Note: We are pretending that Valentine's Day in the 70s-80s is the same as early-2000s because I said so.
Note: Part of this idea came from someone in a discord server that I left. if you recognize the hs lovers theme from an idea you had, shoot me a message so I can credit you.
Growing up, Valentine's Day was always a little special. Everyone at school would color their little boxes and bring in dozens of pre-made notes covered in cartoon characters with little silly candies attached. The classroom would be decked head-to-toe with heart-shaped everything and all of the activities for the day would be centered around love. At home, too, your parents would buy little stuffed animals from the store with some little, cheap chocolates so that you could be their Valentine, too. It was never anything extravagant, never anything expensive or over the top-- it was just enough to make you feel a little special and a little extra love on a cold February day.
In high school, you had your first real romantic relationship and got to really experience the joys of what the holiday could bring. Logically, you knew it was a Hallmark holiday but you couldn't help but shake in excitement every year when you got to see what plan your girlfriend had cooked up. She was born wealthy and while she didn't go out of her way to make sure that people at school knew it, there was very little she wouldn't do for you. For three years in a row, you were dazzled with your favorite candies, dates to the movies, the softest stuffed animals, and on your last Valentine's Day, one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry you had ever laid your eyes on. It was tasteful and subtle but entirely special to the relationship you had shared.
Despite the love the two of you shared, your relationship came grinding to a halt after graduation because you and your girlfriend both were moving away for college and weren't ready for the hardships that you would face trying to keep a relationship afloat over hundreds of miles. It was a mutual decision to end things, as sad as it was. You spent one final night together and then decided that it would be for the best if you didn't try to be friends. Things would just get too messy and painful if you tried it any other way. The love between the two of you felt too strong to be able to put away as if nothing ever happened. You, however, couldn't bring yourself to take off the necklace she had given you, to relinquish the one thing that had always made you so loved.
Years and years went by and you never heard from her again. Part of you was hurt, despite the fact that you had both agreed to not be friends. She had been such a huge part of your life and was someone you trusted immensely, someone who you felt safe around. It hurt that you never got to have her back in any capacity. But, time continued on and soon enough she was just a fond memory amidst the toil and trouble that was adolescence. You wore the necklace less and less but couldn't seem to get rid of it– its comfort was still something you cherished on days you missed her the most.
After college, you worked in your field for a while but decided that something was missing. On a whim, you applied to the FBI to work in some silly department related to your bachelor's degree, and much to your surprise, you got in. After the academy, they paid for you to get a Master's degree and after 7 years of stellar work, your boss suggested that you take the profiling courses and apply for the BAU. It was hard work but you passed your courses with flying colors and caught the eye of one of your instructors who then gave Hotch a bit of a nudge when hiring a new profiler.
On your first day of work, you were nervous. These were some of the best agents in the entire bureau and you felt like an imposter, like you couldn't possibly belong amongst them. For a little extra support, you placed the chain and pendant around your neck that reminded you of your worth. Even if you didn't let yourself think of the girl who gave it to you, the small memento gave you comfort. Any and all jitters flew out the window, though, when you saw her sitting at a desk, laughing with a kid who looked barely 25. You couldn't believe it! Your heart started to race and butterflies erupted in your stomach. Emily. The name you hadn't let yourself think about in years. Would she remember you? What was she like now? Would she want to be your friend? With Emily around, you knew that you would fit right in.
Your internal monologue was immediately stopped in its place when her eye caught yours. Warmth spread on your cheeks and you clutched your bag closer to your chest, raising one hand for a tiny little wave. Emily seemed to be frozen in place with a frown on her lips and a sinking feeling flooded your body. She was just staring at you and seemed to be displeased to be doing so. Of all the reactions Emily could have had to seeing you again, that was one of the ones you dreaded. Almost as quickly as they arrived, the butterflies and warm tingles vanished and you were left with nothing but cold anguish. Maybe things had changed more than you could have anticipated.
Scurrying up the stairs, you took yourself to the Unit Chief's office to get yourself situated for the day. He paired you up with Reid for the time being, knowing that fieldwork and combat weren't your specialties. Instead, he played to your strengths and you couldn't have been more grateful that he didn't pair you with the only other woman agent just because you, yourself, weren't a man. He told you to take the free desk next to Reid and introduce yourself. That, however, meant taking the desk kitty-corner to Emily, too, and you felt that anxious feeling stir in your belly once more.
