Disclaimer: I don't own Designated Survivor.

Takes place during 1x19 "Misalliance" and 1x20 "Bombshell"

"You know, rumor has it…" Seth whispered and Emily could tell by the lilt in his voice that she wasn't going to like what was about to come out of his mouth, "You and Aaron have been keeping in pretty close unofficial contact."

"Children are singing, Seth." Emily hushed, not taking her eyes off the performance in front of her and the familiar head of gelled curls that also happened to be in her line of sight.

"I'm just saying, you seem to hear a lot of things coming out of Congress, much faster than the official word travels along the grapevine."

Emily sighed, trying not to let her annoyance show through her gritted teeth as she attempted to end this line of questioning quickly, "Aaron and I are friends and he's looking out for the President. It's call backchanneling."

"Even as the Chief Strategist to the Speaker of the House, and leader of the Republican Party, he's looking out for the President?' Seth pressed and Emily's eyebrow twitched slightly. It seemed more and more these days that she was fielding this kind of questions from Seth on a regular basis.

"Seth." Emily grumbled, jerking her head toward the children and Seth finally clammed up as Sasha poked her head through the double doors, signaling for Emily that she was needed elsewhere.

…

Emily glanced around the restaurant, her eyes scanning over the tables as she attempted to locate their server to pay their bill. Instead, her eyes skipped over another familiar figure, causing her to do a double take.

The girl next to him was pretty, gorgeous, even and Aaron looked more at ease than she had ever seen him. In his waking state, that is. Nothing could hold a candle to his peaceful sleeping demeanor that shaved years off his appearance.

Emily turned back to her dining companions, licking her lips as she made a split second decision. "Would you excuse me for a second?"

She walked gracefully over to his high table, unsure of what exactly she was going to say. She just knew that even though it had been a few days, she already longed for his contact, wished to see his carefree smile and she damn well wanted to know if he felt the same way.

"Hey you." She said, announcing her presence as she approached their table. They broke off their conversation as a broad smile spread over Aaron's face.

"Hey! Hey, how're you doing? It's good to see you." He stood quickly, and suddenly Emily found herself wrapped in his strong arms, as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Yeah, he feels the same way.

She was about to lose herself in their embrace when Aaron pulled away, introducing her to his cousin, who smiled brightly at Emily from her seat. After a quick exchange with Nadia, Emily's eyes returned to Aaron and lingered in his gaze before looking back at Nadia, who caught on quickly, excusing herself to get another beer.

The two turned back to each other, their first time being alone since Hookstraten had gotten pulled into the ethics investigation.

Aaron let out a breath, "So, POTUS is headed up to Toronto."

Emily smiled proudly, "Yes and the White House is all mine." She said boastfully, sharing a smile with Aaron.

He raised his eyebrows, "No, seriously. It's his first NATO summit. First time out of the country, polls are high, he's on a roll and so are you." Aaron eyes were warm as he watched her and Emily blushed at his compliment, her eyes catching on his forearms as he pushed his sleeves further up before crossing his arms. Whether he did it on purpose or not, he had to know the effect that move had on her as her blush deepened slightly.

"I do have to admit, it feels good." She told him truthfully, her eyes flickering back up to his face. "What about you? Are you going to follow Hookstraten?" She saw his answer in his eyes before he even opened his mouth.

"No, she did offer, but uh, I don't see myself working for the Secretary of Education."

Honestly, Aaron was more likely to become one of the Cabinet secretaries than to work for one.

"Well, it's not exactly the fast lane." Emily agreed.

Aaron grimaced, "Let's just say, after you work in the West Wing, everything feels like a step down."

"Well, just so you know, I wasn't opposed to Hookstraten as VP. It would've been great to be working together again." Emily told him genuinely.

"Yeah, it would've been." His eyes seemed to bore deep into Emily as she felt something stir within her. "Hey, it's Washington. Anything can happen, right?" He said, his voice laced with suggestive undertones that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and Emily let her lips quirk into a smile as she replied quietly.

"And it usually does." Like two of the biggest power players of the town falling into bed together under the noses of everyone in Washington.

"Yeah…" Aaron's eyes dipped down to give her a quick once-over, his eyes sweeping appreciatively over her form-fitting navy dress, his gaze returning to hers a split second later with a new fire in his eyes. She held his gaze a second longer before beginning to turn away.

"I should get back," She said airly.

Aaron nodded, "Thanks for stopping by."

And she knew he meant it as she sauntered back to her table, knowing full well he was watching her, thankful she had chosen today to break out her new dress. It was an old college trick she hadn't used in a while, but it never failed her up to this point and she wasn't expecting today to be the exception.

