Title: Late Night Meeting
By: jiskah
Pairing: Prentiss/Reid
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: During "Sex, Birth, Death"
Disclaimer: I don´t owe Criminal Minds, everything belongs to CBS
Summary: After Emily joined with Hotch and the team, Reid is goes to visit her in the evening with some intresting side effects.

***

It was late when Reid knocked at Derek's door. Astonished Derek looked at the younger one.

"Hey man, is something wrong?"

"Um, no, I just wanted to ask if I could have the keys to the SUV."

"Wanna take a joyride?"

Derek couldn't help teasing Reid.

"No, I only want to go visit Emily and Hotch."

Emily and Hotch had joined them that afternoon even though both weren't supposed to be there. Knowing it would get into big trouble with Section Chief Strauss.

"They checked into a hotel on the other side of the quarter, haven't they?"

"They did. So can I have those keys now?"

"No problem, kid."

It was a ten-minute ride to the other hotel but for Reid it seemed much longer. He hurried to the elevators getting off on the fourth floor. Emily had told him her room number when they had a few minutes alone earlier. He knocked impatiently.

"I thought you wanted to leave me alone."

"And risk your wrath?"

Smiling brightly he entered the room. As soon as the door was closed he pinned Emily to the door and kissed her passionately.

"I missed you too, baby." she giggled.

"Do not ever do such a stupid thing again." he answered.

"What do you mean?"

"You wanted to quit."

"I did quit." she said emphatically.

"No, Penelope stopped it."

Before she could say anything more about it he kissed her again. Emily moaned with pleasure while her hands wandering under Reid's shirt. He started to make a noise somewhere between growling and purring that made her giggle again. They parted when breathing became a necessity.

"I haven't heard that noise for weeks. It seems that we need more days apart from each other."

"I don't think that will work."

"Why?"

This time she started the kiss only to be pinned harder to the door. She could tell both of them longed for more.

Again breathing became an issue.

"It won't work because I just can't handle my desire for you any longer than three days."

"You horny bastard." she laughed.

Smiling he leaned near her ear and whispered: "And who crossed the line between being friends and being a couple because she was so hot?"

His breath on her ear made her shiver. Pictures of the pleasure he was capable of giving her ran through her head. Suddenly she broke free from him and pushed him to her bed. Then she climbed on the top of him causing he to grin like the Cheshire Cat.

"Shall I throw you out of here right now for being such an intriguing mean person?"

"Don't say you don't like it."

"You know very well what I like."

"And so do you."

For the next few minutes they continued to kiss and cuddle, still trying to behave and not jump at each other. All of a sudden Emily sat up with an anxious look.

"Spencer, how did you get here?"

"I borrowed the SUV from Derek."

"Oh my god."

"What? What's the problem?"

Bewildered he sat up.

"You asked Derek? He will figure out what is going on as soon as we meet tomorrow."

"Em, we have been a couple for more than three months now and nobody's figured it out, why now?"

"Because he isn't stupid and he's a profiler plus he's always trying to get me to hit on you."

Reid burst out laughing.

"He tries what?"

"You heard me."

Emily looked like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"That's worse than I thought. He also tries the same with me. I guess he still thinks I am a bloody virgin."

"Oh if he only knew... That reminds me you still haven't told me where you learned all of those things you know."

"You mean how to pleasure a woman?"

"Yeah, will you tell me now?"

"Let me say: Not everything I know did I read in books."

Now it was Emily's turn to grin like a Cheshire Cat. Carefully she nibbled on the sensitive spot on his neck causing him to growl again.

"Then show me, what you haven't shown me yet."

Hours later they were lying naked beneath the sheet still breathing hard.

"I should have learned to not underestimate you."

She snuggled up in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder.

"That would be less fun for me."

"You're sadistic."

"I just like to surprise you."

"Nearly the same."

"Actually it's not."

"Don't start a lecture."

"Or what?"

"I will have to stop you."

"What do you have in mind to stop me?"

She looked in his eyes with a devilish glare.

"There are still a few things I've wanted to try."

Reid raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like a lot of fun."

"Did I mention you are a horny bastard?"

"A couple of hours ago."

He smiled provocatively sure she wouldn't do anything. She wasn't the type of person who let herself go and give into her secret dreams but he had misjudged her.

"You gonna get it now, baby."

"Did you know that the most used pet name is darling or honey?"

He smiled confidently while she searched for something in her travel bag.

"I don't care." came the muffled answer.

"Did you know that the karma sutra isn't only about exotic sexual positions but also about how to court a woman properly?"

"I swear as soon as I find what I am looking for you will shut up."

"Did you know that there really is a disease that makes men believe that their penis is going to vanish into thin air?"

