Emily put her growing bangs behind her ear as the horns of angry cars and frustrated taxi drivers blared around her. She tightened her fingers around her coffee cup as she tried to catch up with her boss and partner, only to close her eyes tight as a man elbowed her shoulder, causing her to bump in the street sign before the bustling street.

"Miss! I'm so sorry."

Emily sighed as she shrugged his hand from her shoulder, rolling her neck as she went to step onto the street. "It's fine."

"Emily?"

The brunette's eyebrows furrowed as she turned, looking to the tall dark haired man in front of her, his briefcase hanging off his shoulder. "Do I know you?'

He smiled shyly before nodding, scratching his dark brown head of hair. "Yeah, we met in Georgia. You know, pretended to hit on me in that tiny black dress with your insanely dark makeup."

Emily's mouth dropped as she heard Hotch calling her name. Her big eyes took in the man before her, seeing his dark jeans and white button down, his cream jacket contrasting with his brown shoes and brown briefcase. His makeup was completely gone. "Viper?"

"I actually go by Paul now."

Emily let out an exasperated laugh as she nodded her head. "Wow, you sure clean up nice."

Paul smiled at the younger woman, his eyes twinkling when he noticed she was wearing a dark purple dress and a black blazer, her shiny black heels lighting up the concrete beneath her. "You look good yourself. You look nice with no bangs."

Emily bit her lip as she nodded slowly. "So, what are you doing in New York?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Well I asked you first."

Paul smirked. "Wel-"

"Emily!"

Both turned to see Hotch and Reid walking up to them. "Prentiss I've been calling your name for two minutes. What's wrong?"

Emily shook her head before taking a long sip of her coffee. "Hotch I'm sorry, I was just catching up with Paul."

Hotch and Reid turned their heads to the tall man, and Reid's eyes immediately widened as Hotch frowned. "Paul Thomas? 'Viper', I assume you're not going by anymore."

Paul sunk his teeth into his bottom lip before nodding slowly. "Yeah. Well, Emily it was nice to see you again, but I better get going. I have a new job down on 5th."

Emily's face immediately fell before she quickly nodded, her smile not reaching her eyes. She sucked her lips in before looking from her boss to Paul. "Yeah, it was nice to see you too. So, if you're ever near Quantico…"

"Yeah." Paul smiled, his ear slowly reaching up to itch his ear where one of his earrings once hung. "I'll call you so you can show me around or something." He smiled wide and looked into her sparkling eyes before nodding. "I'll see you later."

Emily nodded slowly as she watched him walk away, her eyes slowly drifting to his legs and ass, which she hadn't noticed before but had so much shape. She quickly looked to her teammates and smiled. "So, where are we going again?"

"Emily, what were you doing talking with Viper?"

She shrugged as before taking another sip of coffee. "He bumped into me and I was just being polite."

Reid's eyebrows quirked as he looked to his older friend. "Emily you're eyes began dilating the second you saw him, and when we found you speaking with him your body began visibly tensing, but not so visible that Paul didn't see it…or maybe he did! I really wouldn't know sinc-"

"Spencer!"

His face immediately slacked and his eyes went down to his fingers.

Hotch glared at his subordinate before shaking her shoulder slightly. "Emily, you can't be in contact with him."

Emily shook her head and she chuckled nervously. "I didn't really plan on it. We just bumped into each other, Hotch, and I was being polite. Did I not just cover this?"

Hotch let his anger fuse down when he saw her eyes soften on him, her teeth lightly sinking into her bottom lip as her fingers practically crushed the cup in her hand. "Yeah, alright. We need to get to the base."

…

Emily sighed as she plopped down on her hotel bed, her pajamas hugging her snuggly as her head laid in her pillow.

"God I hate New York."

Her eyes were just about to drift shut, her blanket draped just below her waist and her fingers gripping her pillow, when she heard the phone go off. She let out the loudest groan she could before sitting up, snatching the phone out of it's holder. "Hello?"

"…Agent Prentiss?"

"Yes, it's Agent Prentiss, and it's also almost two in the fucking morning! What the hell is this call for? Oh it better be good buddy, or I SWEAR TO GOD I'm gonna come down to that front desk and cut off your little ba-"

"There's a man down here."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know any men from here. Send him away."

"Agent Prentiss, he says you called him here. His name is Paul Thomas."

Emily's eyes immediately widened as she nodded against the phone. "Tell him I'll be right down."

She quickly hung up the phone and slipped on her Uggs that she remembered to slip into her go-bag, and ran to the small mirror above the dresser and fixed her hair. She ran as fast as she could down the steps until she reached the first floor, breathing heavily and smoothing down her t-shirt. She made her way to the lobby, her eyes immediately going to the front desk where a man's back was turned to her. He was wearing jeans and a purple button down, his brown hair neatly brushed. She slowly walked up to him and tapped his shoulder, smiling nervously when he turned around. "Paul. What are you doing here?"

Paul's smile was wide as he gently pushed her over to the front entrance of the hotel. "I noticed that when we spoke earlier on the street, no one gave the other their number."

Emily bit her lip as she immediately nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that too." She watched as he took a card out of his pocket, and delicately placed it in her hand. "It's my new business card, has all my numbers on it."

She smiled up at him before pushing her hair behind her ear. "So how's your new life? You know, without hitting on every single girl you see in that ridiculous ensemble of yours, and talking to lowlife men who are tired of spending every minute of the night with their hand."

Paul let out a laugh when she said that all with a bright smile, and he nodded, his fingers playfully tugging on her shirt sleeve. "It's actually pretty damn good. Feels a lot more…fulfilling, I guess you'd say. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it's true."

Emily looked up to see his eyes small and honest, the brown almost matching his pupils. "A little cheesy, but believable. And you know, I know it seems weird and kind of selfish that I'm just taking interest in you now, and really high school of me…"

"You're taking interest in me?"

Emily's eyes immediately widened as a familiar heat crept up her cheeks. "W-Well, maybe not an 'I wanna date you' kinda way, b-but an 'I kinda feel like we could be friends' type of interest. D-Does that make sense, Paul?"

Paul held in a chuckle before putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's just say yes. And I really understand why you haven't taken an interest in me before, I wasn't that attractive. On the inside or out."

Emily bit her lip, her hand slowly taking his off her shoulder and holding it in her hand. "Paul? Have you really changed? Like, really and truthfully?"

"I like to think I have."