Written for the prompt at fic promptly - Criminal Minds, Penelope Garcia, She knows people comment on her clothing behind her back but she'll never change who she is... not even for the FBI.
She has heard the comments, both years in the past and a recent as this morning about the way she dresses. Her clothing choices have always come under criticism from people throughout her life, but she has never let it bother her. Why should she? She has her own sense of style, it might not be the same as everyone else's, but why should it be, she is an individual.
She doesn't let anyone stick her in any mould, she defies the mould and just is, Penelope Garcia, hacker extraordinaire, wacky hair and clothing to boot. She isn't willing to change who she is for anyone, it was why she was at first reluctant to take the job with the FBI, she wasn't willing to compromise who she was to become something bigger than herself and do something good.
Hotch had gone to bat for her though, and he had been prepared to accept her exactly as she was, he didn't insist on her changing her look or her attitude. Nothing was ever mentioned about her having to dress appropriately for work at the FBI and she loved him for that. She knew that he and the rest of his team at the BAU had her back and loved her exactly the way she was.
The comments that she heard as she walked the halls didn't matter to her in light of that, not that they had ever mattered much in the first place. It was nice to know though that there were others who had her back though, and she had heard Morgan and JJ tearing into people for comments about the way she dressed, and she realised that it actually bothered them, probably more than it bothered her that people were speaking about her that way.
It had never really bothered her though, as she had enough self-confidence to just brush the words of, she knew exactly who she was and what she was worth, clothes and appearances didn't change that in any way so why should they matter in the grand scheme of things. She was comfortable in the clothes that she wore and so she would wear them, she doubted she would be comfortable wearing the less than colourful suits or skirts that she had seen some of the other women in the building wear, so why should she even bother.
She wasn't the only person in the world who refused to let their individual sense of style hold her back, if anything she was one of a small group, and they all used their individuality to propel them forward in life. They made a statement, that they weren't part of the masses they were not part of the crowd that could be ignored. They were individuals who stood out and shined. She was probably more accomplished in her life for ignoring the conventional and being different, so she would continue to be different. She wasn't going to conform for anybody, especially not for the FBI.