"The only thing that is going to vanish now is your confidence."

She turned around holding some thin ropes and a scarf in her hand. As predicted his confidence vanished.

"OH no, you are not going to tie me to this bed."

"Oh yes, I am most definitely going to tie you to this bed."

Emily smiled evilly at him like she was possessed by the devil himself. He searched for an escape only to realize that there was no way out of this really uncomfortable situation.

"Bondage isn't for me."

"You've never tried it?"

She sat on him taking advantage of his fear, which caused him to freeze. Allowing her to tying his hands to the bed left and right of his head. Realization found him seconds later but it was too late.

"You planned this."

"Not really, but better to be prepared than sorry. I wanted to do this for a long time."

"You are crazy."

"No more than you. You know: Payback is a bitch. Just lean back and enjoy."

He tried to break free without success. Meanwhile Emily was enjoying his situation a lot but there was one thing left to do. So she took the scarf and covered his eyes. He was breathing hard. Smirking she kissed him.

"Relax, I am not gonna hurt you."

"That doesn't make it any better. I don't like to be submissive."

"Oh the way you enjoyed me riding you earlier tells other things."

"That isn't the same."

"It is and I warned you about it. So take it as a man."

"You lead me to believe you have a domination complex."

"Maybe now you will finally shut up."

He did as ordered but still felt uncomfortable but to his surprise he gradually started to enjoy it. Emily was taking her time making him slowly but surely as horny as hell. God how he hated to be made to feel like a teenager again, having no control over his sexual responses just by having her touch him. On the other hand he was beginning to enjoy his helplessness and the things she was doing to him.

Hours later they both entered the meeting room of the local PD exhausted from their late night entertainment. Not one of the team realized the actual reason for the dark circles under their eyes.

During a short break Derek joined Reid at the coffee machine.

"You didn't come back last night. Got some late night action?"

The younger man blushed slightly.

"No problem kid but next time don't use such a lame excuse like visiting Emily. Every now and then all of us need a little bit of loving."

"It wasn't an excuse. I was over at Emily's."

"Sure thing and I am the Pope. No need to lie about your night activities. Hope you enjoyed it."

Derek was about to turn around to face the others when he saw the smile in Reid's face.

"Actually I really did enjoy it a lot."

With those words he left leaving an astonished Derek behind.

***

Emily was going to visit Penelope to cheer her up. The blonde was still off for a few days after she being shot and was on everybody's last nerve about being bored and home alone. This evening it was Emily's turn to cheer up the technician. Armed with DVD's of Titanic, Moulin Rouge and Interview with a Vampire the female profiler arrived at Penelope's.

"Hey, Em, you're early. Couldn't wait to get out of the office, huh?" Penelope greeted her, slowly becoming her joyful self again.

"Yeah, I can't remember a day dragging on that was as boring as today was. It was hell."

Emily entered the small cozy flat.

"But you are finally here and we can have some fun."

"Sounds like those girlie parties back in high school with all that gossip about who is dating who."

Emily laughed while she took a seat. Penelope brought out some drinks and snacks and settled herself on the couch.

"That would be fun! And I know where to start."

"Pen, I didn't mean it that way. I thought, we would just watch a film and talk a bit."

"And who says we have to watch the film first, sweetheart?"

For a second the brunette was puzzled but decided to let it go.

"Okay, I guess you have something to talk about."

Rubbing her hands together Penelope smiled bright.

"I do. Who is your secret admirer?"

Again Emily was puzzled.

"I don't have a secret admirer."

"Ok, your secret lover, affair, whatever you want to call him. I know there is a guy."

"How did you come to that conclusion, Miss Holmes?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For months you have that special smile women have when they are in a relationship and your smile was bright as Thelma's in Thelma and Louise."

"I repeat: I don't have a secret admirer, lover, affair or some random one night stands."

Emily turned to sort the DVDs on the table in front of her.

"Denying it is suspicious. Who is it? I swear, I won't say anything to anybody."

Penelope tried to copy Reid's little puppy dog look to make Emily talk.

"First: You would tell it. Second: You won't believe it."

Before the technician could answer, her and Emily's cell phones rang with a text message. Both rolled their eyes and read the message.

Emily's wrote: SRY Derek knows.

Penelope's wrote: It's Reid.

Puzzled and stunned the two women looked at each other.

"Em, you were right, I wouldn't believe it."

"I'm gonna kill him." Emily murmured under her breath, aloud she said: "Can we watch the DVDs now?"

"Oh, we are not watching any DVDs. Details, now! Since when? How far? And why the hell did no one notice?"

Annoyed the brunette faced her friend.

"Since the New Orleans case. Why no one notice I really don't know. A few times Spencer and I thought, we were caught, but nothing happened."

