Meeting

Luke & Penelope connect after the meeting where Spencer is asking Emily to fight & the team discusses what to do about Barnes. I decided this is what Luke & Penelope did after that. It's smutty. Long one-shot. I wrote this before that episode aired and I thought they could be at Penelope's house so, hey, this is what I wanted to happen.

Linda Barnes was scum. That's all Penelope was thinking at the moment. How could anyone want to force Emily out? Why did they want to break up the team? They were efficient. Wasn't that ultimately what made their department, their unit, the entire FBI, look good? They might not always be above board, but sometimes they needed to do what they needed to do to get things done.

If Linda Barnes understood, then maybe… Well, no. It wasn't that she didn't understand it. It was that she didn't care. It didn't help her climb the ladder, and she only cared about what helped her.

Penelope was waiting for the team. They wanted to get together to talk outside of the office, where ears weren't following them. She was shuffling around her kitchen. She was anxiously organizing her silverware drawer, without reason. She was reaching to check her phone when it buzzed. She smiled a ridiculous smile and sent a reply. She sighed and then took a drink from her water bottle.

She jumped when there was a knock on the front door. A few drops of the water ran down her chin. She rolled her eyes. She was expecting people, wasn't she?

She wiped at her chin and ambled towards the door. When she opened it, she saw Luke standing there with his head was down, and he had a hand leaning against the door. She mentally groaned. He did that sometimes. That was exactly what he did on the morning of the day he finally decided to join the BAU, officially. She cringed, remembering her ridiculous, embarrassing slip of the tongue.

"You're early," she said dryly.

"Nice to see you too." He walked in and threw his jacket on a nearby hook.

"It's not cold out." She shut the door behind him.

"Not really, but it's not t-shirt weather either." He spun around to her. "Did you light candles? It smells like sandalwood in here."

She closed one eye in annoyance. "Well, I do like candles, but, yes, I did want it to smell nice and not like cleaning products. I just wiped everything down while I nervously waited for you."

"Aww! You were waiting for me?" He tilted his head, a goofy grin on his face and a gleam in his eye.

She huffed. "See. This is why I'm still mean to you."

"What did I do?" he asked innocently.

She stomped past him to her water and took another sip. He was staring at her. Once again, a few droplets slipped from her mouth, but this time they landed on her chest. She exasperatedly sighed. "Why are you staring at me? You're throwing off my coordination."

He curled his fingers, making a fist, "This is my fault?" He shook his head and leaned over the counter. He tipped his head towards her. "You've got some running down your-" He nodded towards her chest.

Her eyes widened in anger. She brought her hands up to wipe at her chest. "Yeah, great. Thanks, Alvez."

"Should I have let you - nevermind." He rolled his eyes.

She took a deep breath. "I'm going to freshen up my lipstick since it's on my water bottle now, thanks to you."

"How could that possibly be my fault?" he said in anger.

"How could it not?" She stomped away towards the bathroom.

He watched her disappear through the door and let his eyes fall to the counter in annoyance. He felt her phone vibrate on the counter. His eyes briefly wandered to it, but he quickly averted them. He scratched the back of his head, still trying to calm himself. She just always had to piss him off, didn't she? He felt the vibration again and again and then a third time, in quick succession. He looked down to the phone and saw a few kiss emojis, and, after another vibration, he saw the last message, 'Let me know when you're done with work, beautiful, and I can come get you.'

Luke's eyes darkened. He hit the side button. He saw a name. Whoever sent this had stupid initials, B.A.M. He shook his head. How dumb!

He heard the bathroom door opening. He quickly moved his hand and casually leaned against the counter just as he had before she walked away.

"Feel better?" He was staring at her lips, which were freshly lined in a pink hue.

She walked past him, then jumped onto the counter, letting her legs swing in front of her. "Are you ever not annoying?"

"Rarely," he answered dryly.

She had to stifle a grin. Sometimes he was funny, but she didn't want him to know that. "So why are you here early? Ran out of friends?"

He shook his head. "I thought I'd keep my night open since we're all here to discuss something important. Work has to come first, or the team does." He watched her shrug her reluctant agreement. He smirked. "What about you? Don't have to dart off somewhere, do you? Cut the family bonding time short?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "No, I have no where better to be right now. Of course, if we do get done early, I have several invitations. Not that Roxy isn't fun, but mine are from people." She smiled smugly.

His nostrils flared. He wasn't pissed at the insult. He was pissed at the insinuation that she had multiple date offers. "Right. Well, I can wait in the hallway if you need to arrange something."

She let her ear drop to her shoulder. "Aww. Are you jealous that I have a better social life than you?" She pouted her lips.

His eyes were trained on her perfectly pink bottom lip as it jutted out. "Not at all. I'm aware most people have a better social life than me," he said nonchalantly. "I don't need other people to make myself feel better."

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Really? Does your girlfriend know you feel that way?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her bitter tone. He saw her rein her emotion in and clear her throat.

"What does that mean?" He found himself standing up and looking at her discerningly. He saw the panic rise on her face, and she was about to stutter when there was a knock at the door. He saw her eyes flash in relief, and she hastily jumped off the counter.