For the next few weeks, you did everything to avoid Emily. You even stopped wearing the necklace completely. Reid was barely taking a liking to you and the last thing you needed was another person to have stilted, forced conversation with. After a while, however, Emily was the one to break. It was on the jet back from a hard case, the majority of the team sleeping, leaving you and Emily the only ones still awake. With a determined look in her eyes, she crossed the jet and sat down next to you, startling you from the book you were reading.
"Is there a reason you're ignoring me?" Emily asked, never one to mince her words.
You blinked at her a couple of times as your jaw fell open. What?
"I'm not ignoring you, we just don't have that much work we have to do together," you replied, trying to keep things calm. Emily breathed heavily through her nose before looking around the jet, making sure everyone was still asleep.
"Listen, I know we have... history, but I would really like it if we could at least try to be friends. This team is like a family and I don't want to be the reason you feel like you can't be a part of it."
You looked at Emily with equal parts surprise and awe. That was the girl you remembered from all those years ago, the girl who always put others before herself and had so much love to give.
"I didn't think you would want to be friends. We decided all those years ago not to be friends and I never heard from you again," you said, sadness lacing your voice.
Emily reached out and grabbed your hand. It was warm and familiar; it made you feel safe just like it had all those years ago.
"I would like it very much to be your friend," she said before leaning back in the chair and pulling out her worn copy of Slaughterhouse-Five. As if she had just given you permission, you reached into your go-bag and pulled out the necklace that you had come to rely on, stringing it around your neck and rubbing your hand over the pendant to feel its cool metal on your skin once more. She would never admit it, but a little smile twitched at the corners of her lips when she watched you out of the corner of her eyes.
As the weeks came and went, you and Emily had fallen into a comfortable friendship. You would chat and shoot the shit at work, talk about a little bit of everything without getting too deep or vulnerable. There were new walls around Emily that you hadn't quite seen before from the girl who once saw too much beauty in the world. It hurt your heart to think about what kinds of awful things she had gone through in your time apart to take from her what once made her so her. Emily's smile was still bright and infectious, though, and her mesmerizing brown eyes still had that twinkle in them, still had that curiosity and mischief that had always been there. This Emily was new to you, ragged and a little worn around the edges, but enthralling all the same.
It was only on Valentine's Day that you started to question whether or not being Emily's friend was going to be sustainable. As you had predicted all those years ago, Emily's gentle touches, kind gestures, and warmth had reeled you right back in. It was different this time, you felt like you were crushing on someone you had never met before. The things that drew you to Emily now were foreign to you-- her quick wit and sharp tongue when she interrogated unsubs was something you had never known would be a thing about Emily that filled your dreams.
She was more confident now, having lost a lot of the nerdy, socially awkward teenager and replaced it with a funny, strong, alluring woman who knew exactly how beautiful she was and how to make that work in her favor. You saw bits and pieces of the girl you once knew, she was still in there somewhere. But this Emily? She was intriguing and captivating in ways you never would have imagined from the gangly teen with cropped hair and dark, ripped clothes who would talk endlessly about sci-fi novels and cute aquatic animals and her latest art project.
For the holiday, the team had been grounded for a week, mandated by Strauss to take time to catch up on paperwork because she had gotten her ass reamed by the Director. You were honestly glad for the break, you hadn't realized just how many cases the team took and by extension how little time you were able to spend in your own bed. Even worse, during the last case, your lucky necklace had been ripped from your neck by an unsub during a field interview that wasn't supposed to be with a suspect. The clasp had ripped into pieces and the fragile, decades-old pendant shattered on the concrete at your feet. When backup arrived and Derek put the unsub in handcuffs, Emily's eyes couldn't seem to leave the dip in your collarbones where the necklace used to sit and the tears welling in your eyes. It felt silly to be so upset about losing a necklace but you were sad, nonetheless.
This Valentine's Day, Penelope had gone all out. Each of your desks had little heart-shaped decorations on them with handwritten notes pinned in them and a pile of your favorite candies at its base. On your desk at the end of the day, however, another little gift showed up. It was a little box wrapped in shiny white and red paper with a bow attached to the top. Your name was scribbled in handwriting you would recognize anywhere on a tag made of worn, aged paper. It had to have come from Emily's stash of stationery that she kept as a secret-- writing letters and poetry on "paper with personality" a hobby she picked up when you would write each other notes back and forth in your lockers. She always liked to surprise you with what she could find.