Grinning like the sun, she thought back to the day she and Reid finally got together.

The team had just come back from New Orleans. Emily was still wondering what was going on with Reid. To her he seemed to become more aggressive. She couldn't get rid of the thought that probably there was something else bothering the young genius. During work she tried to talk to him but he refused to respond, so now she was standing in front of the house where his apartment was. Emily rang the doorbell. Only seconds later the front door was opened by Reid. Both looked at each other like they had seen a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly.

It took a moment for Emily to answer because she was flustered seeing Reid in jeans and a blue t-shirt.

"I wanted to visit you. You seem to be consumed by a personal problem and I want to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need someone to profile me."

"I am not here as a profiler, I am here as a friend." she declared honestly.

Reid blinked in astonishment. He stepped aside and let her in. Emily nodded thankful and followed him to the third floor where his apartment was. She was surprised Reid hadn't closed the door properly. It was slight open and you only needed to push it open.

"Want some coffee?"

"Yeah, sure."

While Reid went to make some coffee for them, Emily looked around. The room was a combination of living room and kitchen. The part which was the living room was filled with book shelves but they weren't what she had expected. Reid followed her gaze and smiled.

"The majority of the books are my mother's. Proust, Chaucer, every author who is important for the literature of the 15th century. The smaller part is mine."

"I guess, the science fiction and physics part.", she said playfully.

"And some of the classic novels like Jules Verne, Moby Dick and so on."

Still smiling he gave Emily her cup of coffee. She took a sip and looked at him surprised.

"That's exactly the way I like it."

"Then it's good, I wasn't sure about it."

"You really know everything."

"I guess so."

He shrugged his shoulders.

They sat down in the armchairs and enjoyed the coffee. For minutes there was nothing but peaceful and friendly silence.

The silence was disturbed by the ringing of Reid's phone. He took the wireless phone and vanished into a room that seemed to be his bedroom. A minute or two later he came back. The last sentence she heard him say was: "Maybe next time."

Feeling sorry for having ruined Reid's plans for the night she stood up to leave.

"Where are you going, Emily?"

"I ... need to go to the bathroom."

It wasn't quite a lie, she really needed to go. Reid blushed lightly.

"It's the door on the right."

Smiling at his behavior she entered the bathroom. For the umpteenth time this evening Emily was surprised. The bathroom looked like it belonged to a hotel suite and not in an apartment. In one corner was a triangle shaped bath tub, opposite to the door was a small bathroom cabinet made out of massive wood that fit perfectly in the area. Around the tub was enough space for some decorations.

Candles would look nice, Emily thought.

Before she could stop it, the picture of Reid and her in the tub, the water would include scented bath oil, the tub surrounded by candles and both doing very adult things popped up in her head. Now it was Emily's turn to blush. If this wasn't enough, she couldn't seem to help herself and searched through the drawers. She found surprisingly, what she wanted to find. In the last drawer she found a huge assortment of different flavored bath and massage oils and enough condoms to keep a man busy for a whole year. Emily asked herself if this was really Reid's bathroom, the content was one she would expect in Derek's bathroom. Furrowing her brow she decided, that she had involuntarily discovered the dark and hidden side of Reid. As she returned to the living room, she giggled a bit about the idea of Reid being a Don Juan de Marco or a Casanova. She was so lost in thought that at first she didn't realize she was alone. A short look around and she knew that Reid had gone downstairs.

An idea came to her mind. With an impish smile she entered the bedroom. After her latest discoveries she really shouldn't be surprised again but she was. There was no light from the ceiling, instead there were a lot of little lamps on the left and right wall flooding the room with dimmed light. The walls were painted in a light earth tone, in the center stood a king size bed with two sets of ruby and white colored blankets, on both sides of the bed were small night tables, a small wardrobe was standing next to the door and a small table with a fragrance lamp opposite to the wardrobe. The whole room was cozy, seducing and more than perfect for some fun.

Emily stood there with her jaw dropped to the ground.

"Have you seen enough or do I need to give you a guided tour?"

She jumped out of her skin, not only because she got caught snooping, but what really had made her jump was the fact that Reid stood only an inch behind her and whispered in her ear. She tried to control her goosebumps and her way too fast pounding heart as she faced him.

"I didn't want to...uhm no I wanted but...I am so sorry."

She looked and sounded like a teenage girl caught by her father while messing around with her boyfriend. The hint of amusement in his eyes grew with light speed and soon he laughed out loud. Puzzled Emily put some space between them that unfortunately lead her into the bedroom, but this was much better than being so close to Reid. Usually she didn't become flustered like now and she wasn't sure what he would do. And she could bet on it if Reid would make a pass at her she would response faster than he could read. The whole situation was becoming uncomfortable and just because she wanted him to talk to her again. As soon as Reid could speak again he took her hand and made Emily sit on the bed.