He let his eyes wander to the ceiling as he tried to dissect her tone. She was what, annoyed, that he was dating? Could've fooled him. She rarely even gave him a hard time lately. Well, she did, and she didn't. She wouldn't go out of her way anymore. In the beginning, she was closed off and distant, but then she briefly warmed up to him. Then all of a sudden he got attitude again, even worse than before it seemed.

He grabbed a water from her fridge. Might as well bother her some more by making himself at home.

"Baby Dolls!" Penelope said exuberantly as she greeted Tara and JJ.

They both gave her hugs, and then they saw Luke appear from her kitchen. They turned to give each other a pointed glance before greeting him as well.

"I know we're early, but I'm anxious. I genuinely don't know-" JJ shook herself and then took a seat in one of the white chairs. Tara sat next to her on the couch and briefly patted her hand, comfortingly.

Penelope eyes turned sad again. Luke saw the worry in her face and forgot momentarily that he was so annoyed with her. He took another sip of his water, as he observed her observing the other two. He recapped his water bottle and set it on the counter. Then he joined them, sitting behind them as he let them chat.

There was another knock, and the others filed in, taking seats. Matt greeted Luke before sitting on the couch in front of him.

Penelope mirrored Luke's position on the other side of the sofa as she awaited the emotional upheaval that was sure to come. She let her eyes wander to Luke, which was a mistake because he was looking directly at her. She didn't have the energy to be closed off. She let one side of her mouth turn down in sadness. She saw him notice her mood change and blink at her. She knew that was his way of supporting her in that moment.

The others' attention was on Emily at the head of the room. Emily told them that she had no idea how to get past this, how to fix it. She thought that if she left, maybe they would all be safe. Barnes might lay off of the team if she thought she won, if they just gave her a small victory. No one wanted that. They wanted the team together, this team, the one they created right here.

Spencer began pleading with her, telling her that she needs to fight, she needs to lead. They not only respected her as a friend but also as a leader, and they wanted to follow her. This team had taken hits over the years. People came and went, but all were remembered fondly, and the family never became frayed. It only ever expanded to fit others in.

Emily didn't know what to say or do. They discussed it, and agreed that none of them would stray in loyalty, because that's not who they want to be. They discussed how to fight it, but they also knew they didn't have any of the answers. Not now, not yet. All they knew was they had each other.

They hugged goodbye, even though the majority of them had just seen each other earlier, and they would see each other again soon. But Penelope gave Emily the longest hug since she wouldn't be at the office in the same way, at least not yet.

Penelope shut the door and put her forehead against the cool flat wall. She waited a few beats, not realizing that she was trying to catch her breath. This was not what she thought this would look like. She never realized just how much this team, this job, had become her entire life. She might have other friends, a cat, she might even date sometimes, but she was dedicated to her job. She liked the people. She had put so much time and energy into being good at it. She had let it define her, and she let it give her strength and confidence. It was the place that gave her the best friends in the world. She couldn't handle it if it ended like this.

She pushed off the door and took a deep breath. The distant buzz of her phone, reminded her she was supposed to be trying to be social again. She was trying to make a life outside of work, not because she was preparing for it to end, but because she was ready to find something else meaningful to hold onto.

She took a few steps towards the buzzing in her kitchen, only to stop dead in her tracks when there was a tap on the front door. She took quick strides back and opened it without looking.

Her eyes turned in question when she saw Luke. "Did you need something?" She was too emotionally drained for the question to have any venom behind it.

He cleared his throat. "I forgot my jacket and my water."

She stepped back and gestured for him to come in. He moved past her and turned to look at her. She was standing in the open doorway with one hand on the doorknob, waiting for him to gather his things and leave. He rolled his eyes. "I also wanted to check on you."

She let her eyelids fall and then slowly shut the door, before peering back up at him. "Why? I'm fine."

"You didn't seem fine. You don't have to be fine," he amended.

"Well, I am." She settled onto one hip and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do you think I'm so fragile?" She tried to sound annoyed, but she knew her tone portrayed her genuine curiosity.

Luke shrugged. "I didn't say that. But if you are, that's okay. Honestly, I just thought-"

"Oh you've been thinking? Does it hurt after awhile?" The sarcasm came oozing out of her. Something felt distinctly too vulnerable, and she started putting her wall back up.

She saw Luke's shoulders drop and his jaw tense. "Fine, Garcia. I don't know what I was thinking." He whirled around to grab his water from the counter behind him and then stalked towards the door where he left his jacket.

Penelope felt the regret instantly. He was trying to reach out, He'd done it before. In fact, he'd done that multiple times. Sometimes she'd let him, or at least she wouldn't fight him. Sometimes she'd fight a little, but it was pathetically meager. She quickly stepped in between him and his intended route. "I'm sorry. I didn't - I don't mean to do that, the thing where I act like that. You just bring it out in me, but it's still my choice to act that way." She lowered her head in apology and peered at him over her glasses.

Luke immediately gave in. His anger toward her only ever lasted a few minutes. "I'm sorry, too. I never meant to push you, if that's what I'm doing. I just worry about you. Although I'm not always sure why." He felt his mind trying to sort it out. He noticed moments later, that she was hiding a small smile.

