Lets get a drink Dave.
David Rossi x Male!reader.
Summary: Rossi runs into his ex on a case, what happens when it didn't excatly end well.
Warning: hom*oPHOBIA, crying, fake death, death, family disowning, car crash, murder, unsub stuff, lossing kids. (Please let me know if I have missed anything)
Words. 10.3K
A/N: OMG IM SO EXCITED THAT IVE FINIALLY FINISHED THIS. I start this wayyyy to long ago (Back in april opps) This story I f*cking love, so I hope you enjoy, yesss we get Bi Rossi so enjoy it my loves.
As the team flies over to Seattle, they have a few hours to relax before Hotch gathers them, ready to discuss any more information that Garica may have found them over the last few hours. The case they are investigating this time involved four male victims in their 40s, they were viciously murdered. Their faces are almost impossible to identify, making the team think whoever the unsub is harvesting anger for must look similar to their victims.
“This is the queen of all knowledge, ask away” Garcia smiles brightly at her team when she pops up on the screen.
“Hey Garcia, have you got any more information on the victims or the last place they were seen?” Hotch asks her.
“Yes, I have actually already been working with the detective of the case, he's been helping me narrow down a few things. So all our victims all worked in the same 5 block radius and get this, each victim's body was disposed of between 1 to 2 miles down from the victim's beforehands workplaces, so his comfort zone is not big at all” Garcia lights up as she speaks.
“Which means his next victims must be close by as well, hey Garcia can you have a look and see if—” Reid starts to speak.
“See if there's any boring middle type jobs and workers they fit our description of our victim, me and detective (Y/l) are already on it” Garcia smirks up at them seeing their surprised and impressive looks staring back at her. Rossi's eyebrows narrow hearing that name, his mind being to race. He hasn’t heard that name in a long time.
“Anything else bossman?” Garcia grins up at them.
“That's it, thanks Garcia” Hotch smiles, moving his finger to the keyboard, ready to end the call.
“Wait Garcia, did you say (Y/L) as in Detective (Y/n) (Y/l)” Rossi's body has tenses up, but he does his best to relax as he feels his team all look towards him.
“Yeah that's the one,” Garcia nods in confirmation.
“How do you know him?” Morgan pipes up, noticing the change of mood in Rossi.
“Oh we worked together years ago” Rossi lies well, turning his head to Hotch. Feeling his heated stare, knowing if anyone could read him it would be him.
“Oh good, that will be nice for you two to work together again then” Emily smiles. Soon the topic moves on but Rossi can’t help but focus on the way his heart is pounding in his chest. The thought of seeing you again after so many years is terrifying, you two didn’t exactly end well, and having to hide his past from a team of profilers wasn’t exactly his plan this morning.
~~~
Once the Jet has landed, night time has already fallen. The team heads straight to the police station knowing it's too late to visit anything else tonight.
“Hello, you're the FBI team right?” One of the younger police officers jumps off their seats when they spot the BAU team walk in, ready to greet them.
“Yes, I'm Agent Hotchner” Aaron shakes the eager officer's hand.
“The captain is just on the phone but I can show your guys where you all can set up” They smile, leading the team to a conference room, walking past the captain's office on the way. Dave can’t help but slow down and look through your office window seeing you sat at your desk, facing away from them all. Even though he can’t see you properly, just the small glimpse at you brings back memories of your two relationships, something that he hasn’t allowed himself to think about in almost eight years. Hotch can’t help but glance at Dave, feeling as if something is wrong with him. The team doesn’t get much time to set up when you interrupt them, knocking gently on the door when you walk in.
“Good evening everyone” Smiling lightly as you walk in, seeing everyone scattered around the room. Your eyes landing on a taller more put together agent your guessing must be Agent Hotchner.
“Evening, you must be Detective (Y/l)” Hotch walks over, extending his hand, you shake it with a sharp nod.
“That's me, you must be Agent Aaron Hotchner, I’ve already been talking to your technique analysis, she’s great, a bit different but amazing the things she can find” You chuckle softly at the mention of Garcia.
“Oh yeah, that's Garcia alright, let me introduce you to the rest of my team” Hotch points around the room introducing his team, who all smile in response. “Hey uh, does anyone know where Daves gone?” Hotch's eyes narrow as he scans the room for him.
“He went to find the coffee machine” JJ speaks up, before turning back to the notice board, adding some picture up to it.
“The coffee machine broke, but I got told there's a coffee shop open 24 hours just down the road” Dave walks in, his words trailing off as he sees you standing in the middle of the room. You don’t mean to tense up when you hear his voice but it's one hell of a shock hearing your ex's voice for the first time in almost eight years. You turn around slowly feeling on edge, as you lock eyes with him.
“David” The only word you're able to speak, letting out a small breath as you read the emotions swirling in his eyes, the guilt, the pain, the fear.
“(Y/n), It's good to see you again” He smiles weakly, doing his best to fix his mask that's starting to slip, knowing his whole team is watching, profiling them.
“That's– yeah, you to” Nodding at him faintly, knowing that this isn't the time or place for the conversation you're itching to have. “I wasn't aware you were back on the team, but
I shouldn’t be surprised working is what you love to do” Smiling forcefully before turning your attention back to Hotch.
“When you guys arrived I was on the phone with a detective in the next police jurisdiction, they think they have a body he seems to fit the description of our victims, I was just about to head over there to check it out, I’m assuming some of your agents want to join me?” You resume back to your professional manor, doing your best to ignore how much your blood seems to be pumping into your heart, causing it to ache.
“Yes, you assume right” Hotch nods. Turning around to find the man, you believe he said his name was Morgan.
“Morgan, Dave you two join Detective (Y/l) in the field” He orders, you manage to keep your face steady, knowing that this could easily happen.
“Got it boss” Morgan nods, making eye contact with the woman on his left, the one you believe is called Prentiss.