"I know, everybody is curious about my private life and I can understand you took the opportunity to find something out about it. I also know you are here because you want to know why I snapped at you."

"Ok, stop profiling me."

A small laughter escaped his mouth.

"That's not profiling and you know it. Do you really want to know why I was such an idiot?"

Emily nodded in agreement. The last hour had been too much to keep her thoughts straight.

"When I was in the hospital after Atlanta a few things became clear to me and some of them weren't easy to handle. I still have some problems to get I need to get a handle on. That's why I was absent and aggressive. That is not an excuse, it's an explanation."

Reid looked at Emily and waited for a reaction. Seconds later she exhaled deep.

"Why me? Why did you choose me as verbal punch-bag?"

With puppy dog eyes he looked into her brown eyes and carefully took her hand in his.

"I thought that it was obvious."

An eternity later her eyes widened in realization and Reid barely had time to realize what was going on because she literally flew in his arms and kissed him. Then he smiled against her lips happy she understood and more than happy she felt the same way. Still kissing him she dragged him down on the bed. Next Reid was lying on the top of her finally kissing her back. The kiss became deeper and passionate. Emily's hands began discovering Reid's back which made him producing a sound between purring and growling that she enjoyed even if it was strange. Then she moved on to his neck and inadvertently touched his ear lobes causing him to jump up. His breath was fast and he visibly tried to put himself together. Emily made a mental note to use this knowledge against him later.

"What are you doing?" he asked still breathing hard and bewildered.

"I thought that was obvious." she answered in a lascivious voice.

"That's not a good idea. I mean we just found out about our feelings for each other and we shouldn't cross that line too fast. You mean a lot to me and I don't want do anything wrong."

Reid paced back and forth while he spoke.

"I know it's not the perfect way but do you want to know what I was thinking just minutes ago in your bathroom?"

Emily's statement made him stop. His face showed relief she understood and curiosity about what she had thought. Smiling she embraced him. As revenge for his appearing suddenly behind her earlier she whispered in his ear, softly touching the ear lob with her lips: "I'll show you if you let me."

Immediately he reacted to her, his minding creating a nearly similar scenario as Emily's had before and his body acting on his own. He pulled her closer and kissed her.

"I have a better idea."

"What are you thinking about?"

"A lot of things."

Both smiled in competition.

"Does it include your bathroom?"

"For starters." Reid laughed.

"Will you strip for me?"

"I'll think about it."

He broke the embrace and went over to the bathroom.

The next morning Emily awoke first. Smiling again she cuddled next to Reid with her head resting on his chest. She could barely believe the last night had happened. Less than 24 hours ago he didn't even want to talk to her and now...

A soft yawn told her that Reid was awake too. She kissed him good morning. Even though he was still sleepy he pulled her close and stroked her back.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Emily teased him.

"It's Sunday, that means sleeping as long as you want."

"But you can do others things than sleeping on a Sunday, especially on a Sunday in a bed."

While speaking she drew lines on his chest and shoulders with her finger. Emily was stopped by Reid as she came dangerously close to his ears again.

"But first I need breakfast and coffee or else you are going to wear me out."

Pouting she sat up.

"Ok, breakfast first. I don't want you to die because of starvation."

She hadn't finished speaking before Reid was already in the kitchen and making breakfast. Emily laid down again and dozed. Minutes later she heard something rattle. She sat up again and found Reid standing there with breakfast for them.

"Breakfast in bed?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's it."

Emily's mood lightened and the day was saved.

***

Spencer and Emily were sitting in front of his TV and looked very intense both holding a Xbox controller in their hands. A triumphant smile played across Spencer's face as he put down the controller.

"That's unfair. You've had a lot of practice with this game. And why did we play this one?"

Emily pouted because she lost her thirteenth match of "Dead or Alive" against Spencer.

"Because you wanted to know what I do to compensate for the things we see at work. That's my way of decompressing, playing fighting games on the Xbox."

He was still smiling because of his victory.

"Ok ok, I give up. But you really have the advantage plus it's a very hard game."

"I know that's why I like it."

"I thought you liked it because of the clothes the female characters wore."

She needed to tease him to feel better and less stupid about losing.

"No, not really it's just a coincidence. And if you want to look through my collection of games you will see there are more than just fighting games, there are also puzzle games and role-play games."

Smiling she dived into his collection.

"Don't forget honey, you allowed it."

While Emily was looking through the games Spencer went to his kitchen and made some fresh coffee. As he came back he nearly fell to the floor because she was standing in front of the couch and hold a game he thought she never would find. With trembling hands he put down the coffee.