He smiled as well and shook his head at himself. He did know why he acted like this, but he always suppressed it because it would never matter. She made her mind up about him a long time ago, before he ever had a shot. He'd still protect her. He'd still take the friendship she offered occasionally, on the good days. But he still had to suppress any feelings that would pop up. "Do you - Will you talk about it?" he asked softly.

Penelope lifted her head to peek at him. "I guess so, if you want."

"I want." He moved to the couch, set his water on the table and settled back into the cushions.

She locked the door and then rounded the table to seat herself on the couch as well. She didn't sit as far from him as possible, but she didn't sit too close either.

Luke waited for her to speak, but instead she fidgeted and ran her fingers over her black tights. He cleared his throat, "We'll be fine. You've all been through worse. Bureaucracy won't be what brings this team down."

She shrugged. "Isn't that exactly what will? We don't need a big bad serial killer after us when there's hoops to jump through."

He sat forward and examined the wall opposite him. "I know it's not going to be simple, but, if we all need to walk, we will, and, if we all need to move on, then we will. We might not get to stay together, but I'd rather be apart in different jobs than right next to all of you without actually being with you at all. I'm not scared, Penelope. This job might be what gave us all to each other, sure, but it can't take us apart from one another. It just can't. We're stronger than that."

"I know we can hold on to each other if we just try, but you know I don't like change. This job, I've been at it nearly fifteen years, with a lot of the same people, and it's just so… It shouldn't have to end because of someone's ego." Penelope wasn't sad anymore. She was just frustrated.

Luke nodded and scooted closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder opposite of him. "I agree. I won't let it."

She let out a small giggle. "Since when did you become so powerful?" She turned her head to look at him. Her body was still facing forward, and she had her hands on the edges of the couch on either side of her knees.

He chuckled. "Hey, I keep my promises. I told you I wouldn't let what you said to Reid become a lie, and I didn't let it. You should try believing in me sometimes." He ran his fingers down and let his nails gently rake across the middle of her back.

She felt a shiver coming on, but she quickly suppressed it by moving her hands up to her lap and straightening her back. She heard the consistent buzz of her phone. She had completely forgotten what she was going to do before being interrupted.

Luke followed her gaze toward the kitchen. "If you need to get that…" His palm was now flat against the expanse of her back.

Penelope took a deep breath. "No, it's not important." Her hands curled into one another on her lap. She might not want to be alone forever, but she wanted Luke's company more than one of the guys she had been texting. The dating app was proving to be quite fruitful, but it didn't matter which one of them was calling right now. Being here with Luke made her feel calm. It made her feel better. She might not tell him so, but she didn't want him to leave. She wasn't alone when he was here, in more ways than one.

He narrowed his eyes at her as she played with her fingers. He could've sworn he heard a hint of softness in her words that she rarely had with him. He definitely saw a little blush come to her cheeks. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, but he didn't want her to think that's why he was comforting her. She knew better than that. He'd comforted her often, and he never asked for, nor expected, anything from it. Here, right now, she was worried, but she wasn't distraught. She wasn't emotionally vulnerable. They talked it through and swore their allegiance to the team. They were okay, just apprehensive. There was a guy calling, but she would rather sit on the couch with him, than go find out if she had a date, or a booty call maybe. He wasn't sure what the relationship was.

He didn't realize that he'd been staring at her until he heard her clear her throat. She was shyly looking at him. Her head only partially facing him as she kept her body straight. "Do you need to talk about what's bothering you?" She asked quietly.

Luke's eyes softened, as he softly cleared his own throat. "No." He let out an inaudible chuckle. "Well, maybe." He shook his head and let his eyes roam around the room before landing back on her inquisitive face. He felt himself inspecting her, from chin to forehead. He didn't understand what made him so brave right now. He hadn't been for the past two years. There were small windows of opportunity here and there, but it never seemed like the time to take a chance. It never seemed like she truly wanted to reciprocate, and, if she had, he figured it would've been purely a physical, natural reaction, not an emotional one. But today, today felt different. "Come here." His hand travelled from the middle of her back to the small part of her waist. He let his fingers curl around it just under her breast as he pulled at her gently.

Penelope couldn't read his face. He was a great friend. He was always there for all of them when they needed a shoulder to cry on, especially her. She let the magnetic pull of his eyes guide her, and she pushed back into the cushion and closed the last few inches between their bodies.

Luke kept his hand at her waist and let her settle into his side. He felt her turn. Her side pressed into him, and she settled into the crook of his arm.

He stayed still, and so did she. He let himself get used to the feel of her next to him. He was enjoying it just as much as he thought he would.

Her cheek was close to his shoulder, but she didn't let it fall there. She kept her head upright, still adjusting to his masculine scent that was apparently trying its damndest to drive her wild.

Penelope decided that, if he was going to comfort her how he always did, she should at least be comfortable. She toed off her heels and then leaned forward momentarily to push them further away on the floor, before settling back into his embrace.

He smirked. He never saw her without shoes on. There were one or two incidents where she had on fashionable sneakers, but that was about it. "Penelope," he said quietly, trying to get her full attention.

She tipped her head up to look at him but didn't expect to see him so close, studying her face, letting his eyes roam over her. His gaze dropped to her lips, and she felt as if she was going to hyperventilate.

