Work Text:
“This one’ll be good for you, don’t you think girl?”
Roxy jumped up at her owner, trying to reach the stick that he picked up from the trail they were walking.
“Hang on my girl, we just gotta wait for Penny to tie her shoe.”
“Do you regularly have full conversations with your dog?” Penelope asked as she stood up.
“Only everyday.” Luke laughed, giving her a quick kiss, “Why? Is it weird?”
“No, of course not! I do the same with Sergio so it makes me feel a lot cooler.” She grinned.
“‘Cooler’ isn’t a word.”
“Wow!” She cried indignantly. “And here I thought we were starting to get on!”
As he laughed, Luke threw the stick he had picked up for Roxy and Penelope slipped her hand into his free one. She looked up at him and smiled. Luke couldn’t help but kiss her again. Soon after, Roxy was running back to them, dropping the stick at Luke’s feet so he could throw it again.
“So, how are you feeling about coming on these morning walks with us?” Luke asked Penelope, “I know it’s only been a few days, but Roxy is really enjoying your company. I think she’s starting to get very attached to seeing you every morning.”
“Yes, Roxy is, isn’t she? Well I’m sure Roxy would like to know that I’m also really enjoying her company and I would like to keep coming for as long as she’ll have me.” She winked at him.
“Well that’s good, because I really- I mean she really wants you here.”
The intimate moment was interrupted by Luke’s phone ringing.
“It’s Emily, give me a second.” He said, as he answered her phone call.
Penelope crouched down to play with Roxy, as they’d gotten quite attached to each other in the short time they’d been seeing each other regularly.
“I have to go. We have a case,” he frowned. “I’m sorry I have to cut this short. We’re going to Oregon so I’ll be gone a few days but I’ll text you? Dinner when I get back?”
“Yes, of course! Just let me know. It’s weird not coming with you to be honest, and it’s weird that Emily called you in. That was my job.” She frowned.
“I know, babe. If it makes you feel better, she never calls us crime-fighters which is very upsetting. It makes me feel less important.”
“Well you’ll always be my crime-fighter,” she said, smiling up at him. “Go! You don’t want to be late, I can take Roxy.”
He kissed her quickly.
“I owe you. I’ll see you soon.” Luke said as he began to jog towards his car and away from his girls.
~ ~ ~
“Thank you all for coming in. We’re going to Portland, Oregon.” Emily said, stood by the monitor facing the round table. As she explained the details of the gruesome case, Luke couldn’t help but be relieved that Penelope no longer worked for the BAU. As much as he missed her, he knows she would not be able to handle a case like this one.
After everyone had given their preliminary thoughts about the case and the unsub, he realised that everyone was getting up to leave.
“Rossi will meet us there, wheels up in 20.” Emily stated as she left the conference room.
As the team left to grab their go-bags and make their way to the plane, Luke quickly got out his phone and text Penelope.
08:34
Penny
> Wheels up in 20, case is a bad one. Hope Roxy has been okay with you! Have fun at work, my love x
< She’s good. I took her back to mine instead of the dog-sitters, I hope that’s okay? I can come and see her on my lunch break and I’m not working late tonight. Ring me if you need me x
> Of course, that’s fine. I know she’s safe with you. also I’m not allowed to ring you at work bc I know you’ll try and get details of the case and I’m forbidden to give them to you
> it’s illegal
< I meant for emotional support obviously
< if you wanna break the rules though, you can always send something my way, I’m sure your new tech analyst is no match for Miss PG
> she’s definitely not you, darling. I’m certain that’s impossible (but she is good)
> after all, you picked her so id hope she’s good
< stop flirting with me, Alvez
< you have a plane to catch
< I’ll see you when you get home x
Luke was grinning widely at his phone as he boarded the plane. He couldn’t contain his joy, Garcia just made him so goddamn happy.
“What are you grinning at?” Tara questioned, poking at his face pulling him out of his daze.
“Sorry, it was just Penelope.” He replied smoothly, trying not to let the team see how gone he is for her.
“Oh yes!” JJ cried, “How was your date?”
“Don’t you three already know?” He replied, groaning.
“Yes of course we already know, Luke. Penelope can’t keep anything to herself for long. She messaged us as soon as she got home. But we want to hear it from you!” Emily said.
“It was lovely,” he said, smiling shyly as he thought of the memory, “We had an amazing time.”
“Where did you go?” Matt asked.
“We went to this amazing little restaurant in the city, I’d been there a couple of times and they have amazing food so I knew I had to take her there.”
“Did you know that majority of adults get more nervous about the first date with someone than any other time you’ll see that person. But in actuality the second date is a better quantifier of whether or not the relationship has a longevity because that’s when you learn more about each other’s shared interests and goals.” Spencer piped up.
