Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Criminal Minds!
A/N: Just a short little oneshot. A bit of warning, I was in a fluff mood when I wrote this.
Penelope was tired. The type of tired that made you want to flop down on the nearest horizontal surface and not get up for a week. Actually, at this point, she could probably fall asleep on a vertical surface.
Unfortunately, she still had two hours left before she could go home. Two hours before she could leave the office, soak in a nice warm bath, have a casual dinner with her Hot Stuff and then the two of them curl up in their soft, comfy bed. Only two hours…
"Garcia?" The soft voice and hand on her shoulder caused her jump up, sending the fluffy pen in her hand flying to the floor.
She pressed a hand to her chest while spinning around to face the person who dared enter her sanctum unannounced and nearly giving her a coronary. "Reid!" She exclaimed, seeing the young doctor shove his hands in his pockets and looking a bit sheepish.
"Sorry, Pen." He told her with that goofy little smile that immediately made her heart melt and the frown on her face begin to turn into a soft smile. "You were about to fall asleep on your keyboard."
"Mm, this goddess of brilliance has reached her limit and needs a kitten nap to re-energize." Penelope explained, rolling her head back and forth.
"Oh…" The almost disappointed sound of his voice and the way he started looking at random photos on her wall told her the young genius hadn't stopped by for just 'hellos' and 'how are you's'.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked, straightening in her chair to look a bit more chipper.
"Nothing. I was just going to ask if you wanted to grab a drink after work?" He half-asked, half-stated with a small, hopeful smile.
Penelope studied the genius for a moment while she thought about her answer. On one hand, she loved spending time with her young G-Man, but at the same time she was so tired and really only wanted to spend the evening with her 'hunk of burning love' boyfriend. Reid was looking awfully hopefully though and how could she ever say no to those big round eyes.
A smile curved her lips upwards as she nodded. "Sounds good, my genius level superhero."
Reid grinned, eyes lightening up as if the last case of gory gunk never happened. With a final wave and instructions of when they'd be leaving he turned and headed back the way he came. Penelope watched him, still smiling happily, before turning back around to face her computer. With a yawn she reached for her cell phone and sent a quick text to Derek letting him know she wouldn't be home right away. She was so tired that she didn't even notice his delayed response or the fact that the 'Ok' answer was far too short to be his normal response.
Penelope stepped out of Reid's car, frowning slightly at the extravagant looking restaurant. "Um, Reid, I thought we were just grabbing a drink."
"We are." Spencer answered as he came around the car to join her and lead the way towards the restaurant. "They have a bar that's supposed to have really good drinks. I figured we could try it." He added with a casual shrug.
Penelope quirked an eyebrow, leveling him with a suspicious stare as they got closer to the beautiful, but obviously going to be expensive, restaurant. When they entered the double doors her eyes widened. It really was beautiful. One of those cotton table cloths, chandeliers, and spacious dinning room types...or in other words a completely romantic atmosphere. And she suddenly felt very undressed.
"Reid…"
"Trust me." The simple, nonchalant, response didn't tell her anything that would explain why he would bring her here, of all places, just for a drink. Something was definitely going on. "The bar's this way I think." He added and began moving further into the restaurant without even waiting for a maitre d' to show them the way.
She followed him through the main dinning area and to the back of the restaurant where a pair of double doors were partially opened. Once they were just about at the doors a young waitress noticed Reid, smiled, and then moved to pull open one of the doors.
Penelope looked at Reid, brows furrowed in confusion, as he stepped aside for her to enter first. She wasn't sure what he expected her to do. The room was mostly dark and she didn't exactly know where a light switch was, but she stepped hesitantly inside anyways since he obviously wasn't going to move before she did.
The moment her first foot hit the carpeted floor a dim light came on, just barely illuminating the room. It was enough for her to see that there was in fact a bar though. It was a single counter standing directly opposite of her with what looked like a bottle of wine and a single wine glass.
Feeling a gentle nudge to her left shoulder she looked back to see a grinning Reid watching her. He gave her shoulder another soft push and tilted his head towards the bar. Now she was utterly confused. She raised an eyebrow at him, but turned back and slowly made her way to the deserted bar.