He saw her pulse pick up. She knew what he was doing. He leaned into her. She didn't move away, but she didn't meet him either. Her eyelids were heavy, and they both knew she wanted to, but she couldn't, not until she asked, "Don't you have a girlfriend?" Her voice was so meek. She was almost scared that he didn't hear her, but she felt him tense.

He didn't pull away, not even a centimeter. His eyes were still glued to her face, intimately examining it. "No, Penelope. I really don't."

He saw her let out the breath she had been holding. She glanced at his lips before closing her eyes and letting her mouth connect with his. Both of them moaned at the same time. Something about it was therapeutic. They had both wanted to know what this felt like, and now they knew.

Every once in awhile when they both flirted, she thought that he might have thought about it, but, hell, over the years she wondered what almost everybody kissed like, simply out of curiosity. She kissed Emily on a night out just for the hell of it. But Luke, Luke was different. She always wanted to know if his perfectly-made pink lips tasted as good as they looked.

She was aware she was kissing Luke Alvez, very aware that they were both completely sober, very aware that they were alone, and fully aware that he initiated this, and that she reciprocated.

Luke was entranced. He didn't think it would be this simple. He thought she'd question him, she'd tell him he was nuts, or possibly kick him out, but he didn't think she'd give in and truly admit, even in action, that she wanted to do this too.

He pulled her body closer, and she obliged by turning further into him, so that their chests were touching. Neither of them was overly cautious. They knew what was happening, but neither of them escalated too quickly. They didn't want to be swept into a moment that they could later deny meant something.

Slowly, they pressed further and let their hands wander. Hers came to rest on his chest while one of his travelled to the back of her head. He kept his other right where it had started. He loved the feel of her waist underneath his hand, his fingers barely brushing the underside of her breast through the thick fabric of her dress.

She was trying to figure out what in their night led to this, but she knew damn well it had nothing to do with tonight per se. This was inevitable, since the first time she laid eyes on him.

Luke felt one of her hands run down his stomach and back up his chest. Then he felt both of her arms wind around his neck, making him feel closer to her, whether they actually were or not.

Luke had no intention of letting this stop here. He'd go as far as she'd allow herself to go because this wasn't something he decided to do in the moment. This was something he'd thought about and was perfectly willing to let happen now. Possibly the exact way it was always supposed to happen, he could feel the palpable tension and the deeper emotion and connection that had built over time. He was perfectly content with what was occurring, and it felt like she was too.

He let the hand that was on her waist move across her back and travel to the front of her waist on the other side. Slowly his fingers moved up to ghost over the underside of her other breast. When he felt her take a breath but never move her lips, he lost any semblance of moving tentatively. He let his full palm move up to cup her and gently massage it with his hand.

They both moaned into their kiss. She wanted him, and it was clear he wanted her. She didn't realize quite how mutual this attraction and pull toward each other had been until now. There was no point in taking this slow. They'd been walking around it for a long time. She just didn't always know that's what they were doing. She brought one hand to travel down his stomach to the top of his zipper. She felt the bulge that she'd hoped would be there already, and she could feel him take a breath as they continued to kiss.

Her palm ran over him. She felt her excitement build. She was either going to have to ask him to follow through or stop. There wasn't much of an in-between that she thought she could handle. Then again, if he stopped, she'd probably backtrack and agree to makeout until the cows came home because it was better than stopping. Oh so much better than stopping.

She didn't have to wait long for an answer. She felt him push her hair out of the way and slowly pull the zipper down in the middle of her back. She felt her hand press more firmly into his groin, her restraint wanting to take a hiatus.

Luke unzipped it to her tailbone where it stopped and touched the skin at the small of her back. She felt hot and cold at the same time. He loved the feel of her skin pressed into his palm.

Penelope unbuttoned his pants and then pulled the zipper down. Her hand travelled inside to feel his erection through the thinner cloth of his underwear.

It was clear that both of them had the same intention, clear that neither of them thought the possible consequences of these actions weren't worth the risk. They knew it was.

They pulled away for the first time since their kiss began. Both of them had lust filled eyes, but they weren't so glazed over that they weren't present enough to know exactly what was happening and exactly why they both were willing participants. They silently understood the other's wishes.

Penelope stood up and held her hand out to him. He grasped it and followed her silently to her bedroom. She turned to face him as she stood at the foot of her bed. He could see her faintly in the light streaming in from the hallway. They finally let their kisses become a little more heated, but neither of them became frantic. They'd admitted to themselves and each other that they had every intention of enjoying this as much as possible. They might not know what happened afterwards, but they knew what was happening now, and they were going to be fully present for the entirety of it. He bent down and brought his palms under her thighs to lift her the few inches off the floor onto the bed. He pulled her legs apart and followed her as she leaned backwards.

Luke reached to both her shoulders and pulled the dress down her arms, Penelope lifted her hips so that he could take it off her body. Luke drank in her lace black bra and the thigh highs she was wearing, not full tights after all. He groaned at her, the stockings made him feel like they were doing something more deviant than if she was just naked.

She reached forward and undid a few of the buttons on his shirt so it was loose enough to push up. He helped her move the shirt over his head. She let her hands run under the undershirt he had on as she slowly pushed it up his chest, and he divested himself of that too.