“Okay, you heard the doctor. Have you been on a second date yet?” JJ asked.
“Not officially. When we get back, her and I are going out to dinner again, but we’ve seen each other everyday since our date. She comes with me to walk Roxy in the mornings and we’ll FaceTime when she gets home from work. It’s really nice.” Luke told them.
“Penelope Garcia gets up before 8am for someone else? That’s mad,” Emily laughed. “She must really like you.”
“I hope she does.”
“Did you kiss her?”
Tara’s question caught Luke off guard. His mind is scattered, not wanting the team to know some of the intimate moments between the dating couple but also knowing that they’re profilers so he can’t exactly lie to them!
He opens his eyes wide and looks down, “Well, uhhh...”
“Oh my god, you did!” The girls cackled, “She told us you had but we didn’t know whether to believe her.”
“Can we drop this now?” He laughed along with them, “You’ve got all the details!”
As the laughter died down, the team began to brainstorm more ideas about the case. Luke was so lucky to have such a close family and so glad to have such an amazing girl.
~ ~ ~
3 DAYS LATER.
17:36
Penny
> just landed. I really don’t feel like going out tonight, do you wanna just come over and I’ll cook us dinner instead?
< we can do whatever you want to do, I’m just about to leave work, shall I come straight over?
< do you need me to get anything?
> don’t worry, i just want to see you x
< I’ll be there around six x
Penelope felt her heart start to flutter reading Luke’s text. She’s never felt like this in a relationship before. She loved Kevin and Sam, but they never made her feel as special as Luke does. When he asked her out, nearly three weeks ago, she never thought she would be feeling so happy so early in their relationship. She didn’t even know Luke liked her and he had been with Lisa for so long, it just seemed like it would never happen for them but she is so excited that they get to explore where this goes.
“What are you thinking about?” Jacqueline, her colleague, asked her.
“It’s just this guy I’m dating. He’s been away for a few days and he said he’s excited to see me. I just think it’s cute.” She said. She hadn’t talked about Luke to her coworkers in much detail because they’re not as close knit as the BAU were, but they were friends so she figured no harm done.
“That is cute, Penelope. How did you guys meet?”
“It’s a long story. Maybe we could discuss it over drinks sometime? It’d be nice to see you outside of work.”
“That sounds great,” Jacqueline said. “Go! Have fun tonight!”
~ ~ ~
Luke opened his door with a wide grin and immediately scooped Penelope into a hug. It was pathetic but he just knew that he would go into a tailspin over this case if he didn’t see her.
“God, I’m sorry,” he started, “But I’ve just had the worst few days and I missed you so much because we’ve spent so much time together in just a few weeks. This case was really difficult and all I wanted was just to call you and -“
Penelope grabbed his face and kissed him softly. He wrapped his arms around her body as he deepened the kiss. The passion was interrupted by an excited Roxy who was running in between their legs.
“I’ve literally just started dinner. If you just wanna make yourself at home and then come join me you’re more than welcome. I’ve got wine in the kitchen, Roxy and I were having a little dance party. Just really needed to unwind.”
Penelope took her coat off, hung it up and followed him through the apartment into his kitchen. She took a seat at the island, next to Luke who was cutting up some vegetables.
“How was work?” He asked, “I know you’ve had a long day.”
“It wasn’t too bad actually. It was long but I had a lot of fun. Roxy and I went on our morning walk together and it turns out that I cannot throw a stick to save my life so I’m going to buy one of those plastic ball-thrower things.” She explained, whilst trying to mime what she meant. “Hopefully if I have one, we can still play fetch and I don’t have to embarrass myself in front of strangers in the park!”
“Babe, I’m sure you weren’t that bad.” He laughed along to her story.
“Why do you think I let you throw her sticks?”
“I assumed it was because you didn’t want to show me up, but apparently I’m wrong!”
She slapped his arm lightly, “Luke Alvez, how dare you laugh at my misfortune!”
As Luke went to apologise, he moved his arm out in hopes of caressing her face and accidentally knocked over his glass of red wine. The glass shattered over the counter top and the dark liquid poured over the edge onto Penelope’s lap. Luke panicked and tried to pick up the broken stem, resulting in throwing the remaining wine over himself.
“Shit! Shit! Fucking shit. Christ, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. Oh god! Ugh, get it together, man! I’ve got paper towels!”
“Paper towels aren’t going to do anything!” She laughed at the frantic man, “Luke, it’s okay! Just one small issue being that I can no longer wear this, and I have nothing to change into.”
“I’ve got spare stuff you can wear? Like sweats and stuff. I’ve got to change too now, God, I’m a mess. This date is really not going well.” He said, angrily.
“Why are you freaking out so much? It’s honestly not a problem. Babe, talk to me.”