Looking around, you noticed Emily was nowhere to be found in the bullpen. Slowly, you unwrapped the gift, carefully removing the paper so you wouldn't ruin it, and pulled out a small, bright blue box. Inside was a near replica of the necklace that you were given all those years ago only updated to be more becoming of a working adult. You held it gently in your hands, watching it sparkle in the fluorescent lights. Entranced by the thoughtful gift, you didn't hear Emily come up behind you until she started to speak.
"I hope you don't mind, I got you a gift," she said, wringing her hands in front of her and sucking a lip into her mouth to bite on anxiously. She had her coat slung over her shoulders and her bag in her hands, obviously ready to leave for the day.
You were speechless, just looking at Emily with wide eyes and your jaw dropped open. Emily blushed a bright red and began to fidget the longer you didn't respond. She rambled slightly, wishing you a happy Valentine's Day, and scurried off to the elevators, not ready to face the embarrassment of having overstepped.
In all honesty, that was the exact opposite of what you were feeling. Warm, tingly feelings were spreading across your chest and arms, familiar butterflies erupting in your tummy. It was Valentine's Day and she got this for you. Quickly, you regained your senses and ran after Emily, sprinting down the stairs and catching her just as the elevator dinged open on the first floor, stopping her with a firm hand on her shoulder, almost knocking her off balance in the process. You caught her in your arms, your faces unbearably close as you turned her around to look at you.
"You got me a new necklace," you said, out of breath and scanning Emily's face. Her skin flushed a bright pink again and she looked down at her toes. Her hands were still clutching at your forearms, though, not severing the connection.
Reaching up, you tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and cupped her jaw, taking a stab in the dark that this kind of affection would be welcomed. She near-imperceptibly leaned into the touch and you took it as a sign to continue.
"I love it so much, thank you. Can I ask why you got it for me, though?" you asked, hoping not daring to let yourself hope that it's anything more than a friendly gesture.
Emily chewed on her lip again before finally lifting her eyes to meet your own. They were those same, sparkling brown eyes you had fallen in love with all those years ago and it made your chest tug at your heartstrings. You watched as Emily physically gulped before stuttering into the beginning of her sentence.
"B-because I didn't like seeing you without my necklace," she said, her answer throwing you off-kilter slightly. Her necklace?
You tilted your head and quirked an eyebrow, encouraging her to continue.
"When I saw you still wearing the necklace that very first day of work, it reminded me of what used to be, of what we shared. Seeing you reminded me of a time when things were simpler-- when I was just a girl in coffee-stained pajamas as you read to me in the early light of the morning. It made me miss you in a way that I never thought I would again and knowing that you still wore my necklace was all I needed to not lose that feeling, to not forget the way that you cared. I didn't want to ask you for more but I also was too selfish to ask for less."
"Emily..." you whispered, breath catching in your throat at her confession. You gripped her forearms harder and unconsciously stepped closer to her. "That's why I still wore it, it made me feel safe and it reminded me of the only time in my life I have ever felt truly loved. It was the only piece of you I let myself have."
Emily's face lit up in a soft smile, her dimple carving into her cheek and her rosy lips just barely daring to upturn.
"I still want to be your girl in a white t-shirt, over coffee stirring in the cinnamon, while you read me poetry by dead men," Emily said, boldly taking a plunge, allowing herself a moment of vulnerability that she hadn't been able to in years. It was you, how could she not even try?
You slipped your arms around her waist, tightening your fists in the fabric of her shirt beneath her unbuttoned coat.
"I never stopped loving you, Emily," you confessed, joining the jaded woman in her moment of vulnerability, "and I think I'm falling in love with who you've become."
There was no going back now and you could only hope that Emily felt the same. Emily immediately crushed you in a hug, cupping the back of your head with her slender hand and breathing out a deep sigh of relief. When she pulled back, you smiled brightly at her.
"Go get your things, I have the number for the best Chinese takeout and a cuddly kitty at home," Emily said with no hesitation in her voice. "Be my Valentine?"
Instead of answering, you simply pressed your lips against hers in a chaste kiss and then shooed her towards the door.
"Send me your address, I will be right behind you," you called over your shoulder, catching the elevator that just opened, letting some of the White Collar agents out. Emily was smiling brightly and mouthed an "okay" at you, not turning to leave until the elevator doors shut. You couldn't contain the excitement that flooded your body and you started to wiggle and jump a little in the small space, thankful that you were alone.
You were getting a do-over with Emily, a second chance at being with the only person who had ever really felt like home. You were home.