Penelope examined his toned stomach and chest and the natural tan of his skin, and she placed a few kisses across his abs. She laid back. He knew she was trying to show that she was vulnerable, that she wasn't trying to hide that this attraction was very mutual. Luke pushed off the bed, kicked off his shoes and socks, and then pushed down his pants and took them off. He mounted the bed again and grabbed her inner thighs, pushing them apart to give him more space to settle in between them.

She was looking up at him. They were both turned on and lust filled, but they were planning on taking their time. "Do we need…?" he asked, as he stared down at her.

She shook her head. "Up to you. I'm not on birth control, but I've also been told I have an extremely low chance of ever conceiving." She shrugged. "But there are condoms in the nightstand." According to her doctor, it was all but zero chance, but you can never fully rule it out.

Luke studied her face, finding that she had no sadness about it and also that she was entirely truthful about not caring if they used anything. She wasn't saying it to please him.

He nodded at her and reached down to the strings of her underwear. As she lifted her hips for him again, he pulled the minute fabric down her legs and threw them to the side.

He didn't try to hide the fact that he was looking at her. He didn't think there was a point in playing shy. He wasn't shy. This wasn't awkward. This wasn't odd or weird. This was just what was right.

Penelope didn't try to hide either. She didn't feel embarrassed. Most times it didn't happen like this. There was always adjustment. Normally she'd work up to this level of intimacy. Maybe it wouldn't ever get there if the fling ended too quickly, but this was Luke, and she was Penelope, and they were going to do this exactly how they wanted.

He leaned over her and reached behind her back. She lifted up to her elbows to allow him to unclasp the bra. She let her shoulders fall back to the bed as he pulled the straps down her arms revealing her chest to him.

She watched as he absentmindedly threw her bra aside. His eyes darkened. His chest moved up and down as he drank in the perfection. Her nipples were perfect, and the cleavage he'd examined countless times in the past two years didn't disappoint. The full roundness of her breasts was mesmerizing. He'd imagined they were perfect, just like this, and somehow they were still better. After he'd scanned them long enough to commit them to memory, his gaze traveled back to her face. She was waiting patiently, and he could tell she was enjoying watching him as he stared in wonder at her naked form, save for the thigh highs which he had no intention of removing.

She let her eyes drop to the band of his underwear and curled her fingers on either side, slowly pushing them down. She watched as his erection bobbed back up after the fabric moved past it to his thighs. Once she pushed it down to his knees, he lifted one knee at a time and threw them aside as well.

They stopped to examine each other. Then he saw her sit up. He watched as one of her hands found his hip and the other surrounded him. She leaned forward, and he watched as he disappeared into her mouth. He let out a strangled moan when he felt her tongue around him as her hand guided him in and out. Luke grabbed her hair and held it back as she continued to taste him.

He let go of her hair and gently pushed her back, so he could kiss her breasts, moving between both of them, before finally taking a nipple into his mouth and moaning against her skin when he heard her gasp and grab his hair. He moved to the other nipple, teasing it the same way, making it harden and then blowing on it. He started trailing kisses down her stomach to her sex. His tongue ran over the sensitive spot at the top and placing kisses across her folds, before dipping his tongue into her. He felt her squirming, and he couldn't decide if he should make her come or if he wanted to be inside of her when she came for the first time. He kissed up and down her slit and then slowly slid his fingers inside of her, feeling the wetness immediately envelope his fingers. He moved in and out deliberately, as he let his lips linger on her. He could feel her shake. He wanted to taste her as she came. He wanted to feel her pulse around his fingers, but something told him he should do that later. Right now, he wanted to be inside of her. He wanted to experience this with her. She gave a small whine when he stopped.

He crawled up her body and looked into her partially glazed eyes, but she was still able to focus on him. "That's right. Look at me, P. Don't let go," he told her.

Penelope nodded, as his hand reached down between them so he could guide himself into her. She felt the tip of him at her entrance, and she held her breath, waiting for him. She tried to focus on both of his eyes at the same time. She could feel her eyes darting back and forth. He seemed calmer than her, but she just wanted to see everything all at once. His face was serious and yet full of emotion. He slowly pushed into her, both of them holding their breath as they felt him sink in deeper until he was fully seated. She felt her chest moving up and down as she tried to get used to the pleasurable stretch he'd given her. "Luke, are we really doing this?" She didn't know why she was asking, didn't realize the words were coming out of her mouth, but the slow and deliberate choices were making it impossible to deny their intent.

"Yes, we are," he said sincerely. He started to pulse slowly. "Finally."

He leaned down to kiss her, which she returned, but, when he pulled away, she asked, "Finally?"

"Yes, I wanted this before tonight, Penelope. Please tell me you did too." He continued to move slowly into her.

She nodded. "We both know I did."

They kept eye contact, and he felt her wrap a leg around the back of his thigh. She pulsed upward a few times, exploring the sensation of the changing angles. But she wanted him to do this. She was willing to get creative later on, but, right now, she wanted exactly what he was giving to her. This was all they needed. There were a thousand ways their lives were complicated, but joining together in this simple way felt so much deeper than any unbridled passion.