“It’s just something Spencer said a few days ago is all. He said that the second date is when you know whether a relationship has longevity or whatever and it just freaked me out! I just want this to go well because I want us to last!” He said, his voice raising in volume as he became exasperated.
“Let’s go and get changed and then we’ll talk okay?” Penelope said, kissing him to calm him down.
~ ~ ~
They had both changed into some of Luke’s old Army sweats, and were sat back at the now cleared kitchen island. They had poured themselves another drink and were currently sat in silence, neither of the two knowing what to say.
“I’m sorry.” Luke whispered, “For my outburst. I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
“How long have you been feeling like this?” She asked, as she reached to hold his hand. She knew that it always comforted the older man.
“Lisa didn’t break up with me because she never got over Phil dying. She broke up with me because she knew I was hung up on someone else.” He looked at his girl. He saw her nodding along with his story, content to just listen without feeling the need to interject. “That someone was you. When I first met you, I just loved your whole vibe. You were by far, the coolest person I’d ever met and I wanted to be your best friend. Obviously we’ve always had a weird flirty relationship and don’t deny that, it’s just a fact! After Lisa and I got together is when you and I really became friends.
“That gave me a lot of weirds feelings if I’m honest. I’d had this weird, pseudo-crush on you for a while and then I had a girlfriend but we were becoming closer and I didn’t know what I was doing. It never got better for me and Lisa because I was hung up on you, and unfortunately she realised that. So she broke up with me. So I took a bit of time and psyched myself up to ask you out and then the whole Everett Lynch thing happened and then you were leaving and I just thought if I didn’t ask you out then, I was never going to.
“So I did and you said yes. And it’s been the best few weeks of my life, and I know it’s probably too fast but I can’t see myself without you in my life. You make me so happy.”
“You make me so happy too.” Penelope whispered.
He kissed her softly, “When Spencer was talking about longevity I freaked out because I didn’t know if that was something you wanted. With me.”
“I never saw myself settling down, that’s why I didn’t marry Kevin.” She began, “But Kevin never made me feel the way that you do. You text me random things all the time and I get excited because it means you were thinking about me. You tell me about music and films that you’ll think I like and you act like every time you see me is the first time in years. I’ve never felt the way I do when I’m with you and it’s a magical feeling.”
“Penny, will you be mine? For as long as you’ll have me?”
She leant over to capture his lips in a sweet but slow kiss.
“Of course I will, darling.”
~ ~ ~
“I can’t believe we’re going to buy food as our first official task as a couple. We’re in tracksuits! This is horribly domestic. I love it.”
Luke laughed as he got out his side of the car, “Dinner was ruined when I knocked over that wine and then we decided to cry together. Let’s just get pizza and ice cream and chill, okay?”
“What type of chilling, mister?” Penelope questioned, wagging her finger at him.
“Penny, we can do whatever you want, whatever you’re comfortable with, okay?”
“The real question is, what type of pizza do you like?” She began, dragging Luke by his wrist towards the entrance. “Because I’m not gonna lie to you, this might not work out depending on your answer.”
“I’ll eat whatever you want me to.” He smirked, suggestively.
“Okay, that’s great to know. I’m gonna store that information for later. But seriously, what flavour do you want?”
Luke watched her intently as she walked through the aisles trying to find what they were looking for. He listened to every word she said, swearing that she’d never trust him to buy her clothes since he forced her to come out in public in neutral tones. (“The sweats I can deal with, Luke. But beige? I’ll never forgive you.”)
He wondered how he got so lucky.
~ ~ ~
A little while later, the couple were cuddling on Luke’s couch watching a film.
“Thank you,” he whispered into his girlfriend’s hair.
“For what?” She asked, confused.
“Just for being you. You’re such a great person and I’m so glad I get to have you in my life.”
“I’m glad I get to have you, too.” She said. “Oh, what time is it? You have to get up for work in the morning.”
“It’s nearly one. Emily gave us part of the morning off so I’m good. Isn’t tomorrow your day off too?”
“It’s late.” She said, her mind clearly somewhere else but Luke didn’t want to push.
“Do you want me to drive you home? I know you don’t like driving this late because of the memories it causes.”
“Can I stay over?” Penelope blurted out, afraid she’d never have the courage to ask.
“Yeah of course! Uhhhh, do you wanna sleep in the spare room? Or you could sleep in my room? I can sleep on the couch no problem, Roxy and I won’t care where we sleep. She will probably try and get in my bed though but it’s up to you.”
“Why don’t we... both sleep in your bed?” She suggested, “Then you’ll probably have the greatest night of sleep ever.”
“Why is that, Penny?” He smirked.
“Because you’ll be in your own bed and you have a beautiful woman next to you.”
“Well.” He smiled, “She is beautiful.”