Disclaimer: If CM's was mine, Emily would finally give up on the vague pronoun game whenever the topic of dating pops up and come out of the closet. Oh, wait... Never mind!

A/N: So, yeah... There's no rhyme or reason for this one. Just my reaction to seeing that Paget had finally taken pity on the hair purists (such as myself) who gag at the sight of hot women with horrible, bang-shields of DOOM!

It had taken all summer but she'd finally managed to grow out her bangs.

Emily had liked them. She thought that they complimented her strong jaw and nose, making it worth the hassle of blow drying them each morning before work. But like most things in life, all it took was one night- one small moment, a minute at most- for everything to change...

Garcia had reserved the first Saturday in June as a 'girls only' outing, drawing little cartoon hearts and martini glasses on the calendar that always rested on top of Emily's desk, and ended up dragging both her and JJ to the bar that the team often frequented after cases. Most of the evening had been spent laughing and talking about Henry. Darts were thrown and beer flowed freely. Emily hadn't been able to relax like that in ages.

So when Penelope went up to the bar to get their sixth round of drinks and she suddenly felt a pair of small, soft hands brush away the layer of fringe that laid across her brow, she'd been caught totally off guard.

"JJ?" her eyes widened, "What are you doing?"

The blonde hadn't answered, instead she'd smoothed one chilled thumb so tenderly across her delicate skin that Emily's eyes slipped shut and she swayed into her friends touch before she could stop herself.

"What made you decide to get these, Emily?" she whispered, fingers once again sweeping her hair aside, "I miss being able to see you... All of you."

Her jaw had dropped, stomach fluttering violently.

It was well known amongst them that JJ had never been able to hold her liquor, occasionally letting a few juicy tidbits surface, that if sober, she'd have never let slip out. But there was something different about this, something had changed in that moment. It might have been the sincerity in JJ's eyes, or how her hand had slid down and cupped Emily's cheek (she could have sworn she saw the other woman lean toward her slightly, hesitating in the small gap between them), or maybe even the way that her voice had innocently dropped the tiniest bit as she said it. But that was the first time that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she hadn't imagined it all. She hadn't plucked the tension between them out of thin air, or interpreted the lingering gazes and fleeting touches as something more than a one sided attraction for no reason.

The feeling was mutual. At least on some level anyway. Which quite frankly, she found, (now that it had been confirmed) scared the living hell out of her.

So what did she do?

Emily floundered.

Her mind spun and her mouth opened and shut a few times as she searched for an appropriate response. What exactly did one say to a (straight?) friend, whom you've practically been in love with for the last year, who has a baby and a boyfrie- a Will, and had just vaguely insinuated with three little words that you weren't quite as crazy as you thought you were for feeling that way?

Why the fuck wasn't there a Hallmark card for shit like that?

Thankfully, (or not-so-thankfully... Emily had yet to figure that one out, even well after the fact) Garcia had chosen that exact moment to bustle happily back to their table, reaching between them with a little tray of shots and a grin on her face, none the wiser to what she had just interrupted or the importance that their non-conversation could have had on their (relationship) friendship.

The rest of the night Emily had tried to relax but spent the majority of her time peering at JJ out of the corner of her eye, trying to figure out a way to gracefully broach the topic again without making a fool out of herself. That time never came though. Somewhere in between Garcia managing to sweet talk an already-dead-to-the-world Morgan into driving all the way downtown just to chauffeur them home and the wave of alcohol that she'd consumed finally hitting her as she collapsed into bed later that morning, she'd officially made up her mind...

The bangs were toast.

And months later, when she'd finally been able to tuck those suckers behind her ears, all of the trouble- the headbands and bobby pins and awkward, flyaway hairs that stuck out at every angle imaginable- wasn't all for nothing. All because of one little note. A post-it left by her phone in the office, so inconspicuous that she hadn't even noticed it at first...

Em,

Happy to see that the old you is finally back...

Love, Jayj

Emily couldn't help the grin that curved her lips, a blanket of contentment washing over her as she looked up and met JJ's eyes through the window in her office.

She smiled back.

That's how she knew. Yes, in the end it was worth it.

End.