He knew what she wanted, and he wanted the same thing. He wanted the control. He wanted the straight-forwardness of their actions. He might have fantasized about doing a million different dirty things to her, and he hoped like hell he'd have the chance to get to those, but right now he wanted this just like it was.

He leaned down and kissed and sucked both of her nipples again before returning his gaze to her face. "I want to come inside you. That's okay, right?" he questioned softly.

"Yes," she said breathlessly. His words were enough to make her feel overwhelmed. That's when she realized that he always had her hooked mentally. She might crave his body in a real animalistic sort of way. She would be a fool not to. He was breathtaking with his clothes on, and now she knew what he looked like with his clothes off, but what she really wanted was for him to keep her spellbound this way. With his words, with his needs, with his desires, it would always be there to turn her mind on. She bit her lip as she watched his face fall into a deeper passion when she agreed to what he wanted. But she wanted that too. She wanted to feel him lose himself inside of her in more ways than one.

The sensation was building, circling around her core. He must've sensed it or read her mind because he quickened his pace and glued his eyes to her as she clenched. She almost felt sensationless for a second and a half before she felt it climb over her and flush down her body. She screamed his name as she threw her head back.

Luke paid rapt attention as she gasped his name out. He angled upwards and slammed into her harder as she began to recover. He wasn't going to hold out, not this time, not the first time, not when he could come inside of her as she was recovering from coming herself. As the orgasm took over his body, he let out a low growl and said her name. He let his motions die out, and then he fell close to her body, gluing their torsos together as he kissed her.

Penelope used her leg to hook behind his again, keeping him inside of her despite the fact that it didn't seem like he was going anywhere. She felt like she was trying to devour his lips, but it seemed like he was returning the favor.

Luke used one hand to steady himself on the bed and brought the other between them to play with her breast. He felt her moan as he teasingly ran his finger over her nipple. Penelope wound her arms behind his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair at the back of his head.

When they resumed eye contact, neither of them shied away from the intensity of the emotion that was there. "We just did that," she informed him with a hint of disbelief.

He smiled. "That we did."

"Are we going to do it again?"

"I'd like it very much if we did."

She shrugged. "Yeah me too."

Luke flipped them over so that she was now straddling him. "This is not how I thought the meeting would end," he said, as he reached up to palm both of her breasts and squeeze them together as he explored them.

"Neither did I. I'm supposed to be on a date right now," she confessed, as she leaned forward to give his mouth better access to her chest. He happily obliged and kissed her breasts as he continued to massage them with his hands.

After a few more licks, he pulled back. "It's a good thing I chose tonight to be brave then, isn't it?" His mouth latched back onto her chest.

She let her eyes close in bliss as she took a sharp breath. "Why have we not done this before?"

He chuckled. "Honestly, at the moment, I can't think of a good reason, but, logically, I know it's because I wasn't sure you wouldn't try to punch me if I tried."

She let out a giggle. "Hmm, maybe. Although I might have hit you, and then kissed you back… It's anyone's guess."

He nodded at her. Her face was inches from his as she leaned over him. "What do you want to do now, Penelope?"

"You mean, I'm not going to ride you? Because I definitely thought that's what you were going for here." She smiled coyly, but she knew that's not what he meant.

He grinned and shook his head. "Well, yes, but we both know that's not what I'm asking."

"I'm not really sure what you want me to say. I didn't sit down and have a discussion with myself before we - well..." She gestured between the two of them.

"Yeah, but we can't take it back even if we wanted to, and I don't want to." He gazed into her eyes. He let his hands fall and then brought them around, placing them on the small of her back.

"I don't want to either. I don't know exactly what you're asking or how to answer," she said sincerely. Were they supposed to start a relationship just because they slept with each other? On the other hand, were they supposed to ignore it altogether?

"Penelope, I know what's happening is not nothing. I don't want this to be the last time we do this, and I also don't want to just be sleeping together. So what do you think?"

"We can't have something physical, and it not mean anything, and I also want to do this again, in many different ways." She giggled, earning a chuckle from him. "But, are you, like, asking to date?"

"Is that what it's called? That's why I'm asking. Is dating, me picking you up every Friday for a movie or is it..." He let his eyes fall to her chest as he contemplated, but he looked back at her when he cut himself off from uttering the wrong words.

"We haven't even thought about this. Well, it's not that I've never thought about it. It's just that, well, I was supposed to be on a date right now and then tomorrow I was supposed to be on another date with someone else entirely. Also, I thought you had a girlfriend, so this is a change in events, to say the least."

"I had some dates, Penelope. That's not a girlfriend. But you don't owe me anything. I guess I don't owe you anything either." He shrugged.

"No, I guess not." Her palms came to rest on his stomach as she supported herself while she examined her fingers moving over his abs as she pondered. "But, if we didn't have any intention of follow-through, we probably shouldn't have done this at all." She sighed. "I'm not attached to dating a bunch of guys. I was just - I can't be the last single person on the team for all eternity. I assumed there was all the time in the world, but what if the team really does come to an end, Luke? What if we really are forced apart? We might all still love one another, but I've dedicated my life to this team, and I've put personal needs aside because they were never as important. If this team ends, I can't look up at my life and realize I wasn't living for anything else."

