Somewhere Only We Know, by Keane

It's not really the tour that Aaron came for. He didn't care what they did. He just wanted to be there with her. Three months didn't seem as long as it felt for him. Not only did he miss having her in the field, he missed her expertise as well. Without anyone to fill her position, it felt as though someone or something was constantly missing, reminding them of her absence.

"Emily," Aaron laughed as she took him by his hand and led him quickly down the stairs of her apartment and out to the street. The street, wet from rain, glistened in the afternoon sun, and sent a warmth through both of them. "Where are we going?"

"Are you hungry?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she continued. "I know a great cafe only a few minutes from here. You'll like it, it is an excellent view," she said, eagerly grabbing onto his hand once more and walking down the sidewalk.

"Don't you want to take a cab or something?"

"It's not far."

Hotch smiled and caught up beside her, as their fingers remained intertwined below their waists as they walked.

"That's the park right there," Emily said, pointing to the opposite side of the street. "I go there sometimes and drink coffee. It's relaxing. Not many people go there."

Hotch was slightly put off by the fact that she went everywhere alone in this big city. He knew she was doing all of this because she was lonely. She didn't get visitors often, and had a hard time establishing trust with everyone else.

They crossed the street and Emily pointed at another building, this one with a green striped overhang and a brass door. "That's the local flower shop. You should have seen the cars lined up a few weeks ago for valentine's day. Loise sells everything from floral and chocolate to fluffy pink handcuffs if you walk far enough into the store."

Hotch raised an eyebrow and Emily laughed, finally dropping his hand. "We're here," she said. He looked up to see the front of a small building jammed between two other, much larger shops, with an old wooden store front that read 'La Harmonie'.

"I know, it looks like a hole in the wall. . . well, it kinda is, but you'll see the magic of this place."

"You're getting all Aristotle on me now too?" he asked, opening the door for her.

As soon as Hotch entered the small building, a wonderful aroma filled his nose. Emily saw his face light up as she led them to an open booth near a small window and away from everyone else in the building, which consisted of two drunks up at the bar and a couple sitting across the room from them.

"Do you always sit here? It seems a bit. . ."

"Distant? Yeah, well, look at this," she said, carefully pulling the curtains of the window open to reveal a perfect image of the eiffel tower in all of its glory.

Hotch never thought he would be in this position. Sitting in a cafe in Paris with Emily Prentiss, gazing out of a box sized window at the Eiffel tower.

"This place was built in eighteen seventy-five," Emily said with a small smile as the dark haired waitress met them at the booth.

"Emilie! C'est bon de te voir!" (Emily, it is good to see you)

"Et toi aussi, Amélia." (And you as well, Amelia)

The older woman placed two kisses on the woman's cheeks and then wiggled her eyebrows in Aaron's direction. "qui est ton beau prétendant?" (Who is this handsome suitor of yours)

Emily winked at Aaron and smiled. "C'est Aaron. Il vient d'Amérique." (This is Aaron, he is from America)

Hotch didn't quite know what they were saying, but he was able to pick up a few words, which only seemed to confuse him further.

Amelia raised her eyebrows as a smirk spread across her face. "donc il ne peut pas nous comprendre?" (so he can not understand us?)

Emily shook her head in agreement, to which Amelia hit her arm playfully. "il est très beau. ne gâche pas ça, emily," she warned. (He is very good looking. Do not screw this up)

With that, the woman who served as an aunt to Emily walked away, completely forgetting about their drink orders.

"Care to explain what that was about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward.

"She wanted to know what we wanted to drink. I told her we'd think about it."

"oh. sure," Aaron answered disapprovingly.

Emily smiled and looked down at the candle between them on the table before glancing back up into the man's hazel eyes. "How is the team?" she asked.

"Uh, well, we're all doing well. I don't know if you heard it from JJ already, but Reid has a girlfriend now," he said with a smirk.

"Really? What's her name?"

"Maude, I think. I overheard JJ and Garcia talking about it."

"Well aren't you a gossip," she teased, "you're practically the Regina George of the BAU."

"I don't know who that is."

They both laughed, and soon found themselves gazing out the window once more. "What about you?" Emily asked, turning her attention back on him. "Any girlfriend?"

Her question caught him off guard, as he felt a sudden heat rise and fall on his cheeks. "Uh, no, no," he said quickly. "You know how hard it is with this job."

Emily nodded. "I think that if you really put effort into the relationship, it could work. It takes time for people to get used to our job. Some people just can't take it." She smiled slowly. "You should be happy, Aaron."

His first name coming out of her mouth was something he hadn't heard in a long time. "I am happy. Right now, with you," he answered carefully.

Emily was taken aback by his answer, and the way he was looking at her. His eyes were so clearly filled with something a profiler could recognize so easily, as it was the most powerful of human emotions. Thankfully, Amelia was at their table before she needed to respond.

"I brought good wine for you and American," she said in her best English, which was heavy with an accent.

Aaron thanked her as she poured the champagne for each of them. Soon she asked for their order, and Amelia insisted that they try her soup of the day. Emily agreed and eventually got Aaron to do so as well.

"We're getting our entire meal picked out for us," Aaron laughed as the woman walked, or rather, waddled away.

Emily raised her glass in the air suddenly. "Let's toast."

"To what?"

"To friendship."

"To friendship," Aaron repeated before bumping his glass against her own and bringing it to his lips.