Derek and Penelope at New Years!
Dancing Together
"Hey there Hot Stuff."
Derek Morgan's eyes trailed up and down the eccentric clothing Penelope Garcia had chosen for her little New Years bash. He'd never been able to say no to her and his requested presence at this party of hers was no exception. "You're festive."
"Of course," she said, sounding almost offended. "Would you expect anything less?"
He chuckled and kissed her cheek as he pressed a bottle of sparkling wine into her hands. "Of course not, Baby Girl."
"Exactly," Penelope agreed, knowing her cheeks had blossomed a bright red. She'd already had a few drinks, both because people had been milling about her apartment for about an hour and because she'd known he was coming tonight. And she'd made her own New Years' resolution that had her stomach doing somersaults in her body. It was a highly uncomfortable feeling.
But, nerves or no nerves, Penelope Garcia was going to kiss Derek Morgan at midnight.
"I like this," he said, flicking the crown she'd buried in her curls. He watched her turn a darker shade of red and resisted the urge to grin. She was adorable.
"Derek!"
He had to fight a frown – absently noticing his favourite technical analyst hadn't been able to – when a woman latched onto his arm. He vaguely remembered her from previous years, but couldn't, for the life of him, remember her name. Not that it mattered.
"You are so late!"
"Story of my life," he said, putting on a small smile.
"I'm just going to take this to the kitchen," Penelope said, holding up the bottle he'd given her. "Drink, Sweetness?"
"No thanks, Mama. I want all of my faculties tonight," Derek replied, his eyes heating with what he had planned. For, unbeknownst to her, he'd made a very similar resolution. He was going to have Penelope Garcia at midnight, damned the consequences.
They danced around each other, a dance they both knew very well. He knew the team had noticed it and it had taken Emily, with a literal smack up the side of the head, for him to realize the game he was playing. Why couldn't he hold down a girlfriend? Because he compared them all to his Penelope. Why didn't he bring women to team things unlike the rest of them from time to time? Because that made women look permanent and he wasn't willing to do that to Penelope. Why didn't he want a permanent woman in his life? Because he already had one and her name was Penelope.
"Water?" she offered. "Juice? I have things other than alcohol."
"I'll have a glass of that wine," his leech said, looking up at him with a deep blow in her eyes.
Derek wanted her gone and fast, but he wasn't sure how to do it politely while still getting his message across. The look on Penelope's face told him the last thing she wanted to do was bring the woman anything other than poison. "I'll get it, Mama."
"But she's the hostess," Leech whined.
He saw Penelope's eyes narrowed and deliberately stepped between both women, prying Leech's fingers off of his arm. "And as hostess she has a lot of other things to do. The least I can do is offer a hand to get someone else a drink."
"Derek, it's fine. I've got it."
Having pried the other woman's fingers off of his bicep, he wrapped an arm around Penelope's shoulders. "Nonsense, Baby Girl. I'm going to raid your fridge."
She let out an exaggerated sigh, even though a smile tipped the corners of her mouth. "I knew you only wanted me for my food." The heat that flared in his eyes made her shiver.
"You're more than my meal ticket, Penelope. Let's get those drinks!"
What the heck was going on with him? Mister Social Butterfly had barely left her side all night. Regardless of how late he'd come, Derek had fallen easily into the role of host to her hostess. She'd tried to tell him he didn't have to, that he should sit and enjoy the night, but he'd stubbornly refused. And stubbornly refused to leave her side. It was how they ended up, side-by-side in the group of chattering adults Penelope had invited to her apartment for the last ten minutes before the ball was set to drop.
For his part, Derek had deliberately stayed close to Penelope's side all night. He didn't mind playing host in her apartment. He spent enough time here that he knew where most of the things were. She picked up the rest. They made a good team, not that he didn't already know that, and playing host kept him busy and close to her at the same time. There was really no way to lose in a scenario like that and so he'd taken advantage of it.
For the first time in a very long time, Derek was nervous. Penelope wasn't just any woman. She knew all of his games, all of his strategies and she, well, she deserved better than his usual game. Then again, she wasn't a game to him. She couldn't be a game to him. She meant way too much to be a game. And that was part of his worry. What if she didn't see him like that? Emily swore up and down she did – and with how close the girls were, he did trust and believe her – so he'd dug deep into the wells of his so-called courage, the same bravery he used when he tackled an UNSUB in the field and prepared himself to take one heck of a leap.
He felt her start to shake as the countdown began and sidled closer, his hand coming up to rub her spine absently. Why was she trembling? Was she cold? Was she getting sick?
Three, two, one... Happy New Year!
She went for it, turning to face him and pulling him down to her almost in the same motion. He seemed stunned beneath her, at least for a few moments before she felt him return the pressure. Her heart sang. Eventually, they had to pull back. There were other people there, ready to wish them both a happy new year. Penelope's heart was thumping loudly in her chest, even as she put on a good face and happily exchanged hugs with all of her friends.
Slowly but surely, her guests trickled out of the apartment. It was 1:30 by the time everyone had left. Everyone but Derek Morgan. Her heart started beating triple time as she made her way back to the kitchen. He stood at her sink, washing her glasses. "You don't have to do that, Gorgeous."
He smiled as she came around the counter, absently grabbing a dish towel to dry. There had been too many dishes to fit in her little dishwasher, so some had to be done by hand. "I don't mind," he replied.
They worked in silence for a little while, Derek switching to putting the glasses away once he was finished washing. He let out a heavy breath when everything was put away and looked at her, at the way she leaned against her counter. "What is it?"
She bit her lower lip. "I made myself a promise this morning."
"Okay..." He was confused.
"I promised myself I wouldn't let another year just go by."
"Just go by? This year hasn't exactly been a walk in the park, Princess."
"That's not what I mean," she said, shaking her head. "Derek, I'm sick of dancing."
"I'm sorry?" he asked, voice catching in his throat. Dancing. That had been what Emily called it, hadn't she?
Penelope stepped closer to him, standing such that she had to tilt her head back in order to see him properly, in order to look into his eyes. "We dance around each other," she said softly. "I want to stop dancing different dances. I want to start dancing together."
He knew what she meant. Of course he knew what she meant. "I made a promise to myself too."
"Oh?" Her voice was shaking.
"I promised myself I wasn't going to let another midnight go by without kissing you."
She smiled a little. "We made the same promise."
"But, Garcia... Penelope, I don't want to just kiss you at midnight on New Years'." One of his hands came up to rest on her hip, the other cupped the back of her neck. "I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want." He paused. "I want to start dancing together."
Her smile was brilliant. "I like that idea."
"I thought you might," he whispered against her mouth a fraction of a second before he kissed her.
They were no longer going to dance around each other. This year, this new year, they were going to start dancing together.
