A/N: This was going to be longer, but I was getting impatient, and I couldn't get myself to write more, so I ended it here. If you want to suggest a pairing, I'll write a OS for them, even after Halloween :D

Second One-Shot :) Written for the Masquerade Challenge on Chit Chat on Author's Corner

Prompts: Hotch/Prentiss; Little Red Riding Hood


Emily Prentiss sighed as she entered her apartment. She was so tired of 'Halloween Cases', as Morgan had dubbed them. His repeated statement about people wearing masks 'giving him the creeps' honestly made a lot more sense after seeing what people seemed to think was acceptable thanks to a holiday. Really? How many more ideas were these creeps going to be able to come up with? Rolling her eyes, she realized she really didn't want to know the answer to that question. She turned, dropped her keys onto the table that sat next to the door, entered the code to shut off her alarm system, and began walking towards her bedroom.

Emily's hand shot out to the wall to steady herself as she stumbled over an object sitting in the middle of the hallway. She as 99% positive that whatever it was definitely hadn't been there when she'd left. She flipped on the lights, and approached the offending object. A box. A cardboard box that could contain anything. For all she knew it was a bomb. No, it probably wasn't. Whoever had left it here knew the code to her alarm, or the company would have informed her of a burglary. So, that narrowed it down to everyone on her team, two of her neighbors who regularly took care of Sergio while she was gone, and her parents. It obviously wasn't anyone on the team, unless Garcia was trying to freak her out, but Em was pretty sure Garcia knew better than that. Her neighbors would have probably left a note with something like this, letting her know it wasn't dangerous. That left her parents. She knew her mother was overseas at the moment, but her father had stayed home. The two of them were planning on lunch tomorrow.

After several moments of thinking, she picked up the box and set it on the kitchen table. She was ready to lift the lid off, when there was a loud pounding on the door. She took a deep breath, and walked to the door. She checked through the peep hole, and, seeing Hotch on the other side, yanked the door open.

"Hey, Hotch." Emily smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Hello," he replied, nodding his head. "Well, Garcia decided it would be fun to throw a last minute Halloween... I think she called it an 'Extreme-fun-a-ganza' or something,"

"That sounds a lot like Garcia," Em nodded, grinning as she led him into the kitchen area. The mysterious box was all but forgotten. "Why didn't she tell me about it, though?"

"She called me five minutes ago, and said you weren't answering your phone... you know Garcia. She tends to be a little..."

Laughing, Emily nodded again. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Hotch nodded, and looked down at his phone as it buzzed once again. The message 'Be sure you both wear costumes!' flashed across the screen, and Hotch rolled his eyes. Great.

"What now?" Emily asked, worried they were being called back in to work another case.

"Garcia wants us to wear costumes," he sighed, trying to muster as much enthusiasm as possible.

"Great... I haven't dressed up since I was in college. Unless you count the costume party my parents insisted on holding until a few years ago." she shrugged. "So, I don't really have a costume,"

"The box on your table says 'Emily Halloween' on it," he said, pointing to the side, where, sure enough, in block letters were those two words.

"Huh. Well, it was left here while we were in Texas. I haven't even looked inside yet,"

"Why not look now? Who knows, maybe there's something you can use in there,"

Emily smiled. "This is why we keep you around," she told him, jokingly, as she pulled the lid off. Inside was a scrapbook, as well as several old Halloween decorations that she remembered leaving with her parents before she started her work with Interpol. In the bottom, a piece of red velvet stuck up.

"Find something?" Hotch asked, as he noticed she'd stopped looking.

"Maybe," she nodded, tugging softly on the material. She didn't want to rip it, so she was being careful. After a moment it pulled free, and smiled as her thoughts were confirmed.

"My grandmother made me this when I was little, as I got older, she would add more to it, and make it longer... she died when I was eighteen, but this was my absolute favorite thing growing up," Emily explained, holding up the long red cape.

"So, it seems we've found you a costume?" Hotch confirmed.

"Yes, we have," she agreed.

"All right, Little Red Riding Hood. We need to go pick up Jack, and then we can go," he replied, moving toward the door.

"Aren't you dressing up?" Emily asked, an amused smile on her face as she crossed to the door after him.

"As myself," Hotch nodded, opening the door, as she entered the code once again.

Emily chuckled and rolled her eyes as she followed him out the door, and locked it. "You're ridiculous, Hotch."

"No, I just don't feel the need to dress up," he replied.

"You're making me," she pointed out.

"Yes, well, you have a costume. I don't."

"Wear a pair of pajamas and be the sandman, or something," she suggested.

Hotch shot her a glare, and headed to the lobby. "No way, Emily,"

"You're the one complaining about not owning a costume,"

"I'm not complaining. I don't feel the need to dress up, I said that already,"

"Fine. You win. This year. You just wait, Hotch. I'll get you to dress up," Emily smiled, exiting the building.

"We'll see, Emily. We'll see," Hotch shook his head, walking to his car, and unlocking it. He opened Emily's door for her, and crossed over to the driver's side.

"No, we won't. Because I'll definitely get you to dress up," Emily grinned.

"Let's just go, Little Red," he rolled his eyes, and began the drive to Jessica's. This was going to be a long night.