the late afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the bau, casting a warm glow over the bullpen. it had been a quiet day, a rare lull between cases ,and most of the team was using the time to catch up on paperwork or decompress. you sat across from jj at one of the small conference tables, both of you working on reports but chatting idly as you did.

you and jj had always had an easy friendship, built on mutual respect and admiration. she admired your work ethic and how you always seemed to keep a cool head during the chaos of the job. you admired her strength, her fierce dedication to her family, and how she was able to balance it all while still showing such compassion to everyone she encountered.

as the conversation flowed from work to more personal topics, jj found herself laughing at something you said, a soft, genuine laugh that seemed to surprise her as much as it did you. she couldn’t help but notice the way her heart felt lighter around you, the way you could pull her out of the heavy darkness of their job without even trying.

you had this way of making everything feel easier, brighter.

“see, this is why i like talking to you,” you said with a grin, your eyes sparkling with warmth. “you always laugh at my bad jokes.”

jj’s heart did something strange in her chest, a soft flutter that made her pause for a second. it wasn’t like her to get flustered, but there was something about the way you were looking at her, something that made her feel a little off balance.