"Spencer can you explain this one to me, please?"

The way she sounded didn't bode well for him. Slowly he took the game from her and put the CD into the Xbox.

"It's a kind of continuance of Dead or Alive 4, what we played before."

"A continuance including only the female characters in very little bikinis?"

The opening played in the background and Spencer wasn't sure if this wouldn't make things worse. The glance Emily gave the TV didn't showed clear if she was upset or amused by this.

"Uhm, Emily, are you angry with me about this game? I swear I'll throw it in the trash if you don't like it."

She didn't answer and still watched the sequences showing single moments of the game. Spencer opened his mouth to say something to calm her down just to be sure she wouldn't punch him but his stomach started to growl. Like this was an unknown signal Emily burst out laughing. Puzzled and hungry he looked at her.

"Oh honey, you really thought I was angry? Oh god, I can't believe it. See, I would be suspicious if you didn't have something like this. I mean since I haven't found a collection of Playboys or anything else. I really started to wonder."

"You think this is funny?"

"In a weird way yes. And now I think you should go and get some food before you starve."

Spencer still couldn't believe Emily tricked him and needed a few seconds till it sunk in that he was still hungry. Again he smiled.

"Okay I have a suggestion. I go and get some pizza for us and you have time to practice Dead or Alive 4. After we have eaten we'll see if you've gotten any better."

"That sounds good. And Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget the extra cheese."

It took nearly an hour till Spencer came back with the fresh made pizza. He saw Emily who was so involved in her practicing that she didn't noticed him entering his apartment. She finally reacted when Spencer stepped closer and held her pizza under her nose so she could smell it. It was fun to see how she tried to pay attention to the game while he was waving with pizza under her nose. After an inner fight she gave up.

"You are mean."

"I know, but I need to keep my advantage."

Smiling he gave her the pizza and they settled in the kitchen.

"I think you are going to loose your advantage. I got a lot better in the last hour."

"We'll see how good you became."

"Don't say you think I am bad at it because I am a woman."

She just couldn't help herself from teasing him as often as possible.

"I just think you will need more practice till you can beat me."

Even if he didn't want to admit it Emily had actually became better with every single match and the last two were hard for him to win. He didn't want to think about how good she became after an hour of single playing.

"Ok then let's bet."

"What are the stakes?"

"I'll let you decide."

Spencer thought about the stakes for about a minute. With an innocent smile he addressed Emily.

"I have it."

"What did you came up with?"

"The loser has to be submissive for the rest of the weekend."

"You are pretty sure you are going to win, huh?"

"For good reason."

Emily tried to stare him down. She knew he wasn't as confident about wining as he said.

"The person who wins 15 rounds is the winner."

Spencer calculated how long this would take and where this would lead. He suppressed a sigh and nodded in agreement. Emily finished her meal in a hurry and rushed over to the TV. He followed having a strange feeling of facing his death sentence.

It was a hard and long way to winning but finally after a lot of double ko's and a raising aggressions towards the controller on both sides Emily won her 15th match against Spencer. She jumped for joy like a little kid while Spencer's mind was creating a couple of unpleasant scenarios that would probably come next.

"So sweetheart, you are mine till Monday morning."

He sighed unhappily.

"I guess so."

"Hey, you brought this on yourself, don't moan."

Spencer switched off TV and Xbox and stood up to face Emily.

"Have you anything in mind what I shall do for you first?"

She thought about it for a moment tapping with her finger on her lips. A small giggle escaped her.

"I still have some aggressions to work out, you know?"

First he didn't understand but when she looked towards his bedroom he understood what kind of work out she meant. He smiled impishly.

"I think you need to work them out immediately and I am pleased to help."

***

In a small bar somewhere near Washington DC, it was crowded but not in the "I am almost becoming claustrophobic" way. Some people were dancing, some were chatting and some where sitting alone at the bar counter.

A young man entered the bar. He settled near the dance floor. He was tall and lanky with brown hair, dressed in jeans and a well fitting button down shirt. For a while he just stood there nursing a drink.

In the opposite corner, also standing near the dance floor was a brunette woman outshining the others with her natural elegance wearing simple jeans and a tank top. She was alone and watched her surroundings from a corner where she wouldn't be easily seen.

The young man looked around hoping to see some familiar faces. He was a regular and the bartenders knew what he liked to drink.

It was during his walk around the dance floor that he noticed her. Slowly he made his way to her and thought about how to strike up a conversation with her. He was only a few steps away when a drunk man popped up in front of the woman and tried to make her leave with him. She ignored him but he became intrusive. At this point the young man interfered.

"The lady doesn't want to go with you and you better head on home."

The drunk man turned to faced him.

"An´what do ya gonna do if I stay?"

"Do you see those guys at the door?"