“Alright, lets go” You walk out, refusing to look at Dave when you walk past him.
~~~
The drive to the crime scene is quiet and awkward, taking almost 20 minutes to get there. Morgan sits in the back, glancing between you and Dave the whole time. Soon the silence starts getting unbearable for him.
“So (Y/L), how long have you been the captain of the department for?” Morgan asks, hoping to break up the silence. Finding the tenses in the car too much between the quiet and longing glances Rossi keeps sending you.
“Almost five years now but I’ve worked in the police department for the last 30 years, I’ve worked in precincts all over this country” Glancing in the rearview mirror at Morgan giving him a small forced small.
“Oh damn that's a long time, so what must you have joined when you were in your 20’s?” Morgan smiles, glancing at Rossi briefly.
“I did, as soon as I got back from being drafted into the war, I joined the police force straight away, and I’ve been here ever since”
“Oh wow, so you used your job to travel the country, so where were you when you meant Rossi then?” Morgan decided that beating around the bush is taking too long, wanting to get an answer quicker.
“We’ll we met when I was stationed in New york actually” You avoid looking at anyone when New york is mentioned, already feeling Dave's eyes burning holes into you.
“What case were you working on?” Morgan can’t help but glance at Rossi, never having seen this man so focused on someone who's not an unsub before.
“Serial child kidnapper, he took nine kids over the course of four weeks and three cities, finally trapped him in New york” Rossi finally speaks. For the first time since they entered the car, his voice is quiet seeming to be on edge, he does his best to keep calm.
“He didn’t kill any of them, I’m glad we managed to save them in time” You smile sadly at the memory of finding the nine kids in the back of a truck. The fear on all their faces still haunts you to this very day, 25 years later.
~~~
Morgan and you head over to where the body lies in the alleyway, letting Dave deal with the other police officer. You crouch down beside the body pulling the sheet back so you can see the body, your face falling as you see what the Unsub has done to the victim. His face had begun to be cut into before, it looks like he tore into it with his fingers. Scratches all over his face, his eyes seeming to look as if they have been dug into, trying to be pulled out.
“Well if this isn’t his main target then I would say he is getting close to it, he's beginning to devolve here” Speaking slowly as you study the unsub kill pattern, comparing it in your head to the previous victims.
“Jesus, he did a number on this guy alright” Morgan sighs, looking around the alleyway. “Its really exclude around here isn't it, no one would have seen or heard anything”
“Yeah, it's the same as the last few crime scenes, and I bet just like the last crime scenes, there are no cameras until two buildings down” Smirking at little as you spot something around the victims mouth. “Hey Morgan look at this” You bring your gloved hand to the victim's mouth that's slightly open finding some blood on his tooth. “Reckon he managed to bite our unsub?”
“Oh yes he did, that is great” Morgan grins at you glancing up as Dave approaches. “Hey Rossi we think we have some of the Unsub DNA” Morgan informs him.
“Good, because there are no cameras and no witness the person that found him was walking a dog who went nuts when they tried to walk past” Dave huffs, looking down at the body.
“Not surprised” Sighing slightly as you look at Dave, your mind no longer on the unsub but rather on the man in front of you. The man you haven't seen in almost eight years, the man you have oh so many questions for.
~~~
As the three of you start walking back to the SUV, letting the crime scene unit clean the area up. You slow down, letting Morgan take the lead once you all reach the SUV, you grab Dave's arm, stopping him from getting in.
“One moment David” Your voice comes out harsh, pushing through the hesitant building inside you. Knowing it's now or exploding in front of his team later on. Morgan glances at you two curiously, before quickly climbing into the SUV, wanting to give you two privacy. You let go of Daves arm, feeling him tense under your touch. He turns around slowly refusing to look you in the eyes.
“You need to cut it out David. If you don’t want your team to know what the hell happened between us, then you need to get your act together” You can’t help but snap at him, the hurt from years ago coming crashing back to you.
“How do you know that they already don’t know?” He questions you with no bite, which just confirms that you're right.
“Because I know you Dave, or at least I thought I did” Crossing your arms over your chest defensively, taking a deep breath. “Look, what happened, happened years ago I’m over it and so are you so why don’t we just get our sh*t together, for the case, we don’t want your precious team to know what's going on with you” Your words are short, breathing heavily doing your best to keep your anger at bay.
“You're not over it… neither am I” Dave speaks quietly, looking into your eyes, his eyes full of vulnerability.
“Yeah well, we should be” You can’t look at him anymore, everything rushing back to you.
“We don’t have to be..” Dave's words are soft, knowing everything that has happened between you two hasn’t been easy.
“Let's go Dave” You turn away from him, moving quickly when you see his hand move towards you to stop you. You make your way to the drivers side getting in quickly, the drive back to the precinct is quiet, the tension doubling, Morgan knows to stay silent this time.
~~~
You go straight to your office when the three of you get back to the precinct. Closing your office door with a bit too much force, the bang echoing around the empty building. Dave trails in after Morgan, flinching slightly at the bang of your door, walking in quietly behind Morgan. Dave allows the younger man to take over informing the team of what they have found, as he takes a seat at the end of the table, not meaning to zone so far out as he does. The team couldn’t help but notice that Rossi isn’t throwing out any ideas during the briefing and Hotch can’t help but narrow his eyes at him. Worry coursing through him when he takes in his friends zone out look, noticing the fear and guilt flooding through his eyes. Knowing Dave is too far out of it to be any help nor hide his emotions and definitely wouldn’t like a team of profilers trying to get any information out of him, he decided maybe it's time to end things for the night.
“Alright everyone, go back to the hotel to get some rest. I want everyone back here first thing in the morning” Hotch orders them, watching them all sigh out in relief, getting up grabbing their to-go bags and heading down to the SUV. The only one not to move is Dave, Hotch decides he's going to give him a moment before making him go back to the hotel with him. Hotch makes his way over to your office, knocking softly when he sees that you're sitting at your desk staring at the wall with the same look on your face as Dave.
