AN: Several people mentioned that they'd love to see Darcy meet the rest of the BAU, and before I knew it I'd written a thing. I'm playing kind of fast and loose with timelines here. This fic references Thor 2, but the Criminal Minds gang are somewhere back before Prentiss left, so... *shrugs* sorry? Thanks for reading! :)
Many thanks to my betas kittywings01 and DaughterOfOphelia (on AO3)
"Garcia!" Prentiss hissed, waving her over. Garcia cocked an eyebrow and altered her course through the bullpen, stopping at Prentiss' desk.
"You stage-whispered?" Garcia greeted her, tucking her troll doll pen behind her ear and rearranging the files in her arms.
"Hey, what do you think is going on with Reid?" Prentiss asked, tipping her chin in the direction of Reid's desk. Garcia peered over the top of her fuschia-rimmed glasses to where Reid was innocently typing an email.
"He's had no less than eight text messages in the last hour," Prentiss said. "He read them all the instant he got them and replied to each one within two minutes, most of them within 15 seconds."
JJ popped her head up over the divider between their desks. "You do realise you sound exactly like Reid right now, timing and recording your friends' behaviour?"
Prentiss gave JJ an impatient look. "I'm serious. Watch."
JJ came around to the other side of the divider and perched on the edge of Prentiss' desk. As if on cue, Reid's phone pinged softly. He abandoned his email and scooped the phone off the desk, a goofy grin lighting his face as he read the message.
Garcia sucked in a breath and clutched her files to her chest. "Oh em gee, it's a girl! Or maybe a boy, but probably a girl, right? Look at him, he practically has hearts in his eyes!"
"That's my hypothesis," Prentiss said, feeling all the more vindicated for the fact that Garcia had reached the—admittedly unlikely—conclusion on her own.
Reid's thumbs flew over the keypad as he typed a response, blissfully unaware of his audience.
"Who do you think it could be?" JJ asked incredulously, folding her arms.
"I have no idea. The only texts I've ever seen him get were from one of us, but we're all here," Prentiss said, glancing over to where Rossi and Morgan were both on their respective phones and clearly not engaged in a text conversation with Reid. "Unless it's..."
Her gaze slid up to the firmly closed door of Hotch's office. She turned back to JJ and Garcia, her eyes as wide as theirs as they considered the possibility.
Their speculation was cut short when Hotch's door suddenly opened and Hotch and Strauss exited the office, deep in conversation. Prentiss calculated the odds of Hotch replying to flirty texts while in a meeting with Erin Strauss to be about 0%.
"Not Hotch then, obviously," Prentiss said, shaking off the idea.
"Obviously," JJ agreed, like they hadn't all just been thinking it really loudly.
Morgan caught Prentiss' eye and cocked an eyebrow at her as he hung up his phone. What's going on over there?
Prentiss motioned him over. He came and stood next to Garcia, giving her a gentle shoulder bump. She hip-checked him in return.
"Ladies." It was somehow both a greeting and a question.
"We think Reid has a girlfriend," Prentiss said, cutting to the chase. "Any idea who it could be?"
"Reid?" Morgan repeated, like maybe he'd heard wrong. He crossed his arms as he considered the question. "Maybe that astrophysicist who's on-base working with the military, the one involved in what went down in London? Reid introduced me when we ran into her in the parking lot the other day—I meant to ask him later how he knew her. I wouldn't have thought there was any chemistry between them, but they have a lot in common."
"Such as?" JJ asked.
"Prodigies in their respective fields, delicate bone structures," Prentiss gave him the side-eye, but he was unperturbed, "both disturbingly oblivious to social cues."
Prentiss looked back at Reid, who was replying to yet another text. An astrophysics prodigy. That made as much sense as anyone, she supposed. She'd never quite been able to picture what the right girl for Reid would look like. She'd always felt kind of sorry for him that he didn't have anyone, but now she found herself worrying that this person wasn't up to scratch. The thought of someone breaking Reid's heart made her trigger finger itch.
Reid hit send on his phone and put it back on the desk. Only then did he feel the heat of four sets of eyes on him. His eyeballs slid towards them first, followed a moment later by the rest of his head.
"What?" he asked, warily.
Prentiss pushed up out of her chair and strode towards him, the others flanking her. "Spill the beans, Reid. Who are you texting? It's a girl, isn't it?"
"Or a boy," Garcia hurried to add.
Reid's blush did nothing to hide how pleased he was with himself. "Her name is Darcy," he revealed.
"And?" Prentiss couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips to see just how happy he looked. "Where did you meet her?"
"At the coffee shop on Potomac Avenue. She works there." His middle finger tapped against his thumb with excess energy.
"Coffee Shop Girl?!" Garcia exclaimed, moving closer. "It's been weeks since you mentioned her! I thought you must have given up on finding the nerve to ask her out, but look at you go, player!" She swatted him on the arm.