The young man pointed at the two bouncers who looked like bodybuilders.

"Your friends?" the drunk laughed.

Unhappy about this the young man beckoned the two bouncers over. The woman stepped away from the drunk and closer to the younger one.

"Is there any problem, Spencer?" one of the bouncers asked.

"Actually there is. This man here is drunk and won't stop troubling this lady here."

"Is that true?" the other bouncer wanted to know.

"Yeah, I told him to leave me alone and ignored him but he wouldn't go."

"That bitch is lying. She made me horny and now won't follow through with it."

The bouncers didn't believe the drunk man and guided him gently outside. Relieved the woman let out a deep sigh. Spencer turned to face the unknown woman but because she was so close, he accidentally spilled half of his drink on her tank top. Hastily he reached out for some napkins and handed them to her to help dry her clothes.

"I am so sorry. I don't mean to spill my drink on you. Originally it was intended to end up in me."

He smiled in apology. A deep look in her eyes with his puppy dog look and she smiled back unable to remain angry with him.

"It's ok. Those things happen in a bar, right? ... And what are you doing when you are not helping woman get rid of unpleasant company?"

"Nothing fancy. I hoped to meet some friends of mine but it seems they aren't here."

He looked around to make sure of it.

"For a man it isn't unusual to go out on his own, for a woman it can be unpleasant and dangerous if anything turns out wrong."

She was still busy trying to dry her tank top and only looked at him here and there.

"Like it did a few seconds before?"

"Yeah, that was one example of what can happen. That idiot should be happy you came along."

Still a bit angry she looked to the entrance. Puzzled Spencer looked at her.

"I thought you would be the lucky one."

"But he should be happy because if he hadn't gone away or you hadn't showed up I would have had to free myself from his company."

"So you are a tough girl? If you don't need my help anymore I had better leave."

Spencer gave her a little bow and turned to leave her. She reached out for his shoulder and stopped him.

"I just wanted to say if necessary I can take care of myself but even a tough girl sometimes needs a tough guy to hold her."

A little smile crossed his face as he faced her again.

"I have heard about that but thought it was just rumors."

"There is always a piece of truth in rumors." she answered smiling.

"I have heard about that too. And what is this tough girl doing?"

"Nothing fancy."

The fact that she imitated him didn't go unnoticed by Spencer.

"And nothing fancy means what for you?"

"Some totally boring things, and what does it mean for you?"

The woman quirked an eyebrow as if to say: Trying to be interesting.

"The same thing."

"So we are both boring people I guess."

"A boring job doesn't mean the person is boring. Eventually the person behind the job is a little riddle."

With a wink Spencer ordered new drinks.

"A riddle? Even if every woman has a secret, I don't think everybody is mysterious. And by the way the mysterious guys mostly turn out to be freaks or psychopaths."

She gave him a funny look as if she wanted to be sure he wasn't one of the mentioned possibilities.

"And what kind of guy do you think I am?" he asked while he gave her the new drink.

"First you are nice and a gentleman but that just makes you more suspicious."

Spencer laughed at this remark. How true it was.

"Indeed, it does, I guess. What can I do to prove I am not the big bad wolf?"

"You actually did one thing to prove it already."

Puzzled he tried to remember what he had done to prove this. The woman giggled at the face he was making.

"You don't know what I mean, right?"

"I don't have a clue."

"In fact there were two things. First you helped me with that guy when you realized I didn't want to be seduced. Second you ordered us new drinks and didn't put any drugs in mine."

He was still puzzled.

"I don't think very highly of men who need to do those things. Not only because drugging a person is a crime it's also a sign of weakness and cowardice. Either the woman wants to join me or she doesn't."

She nodded in respect.

"So, If I leave now ..."

"...I would let you go and I would go home alone."

Once more he gave her these puppy dog eyes. She felt as she began to melt under his gaze that made her want to embrace him.

"And if I don't want to go home alone either?"

"I would be pleased to invite to my place."

"Which is accidentally in the middle of nowhere." She said with a smirk.

"No, in fact I live just a few blocks away."

"Now I feel safe, because people would hear me cry if I need help."

"I hope you will cry because of other reasons." Spencer said in a low voice. The glance in his eyes made her shiver with desire.

"Is that a promise?"

Her voice was trembling and husky. She could feel the goosebumps appearing on her upper body.

"Would you let me fulfil it?"

He reached out to put a strand of hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes and shivered again because of his touch that lasted a bit longer than necessary.

"Let's go home." She whispered.

Even if Spencer couldn't hear it he understood what she said.

"Yeah, let's go home. Enough with playing, Emily."

"I totally agree, honey, and you better keep that promise."

"I always keep my promises."

