A/N: Sometimes univeristy lectures can be extremely boring, no? And when that is the case, I tend to write fanfiction. This idea has been brewing in my head ever since I heard that Paget Brewster was leaving the show, and I finally managed to get it down. This is my first time writing for the Reid/Prentiss pairing, so I hope I've done a good enough job! I do like this couple, even though Reid/Morgan is obviously my OTP!

And for anyone who is reading 'Magic', I will have it done soon, I promise! I have had three essays due in the past week, so I've been entirely focused on them. And for some reason, I find myself entirely unable to write 'Magic' in uni. Probably because I focus harder on it than my other stories. But those essays are done now, so it should be up soon.

Disclaimer: See my profile.

When Emily told her team she was resigning from the FBI, they were shocked to say the least. She'd only come back to rejoin them from the dead less than a year ago, and now she was leaving them again. They were all dejected about her departure; not one of them wanted her to go. They didn't want to go back to having a team without her in it- it had been bad enough the first time. They weren't going to begrudge her her decision, however. It was her choice after all. The team knew how hard the job could be - some people just couldn't do it anymore. Sometimes, people had to walk away and do something else. That was the case with Emily.

That wasn't the only reason she was leaving, though. And it was this other reason that found her driving to Doctor Spencer Reid's house the night after informing the team of her resignation. If anyone deserved an explanation, it was Reid. Not just because of the issues he had with abandonment, but because there were some things she had to explain to him.

Pulling in to Reid's driveway and shutting off her engine, Emily felt her nerves rising. What she was about to tell him was something she definitely wanted - and needed - to tell him. But it wouldn't be easy.

Emily looked up at Reid's house to see the curtains drawn, but the lights still on. He was obviously still up, then. Emily was glad about this; she hadn't really wanted to wake him up. She didn't think he'd have been very receptive to what she had to say if that was the case. She knew there was a chance that he may not be very receptive at all, but she had to take the chance. She had to know.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Emily climbed out of her car and headed towards Reid's front door. She hesitated for quite a while before knocking. It was several agonising moments before Reid answered, wearing his large, horn-rimmed glasses. He'd obviously been reading.

"Prentiss," Reid said, his eyes growing wide in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to talk to you about something," Prentiss said. "It's kind of important. Can I come in?"

"I, uh- yes, of course," Reid stammered, stepping away from the front door so Prentiss could get past. "Come in."

After closing the door, Reid led Prentiss into his living room, where a large book was lying open on the coffee table. "Do you want a coffee?" Reid asked uncertainly. "I could get you something…"

"No, Reid, it's okay," Prentiss assured him. "I need to say this to you now, before I lose all confidence and run."

Reid studied Prentiss, curious now. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just thought I owed you an explanation about why I'm leaving the team." She sat down on Reid's couch, and the genius followed suit.

"No, you don't," Reid said quickly. "I-"

"Reid," said Prentiss forcefully, and the genius stopped talking. "Yes, I do. Not just for the reason you think."

Reid cocked his head to one side, studying Prentiss with a confused and curious look on his face. "Okay, now I'm intrigued," he said. "Have you talked to any of the others?"

"No. Just you. This is something only you need to hear."

"I'm confused," Reid admitted. "And that's not something that happens very often," he muttered to himself, before continuing to talk to Emily. "I think you need to explain this to me."

"Okay." Prentiss took a deep breath. Emily, you can do this. You have to do this. You will never forgive yourself if you don't do this. "First of all, Reid I do want you to know that I'm not going to abandon you. I'm not leaving DC. I'm still going to be here, in the same apartment with Sergio. I'm not leaving my family; I just can't do this job anymore. And you can visit me or call me as much or as little as you want. Hell, I'm probably going to call you or one of the others every chance I get when you're not away on a case. I'm going to miss being around you every day."

"I'm going to miss you too, Emily," Reid admitted in a soft voice. Emily. The use of her first name somehow gave the woman confidence for what she had to say next. "You… you said there was something else you have to tell me?"

Prentiss nodded. "Yes. There is. I… this isn't easy for me to say, Reid. Not because I don't want to say it- my god, do I want to tell you this. I'm just- I'm scared."

"You're scared?" Reid repeated. His gaze was fixed on Prentiss. She couldn't look away from him. "What have you got to be scared of?"