“Come in” You call out, clearing your throat sitting up straightly, watching as Hotchner walks in.
“Hotch, what can I do you for?” Giving him a forceful smile, your mind feeling a million miles away.
“I just wanted to let you know, I’ve sent my team away for the night, we will be back first thing in the morning, but so far tonight we have no new leads” Hotch updates you, his eyes scanning over you, profiling you.
“Alright, thank you, I’ll be here when your team arrives in the morning, have a goodnight Hotch” You give him a small nod, just doing your best to get him out of your office. Needing to go home so you can figure out how the hell you're going to deal with tomorrow. Hotch stares at you for a few seconds before bidding you goodnight and making his way back to Dave. Who still has’t move the only thing that has changed, is a stray tear sliding down his cheek.
“Oh Dave”
~~~
Aaron makes his way over to him, laying his hand gently on his friend's shoulder, worry spreading through his mind as he watches Dave jump from his touch. Dave's eyes shot up at him in shock, almost like he forgot where he was for a second. Aaron watches as Dave shoves his emotions far down, still not realising a tear had escaped down his face.
“Jesus Aaron, you can’t just sneak up on me like that” Dave huffs out, doing his best to try and pretend he's fine, even when he can feel his heart breaking apart.
“Sneaking up on you would have to mean I wasn’t trying to speak to you since I walked in the door after sending the team back to the hotel five minutes ago Dave” Aaron sighs softly. “Come on, lets go” Hotch grabs his bag along with a few files, glances back at Dave seeing him doing the same, being oddly quiet for him. They make it out to the car, Hotch getting in the driver's side. They drive in silence for a while, Hotch glancing at Dave worriedly throughout the drive.
“So who is he?” Aaron speaks gently, not wanting to startle Dave, knowing how easily startled he can be when he's like this.
“Aaron..” Dave sighs out his name, staring out the window. The rain falling reminds him of the cosy nights cuddled up in front of the fireplace.
“You don’t have to talk about it, but if you do” Aaron locks eyes with Dave, giving him the opportunity to tell him anything. Aaron's eyes soon go back on the road, silence filling the vehicle once more. Aaron thinks he’s not going to mention anything else as they make their way to the hotel.
“(Y/n) was my first love” Dave's words hang in the air for a few seconds. The sadness, heartbreak, chilling in the words spoken, the fear plain on his face.
“What happened?” Aaron pulls up, looking at him with soft eyes, knowing that this story doesn’t have a happily ever after ending.
“We..” Dave opens his mouth, but he doesn’t know where to even begin. Where did it even start to go wrong with the two of you? It’s always felt like your relationship has been cursed since the beginning.
~~~
That night you go home, long after everyone else already has. You skip dinner for the night pouring yourself a scotch instead as you get ready for bed. Sitting down on the side of the bed, placing your glass down which directs your eyes to the small wooden box that sits on the edge of your bedside table. Slowly you reach for it, taking a deep breath as your fingers trace the word engraved on the front just above the lock. Emotions swirl inside you as you trace ‘Angel’. Memories from the past 40 years are starting to come to the surface. Opening the box with care, picking up the pile of photos that have a layer of dust on them, having not been open in such a long time. You remove the top pile, moving them to the bottom, knowing the most recent photos of the years you spent with him would just kill you. So instead you look through the photos that hold the memories of you and Dave’s first date. A small study date down at the lake that was only 20 minutes from your home. You were 15 the day that everything changed, the day you both knew you two would have to hide how you felt for ever. You didn’t even know there were tears brewing until you saw them dropping on the photos as you flick through them. Stopping on the one from your last date with him, it was your one year anniversary, you were now 16 and he was preparing to leave school. That day, people found out about you two and you were lucky to get away from school alive that day. That was when you knew you two could never be anything more than just friends.
~~~
A few more tears drop down as you get past the photos of you at war. Remembering how you got to spend a couple special nights with Dave before it all went down hill. You two somehow managed to get put on the same base for a week, but then he was injured and was honourably discharged. That was the last time you saw him for almost two years, two years of hell. As soon as you were out, you went to find him and luckily he was easy to find with a few calls. Just when you did, everything went downhill again. He was about to get married and his fiancee was pregnant. He had moved on, but you just couldn’t do it as easily as he could. You still stayed in touch with him, still stayed his best friend. But the pain became too much so you left and found your own life in due time.
~~~
The photos go back into the wooded box after somehow one of the more recent photos appears in the pile. The photo of you and Dave from 15 years ago, when you two finally managed to go on a date in public comes to light. The box closes with a snap, the emotions ready to boil out as you skull the rest of the scotch before getting up for another drink. Knowing tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day. Sighing softly as you finally get into bed that night, one final look at the box.
“I'm so sorry my angel I do wish things were different” A tear slides down as you allow some memories to consume you for the night.
~~~
The next morning, you're already in your office when Hotch and Rossi arrive. Sparing a quick look at them as they walk past, you're thankful you were on the phone when he walked past. Not realising how much just one glance at him would affect you this morning. One look at him and the feelings you shoved so far down eight years ago start to stir. God damn, why does he have to look so good in the morning.
After a few moments the rest of his team start to arrive so you make your way from your office to the room you gave them. Your eyes are unable to move from Rossi that is until he glances at you then suddenly it's like you can’t even acknowledge him as you walk in.
“Morning Detective” Hotch gives you a small smile, spotting from the corner of his eyes as Rossi makes his way to the other side of the room away from you.
“Morning, I just got a phone call from the morgue saying they're ready for us” You inform him. Ignoring the way Rossi moves from you, or the way the younger team members give each other some interesting looks.
“Great, why don’t you take Morgan and Reid” Hotch glances at the two younger men, who nod in response quickly grabbing some of their gear.
“Thank you” Your eyes glance over at Dave, who is staring at the board in front of him. But by the way he plays with his fingers and the relieved smile creeping on to his face, you know he's not really looking at the board.
~~~
The trip to the morgue is informative, the unsub died the same way as the others, but he did have more fight in him and did indeed manage to get the unsub DNA. It's now being out through all the systems and so far has no hits. Now you three are making your way back to the precinct, the sun has been shining all morning, so you pull your jacket off before getting in the SUV. Morgan sat in the passenger seat beside you while Reid hopped in the back, and continued to talk about the significance of the drugs the unsub used. Morgan's eyes couldn;t help but be dragged to your arms that's where now exposed, mainly he’s focusing on the tattoo you have. Angel wings with flames on the edges, in the middle of the two wings was the word ‘Amore, 2005’ and above the word and wings sat a pair of devil ears.
“Sorry but (Y/L) that is an interesting tattoo you got there” Morgan's voice puts a stop to the kids rambling and pulls you from your daydream.
“Oh my tattoo?” Glancing down to where he was staring, a small smile pulling at your lips. “Everyone tells me they never think I’m a tattoo person, let alone someone to get one like that, but I love it, and it has a small story that goes along with it to” A smile breaks out as you inform him, remembering the day you got it.
“Oh a story huh?” Morgan smiles back, seeing the love swirling in your eyes.
“One that is best told over a good glass of scotch” You chuckle softly. “Maybe if you guys have time before you leave after the case I’ll take your team out for some drinks and tell you.”
“Now I like that idea” Morgan grins at you, before glancing at Reid who has a shocked expression on his face as he stares at the tattoo.
~~~
The day drags on slowly, your back in the conference room with Hotch, JJ and Dave. You can’t seem to concentrate as the dead ends keep piling up, sighing softly as you get up, looking at them all.
“I think we could all do with some decent coffee, there's a coffee shop down the road, I will be back shortly” You smirk as you see JJ grin up at you.
“That would be great, thank you”
“Hey, I could do with a break as well” Rossi gets up, which earns a small hidden smirk from Hotch.
“Fine, that's helpfully you can carry them back then” Holding back a groan as you walk out, Dave following you closely staring at you wondering just how he can fix this.
The walk to the coffee shop doesn’t take long, it's silent but it's not uncomfortable. You can’t help but glance at his hand that swings almost too close to yours, remembering the first time you finally got to hold his hand in public. You walk inside without a word, heading up to the counter, opening your mouth ready to order when Dave actually speaks up.
“Good afternoon, can I get one large cappuccino with two extra shots and a shot of vanilla, two large lattes and then just a large cappuccino with an extra shot as well please” He smiles sweetly at the cashier who nods and begins to get them started. Your smile widens accidently as you watch him, he still remembers your coffee order after all this time. Damn it, has his smile always made his face glow like that?
~~~
After he pays you both go and take a seat, after being informed it might take a while.
“So, I guess you're not avoiding me now?” You smile softly at him, giving him that knowing look. One he never knew he missed so much until he finally sees it again, gosh it's enough to make him melt. Dave has to swallow thickly as he stares at you, he’s blaming the sun for beaming down on you the way it is. It brings out all your beauty, your golden hazel eyes shine brightly, reminding him of when the sun used to shine down on you when you two used to play at the lake, back in the life of two teenages. The wrinkles on your face above the eyes hide the scars you got from one practical afternoon at the lake.
“I couldn’t avoid you the whole time I’m here” Dave smirks a little, shaking his head trying to clear his mind.
“You know what happened between us, when we last broke up, you know I forgive you for that right?” Taking a deep breath as you bring up the elephant in the room. Dave's shoulders tense up, the pain flickering through his eyes once more.
“I wish I never did that.. We could’ve worked through things If I didn’t do that” His words soften, glancing down at the table finding it more interesting suddenly.
“I don’t think we could have… we were both in too much pain.. Moving forward was too hard. You took an out and I don't blame you” Taking a deep breath, refusing to over think what you're about to do next. Knowing it's something you should have done years ago. You reach out to him, wrapping your hand around his, giving it a small squeeze.
“You should.. I cheated on you after we had just..” His words get stuck in your throat as he looks up at you. His eyes glossing over with tears of his past, knowing he can never undo what he did.
“I know..I wish I could hate you for running off and getting married but I tried for the last ten years to make you the villain in my mind but I can’t do that, our past won’t allow me to do that” You smile weak, gulping as you feel your heart pounding in your chest. Only now realising that you both have leaned in closely while talking, your hands tightening together.
“I could never truly move on from you (Y/n) I don’t think I ever can” Daves voice is now barely audible, but his words make you breath hitches.
“Neither can I” You agree, and without thinking you lean forward steadily and he slowly follows your lead.
“Dave?” The barista shouts out, making you both pull away quickly. Dave jumps up quickly to go collect the coffee, giving you a moment to collect yourself.
~~~
The afternoon moves by slowly and awkwardly. The tension between you and Dave seemed to grow after getting back to the precinct handing off the coffees. The whole team notices the longing looks between you and Dave, the way one of you would move and the others eyes would follow. The afternoon turns to night, everyone is talking when Morgan's phone starts ringing.
“It's Garcia” He informs everyone before answering you and putting it on speaker. “Hey Baby Girl, you’re on speaker, what's ya got?”
“I found him, I got him” Garcia gets straight to the point, forcing everyone to jump to their feet.
“Who is it Garcia?” Hotch questions.
“Fred Smith, I use the DNA to find him and he fits the profile to a T, like if there is an unsub shape mould type thing he is it” She bumbles on. “He got out of jail a month before the murders began, just like you said”
“Address babygirl?” Morgan asks, before grabbing his gun.
“He has a warehouse downtown and an apartment, already sent” She grins to herself.
“Thank you baby” Morgan hangs up, turning to his boss.
“Alright, (Y/L) why don’t you take JJ, Reid and Rossi to his apartment, the rest of us will go to the warehouse” Hotch looks at you, receiving a quick nood before you all race out to the vehicles.
~~~
All four of you enter his apartment, carefully, splitting up, making sure it's clear. Regathering in the living room, eyes widening as you look around. The drawings all over his desk, pictures of the dead bodies pinned to the wall with knives.
“Well this will be an easy conviction at least” You're the first to speak, staring at the pictures and drawings with interest.
“Yes it will be” Dave walks up to stand behind you, his breath lingering on your neck. Your breath gets stuck in your throat as he moves to come to stand beside you. Standing so close, the warmth is radiating off his body, making the nerves swish rapidly in your stomach. Take a breath before you start looking through the room, feeling his eyes burning a hole into you. Dave couldn’t tear his eyes off you right now, not when everything he wants to say is on the top of his tongue, if the two other agents weren’t with them he doesn’t think he could stop himself right now.
“Hey Dave, come look at this” You call out to him, your eyes solely focused on a ripped up paper that has fallen onto the floor.
“What is it?” Dave asks before getting down onto his knees beside you, his eyes narrowing on the paper as you pick it up.
“A list of company names, a victim from each company, that smart kid of yours was right” Smirking as you read through the list of names.
“He still has six names left on his list” Dave sighs, taking the paper off you, reading through it as you climb to your own feet. You have to press your lips tightly together to stop a small chuckle from escaping as you look down at Dave on his knees, a smirk forming on your lips instead, a light playing in your eyes.
“What’s that look for?” Dave questions you, his eyes frowning as he looks up at you. That cute confused look on his face is something you have missed.
“Just forgot how good you look when you're down on your knees like that” Chuckling softly as your eyes slide down his body, you know that's a dangour game to play, but a part of you just doesn’t care, a part of you even craves the danger.
“That doesn’t seem like a work place appropriate” Dave fights back the smile, the blood rushing to his face. The hint of redness with his shy smile, makes you laugh softly as you help him off the floor.
“Sorry, you know I love to tease you” Licking your lips softly realising your hands are still together. “Especially when you're down on your knees like that” Winking at him pulling your hand away as you watch his eyes widen, the small blush on his face turning on to full speed.
“Okay guys, Hotch just called, they—” JJ announces walking into the room with Reid, coming to an immediate stop, her eyes flickering between the two older men. The tension seemed to have lessened, but they can’t help but notice the red face of Rossi and the smirking co*cky look resting on your face.
“What does Aaron have?” Dave asks them, pulling himself together quickly.
“They caught him, he was down the road from the warehouse about to grab another victim” JJ informs them, glancing at Rossi concerned.
“Good, easy case to wrap up then” Smiling at Dave weakley, knowing that once he gets on the jet then that's it.
“Yeah, good” Dave avoids your eyes as he makes his way out.
~~~
You help the team finish off their paperwork so they can make an easy exit from this town. Hotch, Emily, and Dave are still in with Fred trying to get him to confess to all the murders.
“Hey, any luck?” Morgan looks up as the three agents make their way in.
“Confessed to all the murders” Emily grins, places down the case files.
“Oh good, by the way the jet won’t be ready until tomorrow afternoon, apparently there's a few issues and it has a couple tests to run first” JJ sighs informing them all.
“Wait, does that mean sleep in?” Emily smiles looking up hopeful, everyone's gaze turns to the boss.
“Well I mean we don’t have to be out of the hotel until 10, so sure sleep in” Hotch smile lightly at them before turning back to board, taking everything down as they cheer quietly. You notice Dave walking over to the window, frowning a little at how distracted he looks, you head over to him.
“Hey you” Smiling faintly as you stand beside him.
“Hey” He stares out the window, his mind a thousand miles away.
“What's going on in there?” Sighing as you stare at him, the look on his face is one you have seen too many times and it's almost always a sign of concern.
“It's not important” He dismisses you quickly, sighing as he glances at you, a look in his eyes you just can’t identify.
“It is, if you don’t want to tell me right now, then why don’t we get drinks tonight” Placing a hand softly on his arm, a smile forcing its way on to his face.
“Yo drinks tonight, we’re in” Morgan intreputes you, him and Prentiss standing oddly close by. Holding back a few curse words at the younger man, you smile fakely.
“Perfect, I’ll take you all out tonight, first rounds on me” Laughing silently as the younger agents all cheer in delight.
~~~
One round turns to many, stories are told, laughter fills the table. You and Dave somehow sit across each other, eyes catching each other occasionally making smiles grow. You two haven’t had a calm conversation yet alone a moment like this in over 10 years now, it's nice.
“It's why I’m extremely careful climbing rocks now” Laughing as you tell them a brief story of how you got the scar above your eye, leaving out a certain person in that story.
“Okay so (Y/L), you said you would tell me about your tattoos?” Morgan smiles interestedly at you.
“Oh right my tattoo” Smiling sadly as you pick up your glass of scotch, sipping on it thinking back.
“You don’t have to” Dave looks at you, his eyes soft knowing what your tattoo represents.
“It's okay Dave, it's no longer a sad reason” Smiling reassuringly at him, knowing that the memories behind the tattoo affects you both.
“Wait, Rossi, you already know about his tattoo, I thought you two only worked together once?” Morgan smirks lightly, glances at Prentiss.
“Yeah Rossi, you two seem to know alot about each other for only one case together, what did you say twenty years ago?” Emily joins Morgan in the teasing, wanting to know the history between the two men.
“It is strange that you two have quite similar tattoos as well” Reid pipes up.
“Wait tattoos, Rossi I didn’t know you have any tattoos?” JJ looks over at Rossi a little confused.
“We uh, we kept in touch after the case” You clear your throat, feeling caught off with everyone's questioning. Rossi's eyes stare into yours but it almost seems like he’s getting lost inside his own mind, wondering what he should be telling his team.
“My tattoos tell a story about those I love and lost” Rossi finally drags his eyes away from yours looking back at the rest of his team.
“Can we see your tattoos, Rossi?” Emily looks at him hopeful.
“Okay fine, only because I know that look on your face Prentiss, you won’t leave it alone otherwise” Rolling his eyes at them, the team erupted in laughter at the slightly offended look on Emily's face. Rossi gets up, pulling his jacket off before unbuttoning the first top buttons of his shirt, turning around as he pulls the collar of his shirt down, revealing his right shoulder blade. Four names are spread across the area, each with a date. The oldest one, dates back to 1976, the name Amore printed above it. Next was James, 1978, above his name was a rose connecting his name to Carolyn, 2012. Then comes the name you weren’t ready for, Angel 2005.
“Carylon passed away?” Your voice is weak as you think back to their wedding, one of the hardest days of your life.
“Yes, last year” Dave smiles sadly at you, buttoning up his shirt again.
“Can we ask who Amore is?” Reid asks quietly, the whole table going quiet.
“Amore, was the love of my life” Dave takes a deep breath as he looks into your eyes.
“What happened to her?” JJ asks gently, watching the emotions swirl across Dave's face.
“He supposedly died in the war” Dave's voice shakes, the tears swelling in his eyes. “But then, almost two years later he knocks on my door”
“He?” Morgan smiles softly at Dave, everyone going quiet, giving him his time.
~~~
“We met in high school, back then boys weren’t allowed to date each other, you all know how it was” Rossi starts speaking, now refusing to look at you as he tells your story. “We never meant to fall in love, he was a year below me but needed help with some class work, my teacher asked me to help him out so I did, an we formed this friendship” As Dave speaks, your mind travels back to those days, the memorise of your first study lesson in the library. How the first two study lessons were quiet and awkward, not unable to understand the way he would teach you. The day after the third lesson you went to your favourite place in town before going home, the lake. It was always so peaceful and quiet, barely anyone knew about the part you would go to, giving you the perfect hiding space you always craved. Apart from that afternoon, when you're sitting on the rocks just above the lake, doing some sketching of the trees opposite you. You hear a noise, footsteps and a strange sound you can’t identify straight away. The longer you concentrate on it, the louder it gets and when suddenly there's a flashlight you're finally able to figure it out, a camera.
“Well, well well what do we have?” His soft laughter catches you off guard, turning to the side where the bright light came from.
Cut it out David, seriously?” Huffing annoyed at him, blinking rapidly trying to get rid of that flashlight outta your eyes.
“Oh just relax, (Y/n)” David smiles cheekily at you as he climbs the rocks, sitting down beside you. “What are you drawing?” He asks, looking down.
“Just trees” Shrugging as you show him. “It's just a rough draft for now”
“It's beautiful, do you draw often?” Dave questions him, looking up at his face, enjoying the peaceful concentration across his face. It's a nice change from the frustrated look he normally has on his face when stuck in the library.
“Most days” Nodding at Dave, a smile pulling at his lips.
“So, do you come here for the quiet, so you can draw in peace?”
“I do” Glancing over at him, your eyes mainly focusing on his smile, which brings a small one of your own out.
“Oh, then I will leave you to it” Dave goes to get up, feeling bad for intruding on your space.
“No, don't go” Your hand grabbing his hand quickly, stopping him. “I originally came here to do some homework today, but I still couldn't understand it. Can you help me?” Your voice is soft and desperate as you ask him, there's no part of him that could deny you. Especially with your hand holding his like that.
~~~
“People found out about us” Dave's voice pulls you back to the present, sipping on your drink as you figure out where he's up to. “We hid our relationship for almost a year, but when rumours started to spread we had to end it so we could keep ourselves safe, it wasn’t good but we did our best” Dave takes a sip on his drink, ignoring the looks his team's all share. “I only had six months left at the school, when I left we started dating again thinking it would be safe, that summer was one of the best” His eyes flick to you, sharing a small smile at the memories flashing through both of your minds.
“Anyway, I ended up going to war near the beginning of the year, and after about eight months or so. Well when I got to base camp, he was somehow there” Dave can not stop the smile that spreads across his face as he thinks about the day. “He had gotten himself kicked out of school earlier that year due to misbehaviour and his parents made him join the military”
“Huh, sounds like you had yourself a rebel boy there Rossi” Morgan jokes lightly, earning a rough laugh from the older man.
“Oh you can say that again Morgan” Rossi smirks, knowing just how much trouble you two used to cause.
“Well during our time deployed, I managed to go home a few months before him, we had discussed moving to D.C and living our life there, so I moved there with the idea he would join me when he got out” Daves voice becomes shaky along with his hand, having to set his glass down before he drops it. Your heart breaks as you watch him, never getting to see him open up about your death.
“I was there for three months, and the day before he was supposed to arrive I got a phone call from his brother, letting me know there had been an accident and he didn’t make it” You have to tear your eyes off him, feeling some eyes staring at you along with Rossi.
“I couldn’t believe it, but I knew I had to move on, so I continued my life in D.C, after awhile i meet Caroyln and we started dating, she becoming pregnant and we were going to get married, two days before we got married there was a knock on my door, and it was him” Rossi takes a deep breath.
“Sorry I need a drink” You quickly excuse yourself, heading to the bar needing to get away from those memories. The moment that lady opened the door of your lover's house, the moment you knew it was over.
~~~
You stand by the bar for a few minutes nursing your drink, trying to pull yourself back together before you walk back over there. A soft hand comes to rest in the middle of your back, pulling you away from the thoughts floating through your mind. You don’t need to look up to see who it is, leaning back into his touch.
“Sorry I just needed a minute” Sighing softly, his hand rubs your back slowly.
“That's okay, It’s not easy to talk about, but I thought It was time I finally told my family about you” You could hear his smile pushing through his words. Family. Him telling his family about you always seemed out of the question, something you both would have to learn to live without. But, when he said those words, something seems to be fluttering in your chest, you're just not sure if it's feelings resurfacing or just plain old anxiety.
“You have a great family now Dave” You sip on your drink, trying to figure out how you're feeling.
“That I do, one who would like to hear more of our story, if you're up to it?” Dave wraps his arm fully around your waist.
“Only the good parts” Smiling more as you lean into his touch, forgetting how safe he always feels.
“Only the good parts” He chuckles softly in agreement as he leads you back towards the table.
~~~
The seating around the table has slightly changed, JJ has gotten up and has now moved to sit beside Emily. Allowing you both to sit beside each other, even if you two haven’t said it yet, everyone around you has figured you two out.
“So um, can we get to know more of the story please?” JJ asks softly after a few moments of silence.
“Of course” You answer them with a smile, shocking them slightly with that small confirmation.
“So during me and Carylorn's marriage, we still stayed in contact, well we tried to but life got it the way” Daves voice trails off as he thinks back to that time he called you for the first time in 6 months because he needed you after James died. You drove 18 hours that day to get to him, only stopping for gas. You didn’t care about anything else except being there for him, the pain he was going through wasn’t fair.
“We kept in contact when we could, we both moved on. I started dating again and Dave just kept getting divorced” Laughing softly, nudging him gently earning your favourite David Rossi eye roll as the rest of the group just laughs at you two, sharing looks with each other.
“Anyway we did our best to stay in contact, but soon a couple years went by and then we ran into each other during a case in New york” Rossi continues the story, Morgan's head shoots up at the mention of New York again.
“What happened in New York” Morgan asks, doing his best to hold the desperate for the answer, back from his voice.
“We ended up having to work together and things I tried to hide from him for a while seem to come to light” Taking a quick breath as those memories start to rise, Dave notices your body tensing, seeing the fire and past swirling around in your eyes, he slides his hand off the table, taking your hand in his.
“I won’t go into details, but Dave figured out I was in a toxic, borderline abusive relationship—”
“It was not borderline, but continue” Dave interrupted you with a soft smile causing you to chuckle softly, looking at him. Which is a mistake because as soon as you looked into his eyes again, all the memories were playing in them, the love you had for him comes racing back, and it's almost like you're stuck while you stare into his beautiful brown honey like eyes. It takes all your strength to pull away from his eyes looking back over his team, squeezing Dave's hand as you do.
“Anyway, Dave helped get me out of that relationship and even supported me when I asked for a transfer to San Francisco, I got a position for captain” Smiling softly as the table all looked mildly impressed.
“He moved to San Francisco and after a while I got moved to Paris so we once again lost touch” Dave sips his drink as he thinks back, jumping over a few years. He hated the fact he went to Paris, instead of staying in the states where he could be closer to you, he loved you and he was ready to try again but you needed time to heal and life started moving forward and neither of you could stay in the past anymore.
“I got married to Hayden, but It didn’t work out and I was being reassigned back to the states anyway, I went back to the BAU for a few years before I decided to retire” Dave continues, ignoring the looks his team has been sharing with each other throughout the story.
~~~
“So what happened after you retired, did you two decide to try again?” It was Emily that spoke up this time, everyone knows there is a big part of the story you two are leaving out.
“Not at first, I went travelling and focused on my books for the first couple years, but we stayed in contacted, caught up when we could” Dave smiles as he thinks back to those more happy days, when it was more like catching up with a best friend, who your completely and utterly in love with.
“One day we caught up and things changed that night, we decided to try again, it was the mid 90’s it was a bit more acceptable then, still not completely safe but we did our best” Leaning back into your chair as you sip on your drink.
“It was the best few years of my life” Dave admits, looking over at you, his eyes once more full of guilt and pain due to the way things ended.
“Mine too.. But we should have known it wouldn’t have lasted” Taking a sharp breath as you pull your hand out of his, looking away from him, missing the broken look that broke across his face, as you do your best to hide yours.
“Are we allowed to know why you two broke up?” Morgan asks gently, glancing between them, ignoring the look Hotch is sending him.
“We broke up due to a few issues, our kid was taken away from us and it caused a lot of problems between us” Your words float out of you like air, the pain and fear floating into your voice. At the sound of the pain in your words all Dave wants to do is lay his hand on your thigh, letting you know that he’s right here, but he knows he can’t do that anymore.
“Your child?” JJ asks, unable to hide the pain flashing through her eyes, she couldn’t imagine losing Henry.
“Yes, our child, Angel” Dave speaks up, his voice aching as he mentions his name, a part of him he never thought his team would ever know about. Your other hand traces over your tattoo, tracing the angel wings slowly.
“He was my little sister, but she hit hard times and couldn’t raise him anymore, so she asked us to take him in, he was only two when we did, he was a little bundle of joy” Your voice moves from painful to light and happier as you speak.
“We raised him for 4 years, until people around us decided that two older men had no right raising a kid together” Dave's voice is full of hatred and anger as he lets himself float back to those moments. Without thinking you lay your hand on his lap, rubbing softly to get him to calm down.
“They took him from us, my job ended up in danger and I ended up disowning my family because of it” Your voice is full of venom, but Dave places his hand on top of yours, almost instantly you lean into him for comfort before stopping yourself.
“Oh my god, that's terrible I'm so sorry” JJ apologies, her heart breaking at the story, everyone goes silent, not at all surprised they couldn’t stay together through all of that.
“My sister managed to get custody of Angel again almost two years after it all, so I could still visit him, Dave unfountuly was no longer around as he had moved away” You skip over the main reason why he left, not needing to revisit that pain. “2005 was the year Angel and my sister unfortunately passed away in a car crash” Your voice breaks as you give them that detail, Dave inhaling sharply as his heart breaks at the memory of receiving that phone call.
“Oh man, I'm sorry that's rough” Morgan looks at you with empathy, everyone glancing between you and Dave, the chemistry still obvious to everyone but you two.
“It's okay, life happens and at least those two are now together forever” Letting out a soft breath as you sip on your drink.
“Do you have any photos of Angel?” Hotch asks, whos been silent for the night, having already knew most of this information from Rossi's confession.
“I sure do” Smiling more as you grab your wallet, pulling out the small pile of photos you have in there. Passing it to Aaron who's sitting on your other side, his face lights up as he looks through them, passing them around the table.
While everyone is distracted looking at the photos, Dave leans in closer to you, worried about how you're handling everything.
“Are you okay?” He keeps his voice low as he watches you, his heart skipping a beat when your eyes meet him, your eyes filled with nothing but love as you look down at him.
“I'm good, are you?” You don’t want him to move away, you don’t want him to pull his hand away, missing his physical touch.
“I’m great, I’m glad they know about you” His eyes burn into yours, already feeling guilty about having to leave tomorrow.
“So am I” Smiling softly, your eyes glancing down at his lips, before your mind can wander you’re called back to the present.
“Dave is that you?” Emily smiles widely as she shows the photo she's holding. Morgan and Reid looking over the girl's shoulder, all looking up at Dave with smiles filled with love.
The photo they're looking at, is one of your favourites, that’s your reasoning as to why you still have a photo of your ex in your wallet. The photo is Dave pushing Angel on the swings, Angel's smile is huge but almost nothing compared to the excitement and love present in Dave's eyes. You love that photo for so many reasons, your boys look adobe and the memory from the day makes you smile even when you're drowning in sadness.
“You still have that photo?” Dave smiles at you, having to hold back the urge to kiss you.
“It was a special day, no way could I lose that photo” Smiling back at him, hating yourself for not giving into your urges and lean into his touches. “I have more at home, all kept safe”
“Good”
The team all sits in silence, giving each other looks as they watch the looks you two are giving each other, yet you two don’t seem to know how much you both need each other.
~~~
You excuse yourself to go outside, needing some fresh air. You stand outside leaning against the wall as you finish your smoke, your mind staying on Dave.
“Hey I didn’t realise you smoke” Morgan's voice pulls you from your thoughts, glancing over at him as you take it out.
“Old habit I guess” Looking up at him with a small smile.
“Fair enough” Morgan smiles, before taking a breath. “You and Rossi really do have one hell of a past, you two kept that quiet”
“We try not to let it affect our job” Forcing a small smile, not knowing exactly where he is taking this.
“I respect that, but here's something I disagree with” Morgan starts.
Your eyes narrow as you watch him, preparing yourself for some hom*ophobic speech you’ve heard oh so many times.
“Which is what?”
“The fact that it's in the past, I see the way you look at him, you still love him and he clearly loves you” Morgan smiles softly, watching as the defensiveness rolls off you, replacing itself with a far away look.
“I may love him but that doesn’t mean it's enough” You’ve always loved Dave, but the past has shown you that keeping you two together isn’t a walk in the park, it's not even a run through a forest at points.
“But it could be now, come on what could happen if you two try again huh?” Morgan sees the heartbreak in your eyes. “This world is now different and so are you and Dave, you could fear trying and failing again, or you could embrace this chance that's right in front of you two and just go for it” Morgan watches you as he speaks, walking off to leave you thinking about his words.
~~~
When you reenter the building, your eyes first land on Dave, who's at the bar talking with Aaron. You look back over at the table where everyone is standing up, grabbing their phones and wallets. Your heart starts to drop as you realise it's over, no more time to talk to Dave as everyone starts to leave. You head over to the table, saying your goodbys quickly to the team as they make their way out. Aaron and Dave walk over as they see the team leave, Aaron bids you goodbye as he follows his team out, Dave looks at you with a soft smile on his face.
“One more drink?” He asks, pushing through his fear of you saying no.
“Only if it's your shout Dave” Chuckling softly, biting your lip as his eyes light up.
“Oh of course” He chuckles before walking to the bar. You take a seat at the table, your eyes staying fixated on him. Your eyes stay on him as your mind go over Morgans words, ‘Embrace this chance that's right in front of you’
Dave makes his way back over to you, sitting beside you, sliding your drink over.
“Thanks” Smiling up at him, knowing it's now or never.
“Anytime” He smirks, looking you over. “I hope it was okay, telling my team our story”
“It was fine Dave” Your name feels like home as it slides off your lips. “But I do have a problem” Sighing slightly, as you look away from him, missing the way his face falls.
“What is it?” Dave ask, his voice full of care and love as he leans over, taking your hand in his.
“I don’t like the way our story ends” Glancing at your hands, before looking into his. Your eyes are full of hope as you keep talking. “I think it should continue, maybe one more time?” Gulping thickly as you watch him, waiting for a response. His smile grows, love and hope filling his face,
“I would love that”
“Good” Grinning more, squeezing his hand, as your other one cups his face, pulling him into a kiss. He is quick to respond, leaning into your touch and kissing back lovingly.
~~~
The next day, Morgan and Emily are the last to enter the Jet, running late due to shopping. Morgan's eyes scan over the jet, not seeing Rossi as they all settle down.
“Um, where's Rossi? Morgan asks Hotch, everyone eyes glance over at Hotch all of them having hopeful looks in their eyes.
“Oh he’s staying for a few extra days” Hotch smirks back at them all. Everyone's heart fills with happiness as they can figure out what had happened last night after they left.