Holding onto each other Emily and Spencer ended their little experiment. It all started with a curious Emily who wanted to know how Spencer normally picked up a girl.

***

It was the morning after their little experiment. Emily laid next to Spencer her head resting on his chest. The steady and soft rhythm of his breath told her he was still asleep. How long she had been awake she didn't know but there was something nagging at her. She had seen so many different sides of him in the last months she started to ask herself if she really knew him.

The side she knew best was how Spencer was at work. The little shy social awkward genius the team knew and liked. The side she was attracted to first.

Then there was the side you could describe best as totally normal. When they spent time together away from work you would never know he was a genius. You would think of him as a nice helping young man.

The most astonishing side she had experienced was when it comes to intimacy. Emily still blushed when she thought of the things he was able to do to her. That was one of the last things you would expect if you saw him.

And now the side she had just gotten to know last night. In her opinion Spencer had watched Derek for a long time and made the most of it and his own personality. She knew Spencer could be charming and a gentleman, also that he was pretty good in seducing but experienced it on her own during the game of 'make believe we are strangers' made her unsure about his feelings for her.

She shook her head lightly. Now she unfortunately knew how Penelope felt about Derek. Being in love with a player is the stupidest thing a woman can do but on the other hand Penelope knew what Derek was, Emily otherwise bought the pig in a poke with Spencer.

He was still asleep as she stood up and dressed. With sadness she watched him a few minutes till she finally got the courage to leave. She tried to hold back the tears as long as she could but halfway home she broke down and needed to stop at the side of the road. For a long time she just sat in her car and cried because she didn't know what to do. After she calmed down a bit she realized she had made a detour and was near Penelope's. The decision to drive to her place was made in less than a second. Emily ignored her cell phone knowing it was Spencer who would want to know why she left without a note. When she arrived at Penelope's she turned off the cell phone.

Penelope opened the door looking as if she had been crying for the last several hours and was still in her pyjamas.

"Hi Em, you look as bad as I feel."

"Same to you."

"Reid?"

"Yeah, Derek?"

"Yes, come in."

Penelope went to make some hot chocolate with marshmallows while Emily settled down on the couch and emptied the Kleenex box. The technician handed the other woman a mug and a new box of Kleenex and settled next to her.

"Thanks, I hope that will help. What did Derek do?"

"Except being the way he is? Nothing and Reid?"

"Ditto, and I have no good explanation why I feel sad, depressed and everything is a huge pile of crap."

"It's beginning to get creepy. Does that huge profiler brain of yours at least have a good explanation why we fell in love with them?"

Emily fished out a marshmallow while thinking. The doorbell rang disturbing Emily who was lost in her thoughts. Penelope answered the door and found JJ looking as bad as her.

"JJ, what happened to you?"

"Except the fact my soon to be ex boyfriend is the biggest asshole on earth, nothing." the young woman sobbed.

"Come in, want some hot chocolate with marshmallows?"

"Please."

JJ sat down in the chair next to the couch and took the new Kleenex box from Emily.

"What did he do?" asked Penelope handing JJ the hot chocolate.

The media liaison took a sip.

"He asked me if I want to marry him."

Emily and Penelope exchanged clueless looks.

"And you don't want to?"

JJ stared daggers at Emily.

"He asked me after I found out he had cheated on me with a large group of men."

"What?"

"You two understood right. And why are you upset?"

"I am helpless and depressed not upset." Emily explained

"Same with me." said Penelope between two sips of chocolate.

"Because of the boys?"

"Do you know any other reason? I knew it would be hard to be with Spencer but I never thought it would be this hard."

"Did Reid do anything?"

Penelope got the strange feeling there was more than Emily had told.

"No, he didn't do anything, it's me. I am not sure about his feelings for me after yesterday evening."

"What was yesterday?"

JJ seemed to forget her own problems curious about news on Spencer. Emily knew if she explained everything Spencer would be angry at her because they had decided to let the team know about them but not about the other sides of Spencer outside of work. Playing with the last marshmallow Emily tried to come to a decision.

"Emily, sweetheart, what is bothering you?"

"If I tell you what is going on I will betray his trust in me. There are a lot things we decided to hide from all of you."

"Why?"

Penelope didn't understand anything. Emily let out a deep sigh and eyed the other two women.

"You won't believe it, you had a hard time believing Spencer and me are a couple and this will be worse."

"What? Is Spence bi and has fun with men every time he gets the chance to?"

Emily shot JJ a death glare.

"JJ, not every man is an asshole like your soon to be ex." Penelope defended the absent Spencer.

"So stop this mysterious behaviour and tell us what Reid's and your secret is, or otherwise I will get the answer from the little genius of yours."

Penelope starred at Emily in order to make her speak.