"You," Prentiss said, watching Reid's eyes grow wide as the word escaped her mouth. He moved to draw away from her completely, perhaps to shrink back against couch or to rise to his feet, but Prentiss reached out to stop him. She laid a hand on his arm and he froze, looking at Prentiss's hand before looking back at her face. "Not you as in who you are. You as in what you're going to say to me as soon as I explain this to you."

"Emily, whatever it is, you can tell me," Reid assured her. He still hadn't made a move to remove Prentiss hand, which surprised her. Normally, Reid didn't really like being touched at all. Like his use of her first name, this action (or rather inaction) gave Prentiss confidence to continue.

"I know I can. I know I can, Spencer," Prentiss whispered. She thought Reid might have missed her use of his first name, but his lips parted a little and his eyes grew wider in shock again. He'd heard her.

"You called me Spencer," he said, stunned. "You've never called me Spencer before."

"I haven't," Prentiss agreed. "But I called you Spencer now because with what I'm about to tell you, it didn't feel right to call you Reid." Prentiss took another deep breath. It was now or never. "Spencer, I… another reason- perhaps the biggest reason- I left the FBI and the team is because- because I love you." Prentiss couldn't believe she'd finally gotten the words out of her mouth- and by Reid's body language, he didn't either. He was completely unmoving as he stared at her. Whatever he had expected her to say, it wasn't that.

"You're messing with me," Reid finally said, shrugging Prentiss hand off of his arm. "You're messing with me. You can't mean that."

"Spencer, I am not messing with you!" Prentiss said, feeling hurt. "And I definitely mean it. I've loved you almost since the moment I first set eyes on you. You're just… you aren't like any guy I'd ever met before. You still aren't. You're just so kind, and gentle, and brave, and innocent, even though everything you've been through in your life has given you every right not to be. And yes, you are the smartest man I have ever met, and probably ever will, and even though you don't realise it, you are damn good-looking, Spencer Reid. Does that sound like I'm messing with you?"

"No," said Reid in a small voice, looking down at his hands. "No, it doesn't. I'm sorry."

"I know you are," said Prentiss. "But I do love you. You are the greatest man I have ever, or will ever meet. I just needed you to know that." She rose from the couch to leave, but just as she turned her back, Reid reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Emily, wait," he pleaded. At the tone in Reid's voice, Prentiss instantly turned around. "I think… there's something I need to tell you too. Please, can you sit down again?"

Prentiss instantly did as Reid asked. Who was she to refuse him, especially after what she had just told him? "What is it?" she asked.

"The… the reason I reacted the way I did when you- when you told me you loved me, is because I, well… I love you too," Reid stammered out. He'd never been so scared in his life; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Without even thinking, he reached out and took Prentiss's hand, squeezing it in his own. She looked at him, the ghost of a smile she wasn't sure she should let through playing on her face. "I love you, Emily, and what you just told me… I never even dared to hope that that's how you felt about me. That's why I reacted the way I did."

"I understand," Prentiss said. And she did understand. Reid was Reid, after all. "Do you… do you think we can give this relationship a try? Especially since we don't work together anymore? I know you're not one to break the rules. And I would never have let you lose your job over me."

"I would have broken the rules for you, Emily," Reid whispered. He leaned forward, his face hovering mere inches from hers- almost like a question. When Prentiss nodded, her eyes locking with Reid's, he closed the distance between them and brushed his lips against hers. His lips were so soft as they moved with hers, and gentle, like he was only worried about she was feeling and not himself. And they tasted like coffee- exactly like Prentiss had imagined they would.

When the two of them finally broke apart, their eyes were locked on each other. "I know you would've broken the rules for me, Spencer," Prentiss said, loving the sound of Reid's first name falling from her lips. "But I wouldn't have let you."

Reid smiled, reaching out and touching a hand to Prentiss's face. She leaned into the touch, caressing his hand with one of her own. "You're too good to me already," he whispered.

"I only give you what you deserve, Spencer," Prentiss said. "Because you deserve everything that's good in life."

"And everything good in life is you," said Reid. "I love you, Emily Prentiss."

"I love you too, Spencer Reid."

A/N: Well there you have it! Like I said, this is my first attempt at writing a Reid/Prentiss story, so reviews and feedback would be very much appreciated! :) I hope you enjoyed reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Note from Diamond Cobra: "I missed my train, so missed uni. Thus, beta'ing occurred ;P"