"Wow, I haven't seen Aaron Shore in a long time. It's so weird that he's not in the White House anymore." Collette noted as Emily returned to their table.

"Yeah, you guys still close?" Victor asked, glancing in Aaron's direction over Emily's shoulder.

"You could say that." Emily replied delicately, finally waving down their server as he passed by their table.

…

Emily didn't need to check who it was when the buzzer finally rang in her apartment that evening. She just quickly buzzed them in before turning off the TV and padding softly to her door way. She watched as Aaron glanced over his shoulder before making his way down the hall to her unit.

"Hey," She greeted him, cracking the door open, quickly pulling him inside.

"I forget, which is the nosy neighbor?"

"4C. Just right off the elevator." Emily replied as Aaron shucked his jacket, folding it over the back of a chair so he could being rolling up his sleeves, loosening his tie at the same time.

"Ah, how fitting."

"Wine?" She offered, moving into the kitchen. She didn't even have to ask why he was there, it was clear from their loaded conversation in the restaurant earlier that night that he would show up at her door that night, no need for an explicit invitation, or a preliminary text or phone call. A little part of her wondered if they were treading into dangerous territory by engaging so easily in this affair, with minimal questions asked, but the rest of pushed that thought away for another time as she felt Aaron come up behind her to brush the hair away from the back of her neck before his lips landed gently on her skin.

"Mm," She closed her eyes at the contact, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth as his hands skimmed down her shoulders, resting on her waist. "So, uh, have you decided if you're coming back to the White House yet?"

"Oh, I don't think we can do this in the White House." Aaron murmured into her ear as his fingers bunched up the fabric of her skirt, drawing the hemline higher up legs. Emily couldn't help the smile that broke across her face.

"Aaron," she protested and he moved back slightly so Emily could turn to face him. "Where's the rush?" She allowed him to give her a quick peck on the lips before she attempted to stare him down, holding out a glass of wine as she took her own in her hands.

"Wait so first, you won't let me take you out for dinner, and now you want me to romance you?"

Emily paused, contemplating the truth behind his words, but before she could formulate an answer, he set his wine glass back down and stepped in front of Emily again, pushing his sleeves further up his forearms, taking a deep breath, making his chest puff out, preparing himself in an exaggerated move.

"Stop, stop." Emily laughed, placing her glass down on the counter next to his so she could pull him closer by the suspenders to draw him down for a longer kiss. When the broke apart, they were both smiling widely. Aaron rested his forehead against hers, his hand cupping her cheek as his other hand pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I miss you." He whispered.

Emily closed her eyes at his words, "I'm right here."

He chuckled softly, "You know what I mean."

"So come back and work for the President again. I shouldn't be the only one dodging Seth's questions about us every day."

Aaron scoffed lightly, "Trust me, you're not the only dodging his questions. It's all he ever asks me whenever I see him." He lowered his lips down to hers again, "You know what? Let's not talk about Seth right now." His fingers began inching south again, as his lips captured hers in a soft kiss. Emily bit down lightly on his bottom lip and Aaron grunted, his hands grasping at her bottom before lifting her up and setting her down on the counter so she was eye-level with him. Pulling back, he watched her with hooded eyes as his hand traced up her back, following the line of her zipper while his other hand pushed the hem of her dress up so she could open her knees wider around his hips.

Emily leaned up to kiss him but he pulled back teasingly, dodging her lips as Emily pouted. Aaron pulled down the zipper of her dress with excruciating slowness as she shoved the suspenders off his shoulders, her foot traveling up his ass to push him closer to her, her hand reaching between them to cup him through his pants, causing Aaron to groan loudly, his forehead landing on her shoulder. Emily allowed herself a small smile after finally gaining the upper hand, but Aaron seemed to lose all his resolve then, pulling his head back up to attack her mouth, unhooking her bra and pulling it along with her dress from her arms as Emily lost herself in the kiss, her fingers fumbling over the buttons of his shirt, making a small noise of disappointment in the back of her throat when her hands met the soft cotton of his undershirt rather than the skin of his chest. But Aaron's hands quickly retreated from her skin to help her wrestle the shirt over his neck, tossing it to the side. She nearly missed the tinkling of a wineglass shattering against the floor when Aaron's lips attached to her neck, but they were gone in the next instant.

"Just leave it," She gasped, trying to pull him back to her.

"No, it will stain your floors…" He removed himself from between her legs and reached for the paper towels, mopping up the spilled wine. Emily pulled her dress back onto her shoulders with a sigh, grudgingly hopping off the counter to retrieve a broom and dustpan for the broken glass, which Aaron took from her.

"Where are you going?" He asked as Emily gathered his discarded clothing in her arms and exited the kitchen.

"I'm going to wait naked for you on my bed."