Invisible String | Emily Prentiss x Reader

seventeen

"I'll stay then." She whispered so quietly I could barely hear her. I couldn't help but let a smile appear on my lips and to my surprise, she did the exact same thing.

After a couple of seconds, I let go of her arm. We immeditely turned away from each other and looked up at the stairs. We were both leaning on the railing with our elbows merely an inch apart.

My body felt like it was on fire and Emily Prentiss was the one holding the match.

I felt her turn her head slightly toward me and I could feel her eyes on me, studying me. I felt too embarrassed to meet her eyes so I didn't. I just looked up at the stars.

However, all I could think about was Emily. I thought about everything she's done for me and everything she's said to me. I realized that I still don't know much about her and I want to change that. I want to know everything she's willing to tell me.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said quietly without looking away from the sky.

"Sure." She said softly, never taking her eyes off me.

"That night in Pittsburgh, you said you had night terrors. What are they about?" I asked quietly.

When Emily didn't answer for a while I immediately regretted asking. It was probably too personal. I was about to apologize when Emily started talking.

"I have a couple of them." She said quietly. I immediately brought my gaze to her face and saw that she was still staring at me.

"But recently I've been having the same one." She said as she drew her eyes to the ground. I felt awful for asking.

"You don't have to tell me, Emily. I shouldn't have asked." I said quietly.

"No, it's okay, Y/n. I want to tell you I've just never talked about it with another person before" She said as she brought her eyes to mine once again. Her gaze was different, she almost seemed... vulnerable. Emily trusted me enough to be vulnerable in front of me...

"A couple of months ago I was kidnapped by an unsub. He drugged me and made me hallucinate that my legs were paralyzed and that I was in a hospital. He got into my head a lot more than I would like to admit. So every time I have a night terror, it's the same thing. I'm trapped on that bed, unable to move as I watch the rest of the team die in front of me." She said quietly. Her face was stone cold but she looked like she could crack at any minute.

I immediately grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry Emily," I whispered. I knew apologizing wouldn't cure anything but I wanted her to know that I cared.

"It's okay. They only happen when I'm really stressed." She said quietly.

We stood there in silence, hand-in-hand. I didn't say anything but from the way she was looking at me, I knew we were having an unspoken conversation. She trusted me, and in return, I would give her the comfort she needs.

So if she needs silence right now, then that's what I'll give her.

After a while, I felt her squeeze my hand softly before she let go. She leaned against the railing looking up at the sky again. "Can I ask you a question?" She said softly.

"Yeah," I replied as I mirrored her stance, with my elbows on the railing.

"Why did you ask me to stay?" She asked without taking her eyes away from the stars.

I felt my breath get caught in my throat and I felt frozen. I could feel Emily shifting beside me and I knew I needed an answer right now or she would just profile my silence.

"I like being around you," I said quietly.

She was silent for a moment and I felt myself regretting my answer. I thought it had been a pretty general answer in comparison to what I could have said, which would have been- I am absolutely enamored by you and whenever you're not in my presence, I wished you were.