unedited and ~unsupervised~!
FORTY TWO. THE 'CONVERSATION', THE RAIN, AND THE HOSPITALITY WORKER
DAISY SLAMMED THE LIST OF NAMES ON THE TABLE AS SOON AS SHE ESCAPED FROM THE INTERROGATION ROOM. She wasn't crying - she didn't have any tears left. Instead, there was an anger none of the team had ever seen in her before. Her entire body was shaking and her eyes were almost crazed. She said nothing as she pushed through the group, wanting nothing more than to get the night over with and pretend it had never happened in the first place.
"Daisy," she heard someone calling after her as she stormed through the hallway of the police department. She barely registered it, as her head was buzzing and her ears were ringing. She couldn't breathe, though that seemed to be the least of her problems. "Daisy, stop!"
Weaving through the officers and new arrivals in the station, Daisy pushed through the front doors and was welcomed by a dark morning sky and heavy rain. She reached for her phone, only to realise she'd left it with Spencer after she'd called Penelope. She didn't have a choice, she would have to go back inside. But she needed a minute, or more.
She turned and starting walking, seeing cafes beginning to open along the main road. The minimum wage workers were going to be serving coffee and small cakes no matter the weather, and Daisy knew it was likely to be a long day ahead for them. She still had a few dollars that Rossi had given her for a snack from the vending machine, so she wandered into the first establishment she saw and ordered a hot chocolate.
"FBI, huh?" the young server asked, ignoring how Daisy's shoes created wet footprints on the tile floor. She wrote Daisy's order down on a slip of paper and tried her best not to look too worried, as she didn't exactly want the good seats to get so damp so early into her shift. "I didn't know you guys worked this time of day."
"Only sometimes," Daisy managed a polite smile, depositing the rest of the cash she had on her into the tip jar and wandering over to the wooden stools by the window. She knew what the barista's expression meant, and she wasn't planning to be a painful customer. So, she lifted herself up onto the stool and stared out the large front window, watching the rain aggressively hit the pavement outside.
Moments later, her steaming drink was brought over, and the server's curiosity got the best of her. She slid over a warm plate with a chocolate croissant sitting on it, as well as a knife and fork. The kind gesture made Daisy want to cry. "Rough night?"
"I guess you could say that," Daisy took a sip from her hot chocolate and relished in the taste. "God, this is so good. Thank you."
"You're my first customer," she shrugged, fiddling with the blinds. "And in this weather, you're probably the only one I'll be having for a little while."
Daisy chuckled softly, nodding to the empty stool next to her. The woman took a seat, leaning on her elbows and watching the rain with a solemn expression. "What time did your shift start?"
"Two hours ago," she sighed, adjusting the headband that pulled back a dyed pink fringe. She looked around nineteen or twenty - out of high school but not yet on a chosen career path. Daisy remembered being that age. It was stressful, sure, but it was nice. "Someone's gotta get everything set up and baked."
"Worth it," Daisy said through a mouthful of food. "This is delicious."
The girl's cheeks flushed with pride. Daisy got a glance at her name badge; Marnie. "So, what's up with you, Miss FBI? Why do you only have one arm out?"
Daisy felt a genuine chuckle escape from her lips. Sometimes she forgot that there were normal people out in the world - ones that didn't want to kill or hurt others, ones that weren't so serious all the time. People that had regular lives without the constant action and intensity. It was refreshing, to say the least. "I, uh, got shot a couple weeks ago."
Marnie's eyes widened. "You're kidding."
Daisy shook her head with an amused smile.
"Whoa," the girl leaned back and exhaled a large breath of air. "Is that the case you're working now?"
"No," the agent replied. "This one was a guy who'd been stalking me for a little while."
"Shit," Marnie blinked in surprise. "And to think I'm complaining about an early shift? I bet you've been awake for hours. Why can't you just go home?"
"Because there's still a lot of work to do," Daisy said with a shrug. "And don't sell yourself short, kid. Without you, I'd be stuck walking around in the rain feeling sorry for myself."
Marnie's laugh was full of a youthful innocence, one that was almost soothing to Daisy after the past few days she'd had. The barista looked out the window once more and her eyes narrowed. She pointed outside, and Daisy followed to see a figure standing out in the rain. "Is that another FBI person?"
Daisy squinted a little, leaning forward. She swore, recognising the suited man shouting her name. "Shit, that's my boss."
"Your boss?" Marnie did a double take as Daisy got up from her seat and walked to the entrance. "Wh...why didn't he just call you or something? Isn't that a thing with you guys?"
"Yeah, well I'm a dumbass who forgot her phone and is probably in serious trouble," Daisy responded as she swung the front door open and stepped out for a moment. It seemed the downfall had only gotten stronger, so she had to yell. "Hotch!"
Hotch's head snapped over to where she was standing across the road, his hair dripping wet atop his head. Daisy lifted her hand over her face to see him through the pouring rain, watching as he ran across the street.