As she got closer she noticed that the wine wasn't just any wine, but her absolute favorite which just happened to be hard to find in the U.S. She also realized that there was something at the base of the bottle that she couldn't quite make out in the dim light. At least not until she got even closer.
That's when she saw what it was. A single red rose just laying gracefully between the bottle and the wine glass. And the wine glass…there was something in the bottom of it too. Her curiosity got the best of her and, temporarily forgetting Reid was around somewhere, she picked up the wine glass.
As soon as the glass was in her hand more lights snapped on, but only the ones over the bar. Glancing around she still didn't see anyone else, but half the room was still mostly dark. Remembering the glass in her hand she looked back down…and nearly dropped it.
Her mouth opened in surprise, eyes widening as she stared down at the diamond ring nestled at the bottom of the glass with a sheer purple ribbon tied to the band and flowing over the side of the glass and down to the stem. And what a ring it was! A white gold band, one large diamond in the center and four small diamonds circling it with tiny little, pale sapphires wedged between each one. It was simply perfect.
After a few silent seconds passed she slowly took the ribbon and pulled the ring from the glass until it rested in the palm of her hand, glistening as the lights hit it. She was so entranced and so shocked that she nearly dropped the glass again when a large, warm hand gently encircled her wrist.
Her head snapped up, eyes glistening when she saw the dark, loving eyes of her Hot Stuff staring back at her. He smiled and, without saying a word, took the glass from her hand and placed it on the counter.
While still completely silent, he took the ring from her hand, untied the ribbon and let it fall to the floor, and then slipped the ring onto her left hand. Before she could so much as wipe away the tear running down her cheek, let alone form a coherent sentence, Derek was leaning forward and capturing her lips in a heated kiss that sent a shiver up her spine and a tingle down her legs.
Kissing him was pure electricity mixed with a calming drug that always left her craving more. Even after nearly two years the intensity between them sometimes surprised her, but by the time he was done caressing her lips with his own she didn't really care. All that mattered was that he kept going.
When something wet slipped down her cheek and between their still connected lips she was pulled back to the present. He moved away, but only enough to lean his forehead against hers and catch her eye as if trying to memorize every line and aspect of the glistening orbs.
"Will you marry me, Penelope?" The question was asked so softly, yet held such a great intensity and hopefulness that another tear leaked out of her eyes to join the others while her heart raced faster in her chest.
She smiled, attempting to swallow past the lump in her throat so she could give the man the answer he desperately wanted. It took a few moments, but finally she was once again capable of forcing words out of her mouth. "Yes." She answered. "Yes, yes, yes!"
With each new affirmative she pressed a kiss to his grinning lips, smiling wider as he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her even closer. He nuzzled her neck, pressing wet kisses on her collar bone and then slowly moving up her neck until their lips met in another soul empowering kiss that blocked out the rest of the outside world.
They didn't come up for air or even slow down when the rest of the lights popped on. When Reid cleared his throat and Rossi took a picture with his phone they still kept devouring the other as if starving for something they'd been hunting for an eternity. It wasn't until Hotch walked over and casually began pouring drinks from behind the bar for everyone that they broke apart. They were both breathless, both grinning adoringly at the other, and both completely ignoring their friends who were watching amusedly.
"Ahem." The soft sound from next to them finally seemed to brake the trance as they looked over to see JJ dangling two wine glasses in their direction. "While the wine's still chilled." She said with a half smile and knowing look in her eyes.
Morgan laughed, but reached out to take the empty glasses, passing one to Penelope with a wink, before turning to get the special bottle of wine that still sat on the counter top. As he poured some into her glass she glanced up just in time to see Reid and Emily ushering three waiters in so they could place the food on the long table by the far wall.
As Reid turned she caught his eye, giving him a little smirk and pointed look. He smiled back, waved, and then returned to helping organize the table. She would have to find a way to get him back for tricking her like this...and then find a way to thank him and the others for setting it up. But right now all she could think about was the ring on her finger, the love of her life who was gazing at her as if she was the most beautiful goddess ever to walk the Earth, and the fact that she certainly wasn't tired anymore.
A/N: What did you think?