"He isn't that little social awkward genius we all think he is."

Emily knew this explanation wouldn't be enough for them.

"And what is he?" JJ asked.

"A Don Juan?" was the suggestion from Penelope.

"Or a Casanova?"

"Or a wandering example of the Karma Sutra?"

JJ and Penelope giggled about Penelope's comment and didn't notice how Emily blushed a bit more with every question. The brunette wanted to hide behind her mug but knew it was futile. After a minute the two blondes noticed that Emily was as red as a tomato. With wide eyes Penelope looked at her.

"Please, Em, you don't want us to think Reid is a gigolo. Derek is enough."

"He isn't a gigolo but he knows perfectly well how to seduce a woman the right way."

"Derek wouldn't be happy if he finds out Spence has become his rival." JJ tried to joke but Penelope and Emily were involved in some kind of non-lingual communication and had overheard it.

"You think he thinks of you as a fling."

It was just a simple fact Penelope said, no question.

"Like you do about Derek."

"What happened yesterday. Em?"

JJ's head went from right to left like it was a tennis game listening to her friends. Emily sighed once more and made herself more comfortable.

"I was curious how he normally picks up girls and he agreed in a little role-play."

"So the little bear acted as if he didn't know you and got you to go home with him."

"Yes, exactly."

"And now you wonder if his feelings are real and if it is always so easy for him like it was with you?"

"Uhm, yeah, I do."

Penelope sighed, took all three empty mugs and went to make new hot chocolate.

"Pen, what's up?" JJ asked.

"I am trying to decide if I shall laugh about Reid being like Derek or if I should cry with Emily because I know how she is feeling."

Penelope's thoughts were disturbed by her doorbell. She opened the door and found herself face to face with Spencer.

"Uhm, sorry I disturbed your free weekend but I am looking for Emily and thought she might be here."

He was hoping from one foot to another. Before Penelope could turn to ask Emily if she wanted to see her lover the brunette stepped behind the tech goddess.

"I am here, no need to worry."

Spencer breathed out in relief.

"My God, Em, you scared me. I kept thinking about the horrible things that could have happened to you. Why didn't you answer your cell? What happened to you? Have you been crying? Why?"

"Hey, hey, hey, one question at a time. I didn't answered my cell ´cause I didn't want to talk to you at this moment."

"Honeys, don't be mad at me but I think this is a thing you should be discussing alone."

Unfortunately Penelope was still standing between them and felt as if Emily was using her as a shield. Emily got the hint and pushed Spencer to the hallway.

"Em, what's up? Did I do something wrong? Did I do something to upset you?"

He gave her one of his well-known puppy dog eyes look.

"No you did nothing wrong. It's all about me, ok?"

"Why? You left without a note, didn't answered the phone and hide at Penelope's. You can't tell me that has nothing to do with us."

"Just give me some time, then I'll tell you everything."

She kissed him on the cheek at the same moment Derek appeared in the hallway.

"Hey guys, I knew I heard some familiar voices. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing important. And what are you doing here?" Emily asked in return.

Derek shrugged his shoulders.

"Penelope didn't answer neither her cell nor her home phone, so I started to worry if everything was fine."

"She is at home, comforting JJ at the moment. You should be cautious with what you are going to say."

"That bad with JJ?"

"You don't have any idea."

Derek nodded and went over to Penelope's door. Seconds later he had vanished into her apartment. Emily's sad eyes watching as Derek went to the door didn't go unnoticed by Spencer. Finally he knew what that all mess was about.

"You think I am like him?"

"What?"

Emily snapped back from the door to face Spencer again.

"You think I am like Derek, a player, a womanizer outside of work. You are afraid I am playing with you."

Embarrassed that she was so easy to read she looked to the ground.

"I don't know if you love me for real." came the muffled answer.

Spencer put a hand under her chin and made her look at him.

"I really do love you, more than I can say or show. There is no other woman I want to be with. You are beautiful, smart, have a fantastic sense for humor, lovely and I don't know what I would do without you."

"Where did you get all this cliché stuff from?"

"Sorry, it just came into my mind."

Spencer blushed a bit but held eye contact with Emily.

"It was the cutest thing I've ever heard. Thank you."

Gently she kissed him.

They had just broken apart when JJ came out and walked hastily to the front door of the building. She even didn't say goodbye to Spencer and Emily. A few seconds later Penelope appeared in the doorway. Puzzled the couple looked at the tech goddess.

"Sorry guys but it seems as if JJ has a hard time being around couples."

"No Problem, I guess the next few weeks will be tough on her."

Emily smiled at Penelope who smiled in return.

"Especially with two happy couples around."

With a very big smile Penelope closed the door. Emily and Spencer looked at each other and burst out laughing.

***