A/N: Thank you so much to those who took the time to review last chapter! :) Here's the next installment!

~Angie

Reid had thought about it and thought about it, but in the end, he decided to chop it all off. It was only hair—if he didn't like it, it would grow back. It didn't define who he was.

He was still a little miffed at Ashley for talking about their mani/pedi appointments in front of Morgan. He did those things with her because she was his friend, but he didn't want everyone else knowing that. They already thought he was an oddball—no need to add fuel to the fire.

But he'd gotten her back for it.

"Ahhh…yes," the man behind reception at the spa had said. "Reid and Seaver. Here you are. Someone called earlier this morning to upgrade?"

"No," Ashley said. "That must be a—"

"That's us," Reid cut in quickly. He turned to face his roommate. "This one's on me."

"Awww…thanks, Spencer."

"You're welcome," he said, feeling a bit guilty. Of course, he'd get over it the first time Morgan ribbed him about 'girl time.'

"Right this way, please."

Ashley's eyebrows rose as the hostess brought them down a long hallway. "Wow," she said in a whisper. "I've never been back this far."

Of course, when they'd been brought in and seated so Ashley's toenail polish could be removed, she'd been excited. But when they'd been led back behind the curtain, she'd let the screeches roll out of her. Reid grinned at the thought. It wasn't the nicest thing he'd ever done, but he'd owed her.

"Spencer Reid!" she'd shrieked. "I cannot believe you. I swear to God, you better sleep with one eye open! The next time I have my gun-"

They both stopped as they realized the poor woman at the spa had looked from one of them to the other, not sure if Ashley was kidding or not.

"We'll continue this at home," she'd hissed.

But she'd actually been a good sport about it. She'd eventually climbed up into the tall chair and lowered her feet into the glass, stiffening as the fish had nibbled on her toes and heels.

But Reid had, of course, taken her threat seriously. Ashley was nothing if eager to always get even.

Emily Prentiss scoured the file in front of her. It was from the first case she'd been on, and the team had come to a few conclusions about the UnSubs profile that she had missed. She wanted to make sure she saw everything next time.

It was quarter of seven, and people were just starting to arrive. She liked being the first one in in the morning. Most times, she could get more done in those few hours while she was alone than she could all day after colleagues arrived. At least, that had held true for every other job she'd had. She assumed it would be the same for this one.

While there were other people there, the first one through the door that she recognized was Spencer Reid. But she had to do a double take. "You cut your hair," she said by way of greeting as he pulled his messenger bag over his head.

"Yeah," he said, not sure why he was so embarrassed. And Reid, being Reid, turned to his own personal comfort: facts. "In ancient cultures, a person could determine your social class and ranking from one glance according to your haircut."

Emily had to bite back a grin. "Is that so?" she asked, her stomach fluttering despite the fact that this man was taken. Oh, this was not good.

Reid nodded enthusiastically.

"I…will…file that piece of information away for later use," she said in a teasing tone. "Thank you, Dr. Reid."

"You can just call me Reid," he said sheepishly. "Or Spencer!" It was only fair; after all, since running into her at the bar, he'd been thinking of her as simply 'Emily.'

"OK," she agreed as she stood, grabbing her coffee cup and heading in the direction of the kitchen.

Reid couldn't suppress the groan that made its way up his throat.

"I was spouting off facts about the history of hair," Reid told Seaver glumly a few minutes later as she down at her desk. "This is hopeless, Ash. All the haircuts and new clothes in the world aren't going to change the fact that I'm weird."

"Reid," Ashley said sincerely. "You're eccentric. There's a big difference."

"They're synonyms," he reminded her, but she shook her head.

"Only according to Webster, but trust me, when someone says 'eccentric,' the perception is completely different from when someone says 'weird.'"

Emily Prentiss came to a stop when she exited the kitchen, the coffee in her mug sloshing ominously from side to side at her hasty halt.

Seaver was here, and Emily couldn't hide the scowl on her face. But it was probably just as well. Spencer Reid's mannerisms and trepidation were so adorable that her attraction to him was quickly growing, and the only thing that was going to quench it, apparently, was seeing him spending time with his significant other.

"Whoa!" The tech analyst that she'd met on Friday came to a stop just behind her.

"I'm sorry," Emily said, not realizing she was blocking the entrance to the kitchen.

"No problem," Garcia said quickly, then followed Emily's gaze. "What are we looking at? Oh! Do you have a thing for young Dr. Reid?" she asked excitedly.

"No," Emily answered quickly. This woman was way too perceptive. "I was just…they make a cute couple."

Penelope's eyes flew to her face. "Reid and Seaver?" she asked.

Emily nodded and Penelope burst out laughing so hard that the pair, even from all the way across the room, heard them and turned to look.

"Oh, that is funny," Garcia said with a sigh. "You just wait. Spend any amount of time with them and you'll know that's not true."

"PDA?" Emily asked dryly.

"No," Penelope answered. "Fighting. They're not a couple…not even close. They're more like brother and sister. Trust me…there are some long jet rides in your future."

"Really?" Emily asked. A long jet ride, she could handle. The burning lust she'd been feeling since she'd met Spencer Reid at the bar? Not so much.

"Did you hear that?" Reid asked Ashley. "They're probably laughing at me. Emily probably just told her about our stupid conversation."

Ashley raised her eyebrows at her roommate's use of their fellow agent's first name. "You think they don't have anything better to do than talk about you?" she asked in amusement before walking away.

With a sigh, Reid clicked on his email and the first thing that caught his attention was a letter in his inbox regarding Comic-Con. He quickly clicked on it and was so engrossed in the email that he didn't hear her walk up behind him.

"You go to Comic-Con?" Emily asked in surprise.

Reid startled, then turned around. "Sometimes," he answered, not wanting to admit the intensity of his allegiance to the event.

Emily sat down at her own desk. "I go every year," she admitted. "It's the one event I can't miss. Christmas dinner?" She shrugged. "Whatever. If I can make it, great. If not…no big deal." She grinned widely. "But Comic-Con? No way am I missing that."

Reid couldn't help but grin back. "Did you know that Comic-Con was founded in 1970 by Shel Dorf?"

Emily nodded enthusiastically. "I did know that. The event was originally known as…"

Now this was his kind of conversation.

The prompt for this one was: Emily's 'inner geek' moment.