"Actually, she asked me," he said matter-of-factly, "and to be fair, she's just working as a barista while she does her internship with that astrophysicist who's on the base at the moment."
"Ahh, that explains it," Morgan said. "I thought maybe it was the astrophysicist."
Reid snorted in genuine amusement. "Dr. Foster? She's dating Thor. Darcy's going to think that's hilarious though, I have to tell her you said that." He picked up his phone again.
"So when do we get to meet her?" Prentiss asked pointedly, trying to keep his attention.
"Actually, that's what the texts have been about," he said, looking up again before he could start typing. "A catering order was cancelled so she's about to drop by with some free pastries." The phone in his hand pinged again and he looked down. "She's outside now," he said, springing out of his chair. He combed a hand through his hair and tugged at the bottom of his sweater vest as he started towards the door. "I'll be back in a minute. And guys?" He stopped and looked back at them. "Just... don't be weird, okay?"
Prentiss' lips parted in disbelief as Reid power walked away. "He did not just..."
"Yep," Garcia said, popping the 'p'. "I was there and I can confirm that the king of all that is white and nerdy did indeed just tell us to 'be cool'."
Prentiss turned on Garcia, hands on her hips. "And I can't believe you knew about Coffee Shop Girl and I didn't! What's that about? What else do you know about her?"
Garcia held up one palm in a defensive gesture and crowded against Morgan's side for protection. "If she challenges me to a duel over Reid's best-friendship, will you be my champion?"
"You even gotta ask, baby girl?"
Before Prentiss could press for more details, Reid reappeared at the door to the bullpen accompanied by a brunette carrying a white cardboard bakery box.
Prentiss didn't know what she'd been expecting, maybe a mousey slip of a thing not too dissimilar to Reid, with limbs like a giraffe and a chronic inability to look relaxed, no matter what the setting.
Darcy was anything but. Even in her work clothes—a simple black top and skirt with the odd smudge of flour on them—she was a stunner; all curves and creamy skin and dark tresses. But probably what Prentiss liked most about her at first glance was just how comfortable she looked with Reid. He guided her forward with a light hand between her shoulder blades, pointing out the conference room and various other things as they walked, his head bent towards hers as he provided commentary.
Reid straightened up and licked his lips as they approached, preparing to make introductions, but before he could say anything:
"Derek!" Darcy said, her face lighting up.
"Hey, girl." Morgan's face split into a grin and he held out a fist for her to bump. She balanced the cardboard box on one hand and obliged.
Reid paled. "Do you guys know each other?" He was trying so hard for nonchalance, but his voice was nearly an octave higher by the end of the sentence.
Prentiss could see the cogs of his brilliant mind turning, see his sensitive disposition leaping to the worst possible conclusion: he'd thought he was special to her, that he was the only one, but he'd been horribly wrong.
Apparently none of this got by Darcy, though, and she slipped her free hand into Reid's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Only as the purveyor of his macchiatos."
"Oh." Reid tried to cover up his relief by pressing on with the introductions. "Darcy, this is Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia." Reid glanced over JJ's shoulder towards Rossi's desk, but he was still on the phone.
"Nice to meet you guys," Darcy said. She lifted the top on the box she was holding, revealing an array of cupcakes, danishes, slices and other sweets. "I come bearing refined carbohydrates."
There were murmurs of approval all round, and Morgan didn't hesitate to dive right in. "Garcia, these are the cupcakes I told you about, you've got to try one," he said, passing her a purple-frosted one and taking a pink one for himself.
"Don't mind if I do," Garcia said, taking a delicate bite.
"Awesome glasses, by the way," Darcy said to Garcia. "And even awesomer troll doll pen.'
Garcia bobbed in a curtsey. "Cupcakes and compliments; you'll go far around here, kiddo."
Darcy smiled at that, then tilted the box towards Prentiss and JJ. "Anything for you ladies?"
"Ooh, bear claw!" said JJ, making her selection and taking a bite.
Prentiss took an apricot danish. "Thanks," she said, and Darcy gave her a smile. The girl had pretty blue-green eyes, and killer eyeliner game.
"Now, hold up a second," Morgan said, taking a seat on the corner of Reid's desk and peeling the paper away from his cupcake. "Hottie McHotterson was Reid?"
"Uh-huh," Darcy grinned, rocking back on her heels. "Small world, I guess, especially in this town."
"Hottie McHotterson?" JJ repeated.
Morgan looked to Darcy. "May I?" he said, obviously asking her permission to explain the inside joke.
"Sure," she said with an easy shrug. She offered the pastries to Reid and put the box down on the desk next to him when he shook his head.
Morgan lowered his cupcake as he settled in to tell his story. "So I'm waiting for my coffee one day, chatting to the pretty girl behind the counter, as I do, and I say 'so how's your day going?' and Darcy here practically goes into a swoon and starts telling me about how her crush was just in the store. 'Let's call him Hottie McHotterson,' she says, and goes on for a good five minutes about how handsome and brilliant this guy is and how she wants to ask him out but she's not sure if she's his type, yada yada."
