You were right. I wasn't sorry, not really. I was sorry that I had caused you pain, but meeting you? Letting whatever it was that grew between us bloom? I wasn't and I'm not sorry for that in the slightest.

My accounts with the X Men are settled, I feel, at least. Which isn't to say that they and I are finished - I don't think that will ever be the case. Too many emotional ties binding us together, for better or for worse. I'm just taking... a more detached role.

But Scott and I are over. It wasn't that I didn't love him. It's not that I still don't, in many ways. It's just that he is a leader. He helps people push past what they thought were their limits. Helps them to be better than they ever could be alone. And that can be such a good thing. Or it can lead to the situation that I found myself in several months ago.

I could only ever be strong for Scott, never weak. No wonder Emma Frost loved him so much.

So here I stand on the street, looking up at your apartment. I am more than a little nervous, I feel able to admit to myself. You're in there now, curled up in your den of geekery. With a good book, if I'm not mistaken.

I don't know if you'll want to see me. I don't know if you'll want to try friendship again, let alone anything else. I can only promise that if you do, then I'll try my best to let you in as far as I can, to tell you everything that I'm able. I can only imagine the look on your face as I tell you all the things I've done and experienced. The kind of things that you've only ever read about.

I go up to your building, press the appropriate buzzer. Sharing your senses, just your senses, I see you come to the intercom to answer.

"Emily Prentiss?" you say, in a tone of annoyance. You never did like being disturbed during your flights of fancy.

I idly notice that my hand is splayed out on the wall beneath the intercom in front of me, unconsciously mirroring your own pose stories above.

"Emma Winthrop," I answer in like manner, albeit much gentler in tone. I love you. "Can we talk?" I ask, simply. I have such wonders that I'd like to share with you.

And though you have shown me how to be both strong and weak enough to face whatever the future holds, still I find myself waiting breathlessly for your response.

Author's note:
And so ends Faces, which is very much Emma's story. What happens next very much depends on Emily. Her story is currently projected at three stories. The first is The Hunt, which is a tale about her life prior to the events of Faces. (Click on my profile to find it.)

Any reviews, comments, thoughts, constructive criticism will be very much appreciated. Thank you for reading our little story.