"Have I told you how sexy you are when you feel frustrated?" Morgan was standing by the door with a cup of coffee in his hands.
"Mhhmm…" this was certainly not the reaction Morgan expected from Garcia who was staring at some papers with an absent look.
"Ok, that's it!" Derek walked impatiently to her desk and took the paperwork away from her hands with more strength than necessary. Penelope gasped, but Morgan ignored her and forced her to stand up. "I'm taking you with Hotch right now!" Derek exclaimed as he start dragging her down the hall.
"What? Wait! Did I did something wrong?" Penelope asked confused and a bit worried.
"Look at you woman!" Derek stopped and turned around to face her. "You have been acting like a zombie for weeks and I'm done with it. It's obvious that Hotch is giving you too much work and that's exactly what I'll tell him"
"Nooo! Stop! " Garcia ordered firmly as she tried to free from his grip. He obeyed and crossed his arms firmly, waiting for an explanation. She felt mad as hell but couldn't stop thinking how handsome he looked when he put on his cop face. All his jaw muscles contracted and his lips drawing a soft line. Good they looked so tasty….Derek started patting impatiently and Penelope snapped back to reality. "Let's go back to my office and talk in a civilized way, ok?"
Morgan rolled his eyes but still didn't move an inch. "Please, I promise I have some heavy hot confessions in my closet." Penelope teased him earning a smile. Derek couldn't stay mad at her more than an hour. That was seriously his record. He followed her friend back to her office.
"Start talking." He demanded gently after he closed the door.
"It's Kevin." Penelope spilled it out. The face of Derek reminded her why she never talked to Derek about Kevin. She felt like betraying some point in the implicit contract of their friendship. Derek never talked about his "girlfriends" event though Garcia was aware of them by the constant gossip sessions with JJ.
"He did something to you?" the threat was implicit in the question, but Derek managed to keep his face relaxed and drink some coffee.
"He asked me to move in." Penelope figured out that maybe if she say it quickly, it would be better. Turn out the wrong way, though.
Derek choked on the coffee and after gasping for air and coughing a few times he managed to answer. "Well, that's...great news. Congratulations, baby. "His voice didn't sound even half convincing as he wanted it to be.
"I haven't accepted yet." Penelope made clear. What followed was a really awkward moment. Derek was aware he had to be really careful with his next words; he was entering a mined field.
"Well, that's cool babe, maybe it's better to take things slowly" that was all he said, and clearly wasn't enough.
"That's it? You're not going to ask me why I refused." Penelope was clearly disappointed but she made a gesture to stop Derek from correcting his mistake. "Kevin is a perfectly good choice. He is smart, funny and she makes me feel like a lady. He, unlikely the common average of single men, is ready to step up and make this serious. However I said no to him. And to all he was offering me."
"I know that he is a good man, angel. You don't need to rub it on my face." Morgan's voice was harsh.
"Apparently, I do. Because despite your big profiler brain you still aren't able to read the sings that matter the most." With those cryptic words, Penelope stormed out of the office.
"Are you ok Morgan?" Hotch interrupted Derek's thoughts. The rest of the team was chilling out in the plane enjoying the few moments of freedom before jumping into a case.
"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind these days" Derek explained letting out a sight. He knew his boss had a strict policy of zero involvement, so must be really worried to ask about his personal life.
"Do you want to hear something weird? I keep asking Garcia the same question and she gave the exact same answer you did." A soft smile extended through Hotchner's face. He wasn't an emotional person, but he was a damn good boss and he had created a dynamic and united workgroup. However he couldn't hide the protective instincts he had over Penelope Garcia. He had taken her under his wing from day one and watch her turn into the professional technician she was today. That's why he couldn't help but smiling when Morgan blushed furiously at his comment.