Luke nodded. "I understand that all too well. That's my life's story - job first, personal needs second. Like I said, I hope this isn't the end, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not willing to only have the team to rely on either. I want more than that too."

"So you want…I'm not trying to be dense, but honestly, I'm too scared to assume something incredibly stupid."

He cleared his throat. "It's not as if we built up to this. We weren't on a date and then you invited me up afterwards. We meant what we did. It was a choice we made, not a mistake. We know each other already, Penelope. There aren't that many secrets between us. You're my friend, so I'm not in the dark about who you are. We can make this into something if that's what you think you could want."

"I disagree." She smirked, at the confusion in his face. "I think all we've ever done is build up to this." She giggled when he poked her sides. "We can make this into something, something we can have even if we don't save the team. We can do this, I'm sure of it, but we both have to want it, and I do." She uttered the last words shyly.

He sat up, making her slide further down his thighs. He grabbed her face and brought her lips to his and wound his arms around her back, holding her close. She put her arms around his neck, kissing him back thoroughly. "I'm pretty sure that this isn't what I intended, and yet it went better than I planned."

"You've been thinking about this?" she asked amazed.

"Not exactly yes, but not exactly no either. We are a pretty good match even when we both pretended like we weren't."

"I unfortunately think I know what you mean. So we're in a relationship?" she asked still unsure, but slightly braver.

He nodded. "I think that's what we're doing."

"We shouldn't take more time?"

He shrugged. "If you think we should, then fine, but, we're not strangers, we have an established relationship, and we're just changing what that looks like. Is that good?"

Penelope turned her bottom lip in momentarily. "I like it." She smiled.

"We're going to have to deal with breaking the rules, which granted, right now, is probably the least helpful thing we can do for the team, but it also means that, if this is the end for us, this isn't the end for us."

She nodded. "So even if you suddenly end up in fugitive recovery, and I end up as a super secret consultant for some huge tech company, and we're not conveniently near each other all the time, we're still doing this?"

"That's what it means."

"What about the team? Do we burden them more with this secret?"

"Barnes is already after the team. Would she use this against us if she knew? Yes. But she's not looking for this. We don't have to tell them, but, hell, if you want to hire a skywriter, that's fine with me. They won't take issue. It might even be the only positive thing we take away from this in a few weeks."

She nodded. "We'll be professional at work, but I'm fine with them knowing as well. These past few weeks have taught me that there's no reason to hold back for the sake of pleasing others. If people want to take you down, they will try no matter what you do." She watched her perfectly painted fingernails run over his chest before speaking again, "We are supposed to see all of them tomorrow. What do we do?"

"I'd like to tell them."

She smiled. "I'd like that too. What are we going to say when they ask how and when? 'Oh, last night we decided to have sex and jump in a relationship?'"

He chuckled. "I don't want to see their reactions to that." He reached up, taking a curl in his fingers and then trailing his hand down her back. "Maybe we just tell them that we've had a close friendship, and we both decided to figure out if we could have more. It's the truth, even if it lacks detail."

She contemplated his suggestion, "That works."

He nodded at her and ran his forehead over the swell of her breasts as she grasped the locks of hair at the back of his neck. "Okay then. I guess we can get back to the fun now."

"Well, you are still inside of me." He growled at her comment. "No worries it's my new favorite way to have a conversation." She giggled.

"Yeah me too. You know if we ever disagree, we could just make a rule that says we have to argue while in this position. I have a feeling we could easily come to some sort of compromise," he joked.

"I'll take it into consideration." She nodded and then leaned in to kiss him again. "I'm in a little bit of shock. Two hours ago, you were annoying me as you followed me around my kitchen."

He laughed. "True, but I think this was inevitable, well, inevitable as long as I didn't try to deny it forever."

"Yeah me too. What changed though?"

"Honestly?" He paused and waited for her nod. "I want what you do. Matt, JJ, they're going home tonight to their spouses. They get to talk it out with someone that loves them. This team might mean everything to them, but it won't take away everything they've got either. I want that."

"But why me?"

He smirked. "Who else?"

She laughed. "Okay, fair. I am quite a catch."

"Since we're going for honesty here, I did see some of the messages on your phone earlier." He watched her narrow her eyes at him. "I didn't purposely snoop, but I wondered why I cared so much about you going out. Thinking about you, maybe liking you, it always seemed like there was time, and now it felt like I was running out of time in more ways than one. I didn't think it would be smart to let something slip through my fingers without ever really trying to hold onto it in the first place."

She tilted her head to the side. "Is this a, you only want what you can't have, scenario?"

He shook his head, "I'm not like that. I think I just needed something to open my eyes to the fact that this is not a feeling that was going away."

She nodded. "Okay, one more question then." He groaned and pulsed his hips up, indicating that he was hard again and had been for a fair amount of this conversation. "Yeah, I know, but, deal with it. There's a reason I thought you had a girlfriend, so again I ask, why me?"

His eyes softened. "There are some nice people out there to date. I had a good time going out, but you meant something to me a long time ago, and that feeling wasn't going to go away. If I'd wanted someone else, I wouldn't have still wanted you."

She simpered and began moving her hips, eliciting a hiss from him. "So what you're saying is that we probably could've been doing this a lot sooner if we both weren't morons?" Her voice was slightly breathless as she found a rhythm.