By the time he reached her, water was pooling at his feet, and he was panting for breath. Daisy wanted to kick herself for how attractive she was finding him. There was something about the way his white shirt was clinging to his body, and how his tie was slightly loosened around his neck. No, Daisy. Stop. "Are you okay?"
Daisy felt herself shift into her faked playful personality. She raised an eyebrow and reached over to run a hand through his hair with a soft chuckle. It was so much easier to pretend than acknowledge everything that had taken place over the last thirty-six hours. "Maybe I should ask you the same thing."
"Daisy, don't," Hotch shook his head, taking her wrist and gently pulling her closer to him. Daisy wanted to look anywhere but his face, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away. His expression was unreadable - she genuinely had no idea what he was feeling in that moment. "Are you okay?"
Daisy's lip twitched. The anger she had previously felt was still simmering inside her, but she couldn't seem to find the will to act on it. He did things to her, and she hated it. "Of course I'm not, Hotch. What do you want me to say?"
"You're right," he muttered. "But, listen. What you said about personal feelings-"
"Don't worry about it," she took a step back from him, pulling her hand away. Hotch's face fell at her actions. She did her best to ignore it, convincing herself that it was just her imagination. "I'm sick of doing all the chasing, and I know that it's only gonna get me hurt, and there's no point in pretending like it's ever going to be reciprocated because you only care about me as a friend and an employee-"
Hotch cut off her rambling by grabbing the back of her head and pressing his lips to hers. Daisy gasped at the contact, her eyes widening in surprise. She took a few seconds before they fluttered shut and she allowed herself to kiss him back. The built up tension over the last months was finally receiving some form of release, and she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief.
The warmth from his mouth set her body on fire while simultaneously giving her goosebumps, and her legs suddenly felt like jelly below her. Hotch's other arm slipped around her waist as he held her up, and she gripped his upper arm with the small amount of strength she had left in her.
There was something different about kissing him sober. She was completely in touch with her senses, and nothing was masked by alcohol. Instead of whiskey, he tasted like cheap espresso and vanilla, and she couldn't get enough. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and tried to assert dominance, but he only held her tighter.
Maybe it was cliche to be having their first actual kiss in the pouring rain. However, the context in which they found themselves couldn't be any more unusual. With her wounded arm in a sling and rainwater running through the crack in her collar, she was shifting between discomfort and delight.
She could have stood there forever, but she was willed herself to pull away at the sounds of cheering across the road. She blinked a few times to bring herself back to reality, and she stepped back, peering over Hotch's shoulder to see the rest of the team whooping and clapping for them. Emily and Morgan were waving their hands, uncaring about the rain, while Spencer, Rossi and JJ were huddled under an umbrella beside them. "Shit, did they see all of that?"
Hotch smiled down at her, moving his hand to cup her cheek. She shivered at his touch, the feeling overpowering the cold water falling onto her cheeks. "Does it matter?"
Daisy knew he could feel how fast her pulse was, and that only set her further on edge. She shook her head and began to stutter. "But you said-"
He kissed her again to silence her. His lips lingered for a second, ever so soft and careful. "I know, and I'm sorry."
"Is it because Morgan and I were-" another kiss. God, she adored how he felt against her, but her mind was nagging relentlessly for her to question his motives. She was a profiler, after all. "Hotch, I'm trying to have an argument with you!"
"We can do that once we get somewhere drier," he assured, kissing her once more before they were interrupted yet again by the cafe door swinging open.
"So, this is your boss, huh?" the two agents looked back to see Marnie holding a takeaway bag in her hands. A broad smirk was spread across her face, clearly having seen the entire show go down from inside.
Daisy flushed bright red at her words and detangled herself from Hotch, walking over and taking the food and drink from the hospitality worker. The younger woman winked as she handed them over. "Thank you, Marnie."
"You're welcome, agent," she grinned. "Run along, now. You'd better come and visit me again, alright?"
"Of course," Daisy chuckled. She took the small bag, grateful for the fact the worker had put her drink and food in something she could hold in one hand. "Have a good shift, kid."
Marnie lifted her hand in a two finger salute, before she spun around on her heel and rushed back inside.
★☆
FINALLY SOME ACTIOOOOOOONN
yet here i am still thinking it's happening too fast when it's literally chapter FORTY TWO
but let's not worry about that
I just wanna say fuck my keyboard bro
cause my laptop has that 'sticky keys' glitch that some macbooks have (no I don't have literal STICKY keys) so I'm out here getting the occasional double 't' or 'r' and bad capitalisation so if you ever see a tt or rr (or a 'too' instead of 'to' cause autocorrect) that shouldn't be there its my cursed technology :(
also i lowkey feel the need to redo the playlist cause now i wanna write and inevitably never finish a spencer book but i also only get one good book idea per fandom so uhhh hm
also bruh what if i made fucked around and made a trailer??? i haven't made one in ages and i have absolutely no idea if it'll work out but maybe hmmm hehehehe
okay bye team ily xoxoxoxcoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoo