Work Text:
The sound of sirens faded into the background as the bomb squad’s van pulled into the cordoned-off alleyway, brakes screeching against the pavement. Agent Y/L’s stomach twisted with an urgency she rarely felt on the job. This was personal. She leaped out of the van before it even came to a complete stop, her team calling after her, but she couldn’t hear them over the pounding of her own heart.
Ahead, in the dimly lit alley, sat Emily Prentiss, her wife, bound to a pipe with a bomb strapped to her chest. The night’s chill clung to the air, but a bead of sweat traced down Emily’s temple. Her expression was calm but determined, the same unbreakable spirit Y/N had fallen in love with. She gave a tiny nod as Y/N approached, her dark eyes meeting Y/N’s with that familiar intensity.
Y/N fought to keep her voice steady. “Emily…”
Emily’s lips curved into a faint, bittersweet smile. “Hey. Took you long enough.”
“I came as fast as I could,” Y/N replied, kneeling down next to her, scanning the device strapped to Emily’s chest. Her trained eye took in every detail, every wire, every flashing light. Whoever had rigged this bomb had been thorough. Ruthless.
Emily’s face softened as she watched Y/N. “Y/N, if… if anything happens, I just want you to know—”
“No.” Y/N shook her head sharply, setting her bag of tools down and snapping on gloves. “We’re not doing goodbyes, Emily.”
“But—”
“No. Just... let me work.” Her voice was harsher than she intended, but Y/N couldn’t let Emily go there, couldn’t let her talk as though this would end any other way than safely. It was too much. She wasn’t losing her wife. Not today, not like this.
Emily’s eyes lingered on Y/N’s face, and she fell silent, giving a small nod. Y/N took a deep breath, her fingers tracing over the wires. The bomb was sophisticated, too sophisticated — a complex web of wires with dual failsafes, likely designed to thwart anyone who tried to disarm it. Whoever set this up knew exactly what they were doing, which meant this was no random act. Someone was targeting Emily.
Y/N’s pulse quickened as she identified the main trigger wire. Cutting it would disable the primary detonation mechanism, but it wouldn’t be enough on its own. A secondary wire, a bright yellow one tucked carefully behind the others, acted as a backup trigger. Her hands hovered over the wires, every nerve on edge.
Emily’s voice was barely a whisper. “Y/N, I… I’m sorry. For putting you in this position. For making you have to… do this.”
Y/N stopped, her eyes flashing with an anger born of fear and love intertwined. “Emily, don’t. Don’t apologize. And don’t you dare start acting like this is it.” She looked at her wife, fierce determination set in her gaze. “I told you, I never wanted to meet you at work like this. And I refuse to let it end here.”
Emily’s eyes glistened, her steely demeanor slipping just for a second. “If anyone can do this… it’s you.”
Y/N swallowed hard, her fingers moving quickly as she traced each wire’s connection, memorizing the intricate network before her. She forced herself to push down the overwhelming fear. Focus. She was trained for this — her entire career had been spent facing down moments exactly like this one. But none of that training had prepared her for what it would feel like to disarm a bomb on her own wife.
The timer on the bomb continued its relentless countdown, the red digits flashing. Four minutes. The device beeped steadily, each second a reminder of how close she was to losing everything.
“Y/N…” Emily’s voice broke the silence again, softer this time, almost pleading. “If… if this doesn’t work, I just want you to know that you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Stop,” Y/N choked out, feeling her composure waver as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to blur her vision. “You don’t get to say that, not now. Not when I’m still getting you out of this.”
Emily reached out, her fingers brushing against Y/N’s hand. “Just in case, alright? I don’t want you to regret not hearing it.”
Y/N’s breath caught, the touch grounding her for a moment. “There’s nothing you could say that I don’t already know, Emily. I know you love me. I know you’re proud of me. And I know that, no matter what, you’re not giving up.”
“Not as long as you’re here,” Emily whispered back.
Y/N gave her a quick, shaky smile. “Exactly.”
Her focus returned to the bomb, mind racing as she tried to assess the safest way forward. She reached for her tools, fingers steady as she went for the main wire. The risk of tripping the backup was high, but if she didn’t disable the primary trigger, they wouldn’t have a chance. She glanced at the timer — two minutes.
Her heart hammered as she moved closer to the red wire, breathing shallowly to keep her hand steady. She snipped the red wire, and her heart skipped a beat as the countdown paused — only for a split second — before it resumed, the clock’s beeping speeding up, the timer dropping down to less than a minute.
Emily’s breath hitched, but she stayed steady, her eyes locked on Y/N. “You can do this.”
Y/N forced herself to stay calm, fingers moving to the yellow wire, the one that would dismantle the failsafe. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, knowing that this cut would be the difference between saving Emily and triggering the bomb. Every nerve was alive, every instinct screaming at her, demanding she make the right move.
“Thirty seconds,” Emily whispered, her voice low, eyes meeting Y/N’s in silent trust.
Y/N took one final, steadying breath, her fingers poised. She glanced up, her heart heavy but filled with the fierce determination that had brought her to this moment.
“Whatever happens, Emily…” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper, “I love you.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears, a soft, almost accepting smile crossing her face. “I love you, too.”
The bomb’s timer continued its countdown, seconds ticking by as Y/N’s hands moved with precision, her focus unbroken. Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. The clock beeped faster, each second a heartbeat, racing and desperate.
Three seconds. Two. One.
And then…