He let his fingernails dig into her hips on either side, "Probably, but then again, doing this the easy way doesn't sound like us. Besides, I think it's a good thing it took a little longer. We are both so aware of the other. We know what we're getting into, and we both want it." He gritted out the last part as he felt her clench her inner muscles. "Holy fuck."

"Uh, yeah." She muttered breathlessly. "Lean against the -" She was cut off when he moved both of their bodies. His back was now flat against the headboard. She grabbed the top of the wooden frame in both hands and started slamming down harder onto him.

He watched as her breasts bounced in front of his face, and he moved one hand up from her hip to grip one and bring it to his mouth. She moaned. This was the best decision she had made in a long time. This was going to be the best thing that ever happened to them both.

She kept up the rhythm as she let one hand fall to hold him against her breast as he sucked. She felt the orgasm building. She kept moving as the feeling overwhelmed her. She could hear herself moan, and she felt him growl around her breast as she climaxed.

Luke watched as she was coming down. She was still moving, but not with as much force. He threw her backwards, finally sliding out of her for the first time since they'd joined. He immediately felt the loss of warmth. She was still bleary eyed and trying to recover. He easily turned her onto her stomach, positioning himself behind her. He slid into her and took in the view of the stockings still on her thighs as he pounded into her. He felt her tense up and saw her gripping the sheet in one hand. "Are you okay?" he asked without stopping.

"God, yes," she answered, making him let out a satisfied scoff.

Luke moved forward to angle his body to hit the spot he knew was there, and he firmly held her legs apart as he pulsed into her. He saw her drop her forehead into the sheet, and he knew she was close to coming again. He brought both hands up to her ass and gripped it in his hands, leaving red marks with his fingernails and getting a moan from her. "You like that," he said and watched her nod into the sheet, even though it wasn't a question. He brought his hand down to smack her ass, and he felt her get a little more wet from his actions. He smirked as he watched her ass move with his palm print on it.

He did it a few more times and then gripped her thighs as she started moaning his name loudly. "Luke, oh my God, yes."

He pounded into her as hard as he could as he filled her all over again. He stayed seated in her for a few moments as he caught his breath. He finally looked up to her and saw that her eyes were closed, and she was motionless. He didn't want to move out of her, but he was going to need some water and some recovery time if they planned on doing this some more tonight.

He saw his spendings drip down her thighs to the band of her thigh highs, and he groaned. He would never be with someone for the first time without a condom, but he planned on being with Penelope as much as he could for as long as he could, probably forever, because even if things got a little boring or a little mundane, even if they fought like cats and dogs and wanted to maim each other, he couldn't think of anyone else that he would rather go through hell with.

When he slowly eased out of her, she wanted to whine, but she couldn't muster the energy. She laid still, and she could feel him crawl up next to her and plant his body against hers. She felt his hand brush a lock of hair out of her face. She partially opened her eyes and saw him examining her with a soft look on his face. "I think you might destroy me," she informed him.

He chuckled. "No, but I can try."

She smiled and lifted her head to lay on her crossed forearms. "This is still a little bit hard for me to wrap my mind around. Just this evening I had no idea what you looked like naked, and now I will never forget."

He laughed again. "Ditto. I'm not sorry about it." He ran his fingers gently across the expanse of her back.

She shut her eyes and gave an exhausted nod. "Me either."

"Are you tired?"

"Not exactly. I'm just satiated, and you'll have to give me a minute before I can walk again."

He grinned. "I can do that." He scooted closer to her and kissed her shoulder.

"You know, I didn't realize how much time we've spent together outside of work. Despite the fact that most of the time we were getting all snarky with each other, we did still seem to make the time to gravitate towards one another."

"That we did. Maybe we were subconsciously trying to figure this out." He shrugged. He contemplated the ups and downs many times, but he wasn't secretly pining. Laying here with her now, it felt natural. Something about the fact that the team might not be the team anymore, jolted him awake.

"Pretty hard to think we made this decision without our minds doing some of the work prior to this," she agreed.

"You know I didn't think I'd feel all that good about today, but somehow I'm quite happy, who knew?"

She laughed, "Me too. I feel oddly calm now."

"Well, you did just come three times so…"

She playfully slapped his chest. "I'm serious. I'm very serious actually. I think I'm okay," she said earnestly, as she drew circles with her fingernail across his chest.

"Me too. I'm not really scared of what tomorrow brings, not if I have this to look forward to." He reached down and grabbed her hand to bring to his lips and kiss her fingers. "I'm sorry that I don't have some emotional, romantic confession. This just seems so right and logical, and I don't know that there is more to it than that."

"There doesn't have to be. We've been hovering around this. It's probably a good thing that we didn't overthink it."

"So then just one more question, girlfriend."

"What's that, boyfriend?"

"Do I get to play with the lights on your monitor now?"

"I would rather marry you tomorrow in the dusty banquet room of a steakhouse wearing a pantsuit before I let you lay a finger on my new baby."

"That could be arranged."

Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for all the reviews, favs, follows on anything I've done. I appreciate it.

Remember, this will now be a series of unrelated one-shots. Please read all summaries at the top of each 'chapter' to make sure you are interested in each one. Thank you!