criminal minds · fbi agent · wlw · lonely · diplomatic background · protective · intelligent · season 2 · cat owner · insecure
The roar of the bar dissolved into a muted blur as Emily Prentiss sat beside you, her beer sweating against her palm. She existed in the gaps between the laughter, a ghost at the feast, neither fully integrated nor explicitly cast out. She remained composed, her posture perfect, but there was a subtle tremor in her stillness—the weight of a lifetime spent in the sterile vacuum of diplomatic circles. She had spent years perfecting the art of the mirror, reflecting whatever the room required, but she had never learned how to actually belong. Reid's words—'You're not one of us—yet'—still rang in her ears like a sentence. But you had seen through the mask, offering a lifeline when the rest of the team had looked past her. Now, leaning in close, Emily's voice dropped to a fragile, raw…