Apparently, all this was news to Reid. He looked to Darcy, eyes searching for confirmation. She didn't try to deny any of it, just bit her lip and gave him a smile with a shade of shyness in it as her insecurities were laid bare.
He blinked a few times and swallowed hard, and Prentiss felt a tug on her own heartstrings. Not only did the girl he wanted want him back, she'd been worried she wasn't good enough for him. Reid slid an inconspicuous arm around Darcy's waist and pulled her snug against his side.
"So, I tell her any guy would be a fool to say no to her," Morgan continued, "and that she should definitely ask him out. Then, every time I go in after that, I ask her for an update on 'Hottie McHotterson'," Morgan did air quotes as best he could while holding a cupcake, "until one day she tells me they've been on their first date, and it was the best date she's ever had."
"Do I want to know what else she said after that?" Reid asked, though he didn't look that worried. In fact, he was kind of doing the heart-eyes thing Garcia had pointed out earlier.
"Don't worry, Reid, your girl doesn't kiss and tell," Morgan assured him with one of his smooth smiles. Prentiss still planned to grill Morgan later for any extra details, regardless. She took a bite of her Danish, which, as it happened, was to die for.
Hotch approached the group then, an open file in his hand.
"Hotch, this is my girlfriend, Darcy," Reid said. Prentiss wondered if she was the only one who found it so odd to hear Reid say those words out loud.
Hotch went perfectly still as he processed this information, and to his credit, his eyes only widened a fraction. His gaze flicked to Darcy, then back to Reid, then to the rest of the team, and finally back to Darcy. "Pleasure to meet you," he said with a nod. "If you don't mind, I need to speak with Reid for a moment."
Reid looked unsure about the idea of leaving Darcy and the team to chat amongst themselves, but it wasn't like he had any other choice.
"I'm fine," Darcy said, waving him away.
Garcia jumped straight into the spot Reid had just vacated. "Scrumptious cupcakes, my lovely. Now, tell me, what are your intentions towards our wunderkind?"
"So I'm not the only one who feels protective of him, huh?" Darcy said affably, leaning back against the desk behind her.
"He's kind of unique, and he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve," Prentiss said, though she was feeling less and less worried for Reid's heart with each passing minute.
"Well, wherever he keeps it, I plan on looking after it," Darcy said. "Derek wasn't exaggerating, I'm ten kinds of smitten."
"You order your coffee under your first name, huh?" Garcia said to Morgan, scrunching her nose at him. "I don't know why that weirds me out so much." Morgan just shrugged enigmatically.
"So, no offence," said Darcy, selecting a brownie from the box at her hip, "but you guys all seem totally normal."
"No offence, but so do you," Prentiss said with a smirk. "You thought maybe Reid worked with people who were all like him?"
Darcy shrugged. "I guess no more than you guys were assuming he'd date someone like him," she smirked back, and took a bite of her brownie.
The conversation flowed easily from there, though Reid was more than a little horrified to come back and discover that the team had told Darcy all about that one time in the pool with Lila.
By the time Darcy had to leave, Prentiss was satisfied that Darcy would be good to Reid, and probably good for him, too. She was down-to-earth and easy-going, but sensitive to his quirks.
Rossi came up as JJ and Garcia were heading back to their desks and Reid was escorting Darcy to the door, one hand on the small of her back. "Who's the girl?" Rossi asked.
"Reid's girlfriend," Prentiss answered.
"Pull the other one."
"Not a joke. Look." She tipped her head towards the couple, who were sharing a goodbye kiss.
Reid had a crooked finger under Darcy's chin, the other hand on her hip as he pressed his lips to hers. He changed the angle of the kiss and deepened it ever so slightly, but it was enough to make Darcy's arms slide around his waist and her foot lift off the floor a few inches.
"The boy's got game," Morgan murmured, smiling and shaking his head.
Prentiss offered Rossi the box of pastries. He selected a chocolate croissant. "So is she...?" He left the sentence hanging as he cast about for a way to couch his question.
"Like Reid?" Prentiss shook her head. "As far as we can tell, she's normal."
Clearly Rossi's profiling eye was seeing everything hers was. "They're besotted," he commented, and took a bite of the croissant.
"And at ease," Prentiss added, "whatever those words mean when applied to Reid."
Rossi chewed thoughtfully. "Remember last week, when we were working on the Barclay case, and I said now we've really seen everything? I'd like to take that back."
Prentiss snorted softly. Reid locking lips with a beautiful brunette was one of the last things she'd expected to see today. Before Darcy had walked through that door, Prentiss couldn't really picture Reid with anyone. Now, she couldn't picture him with anyone else.
AN: Reviews are the manna on which I thrive ;)