A/N: Luke is curious about something in the bedroom... (Part 1)

Chapter Nineteen

Everybody is Into Something

In Garcia's den she sat with Luke, both drinking hot chocolate and giving into the festive spirit they each had candy canes melting into the hot drinks adding a fresh minty scent to the brightly coloured room. "So what are your plans this Christmas?" Penelope asked, both were on break and her personal laptop had all sorts of tabs open with unique gifts to scroll through mindlessly. Luke leaned in the one spot of the room where he wouldn't be knocking over ornaments or tugging at tinsel before answering "well Spencer and I will be visiting my folks just before…and then on the day we'll be having our first couples christmas together" he smiled.

"Aww you two are so precious" she cooed before sipping her yummy drink, careful of the snowman shaped mug with a particularly pointy carrot nose, whoever designed it hadn't considered the practicalities but she didn't mind. "Matt and JJ are totally prepared for Christmas, have to be with kids" she shrugged and only proved how close to the holiday she continued to shop by just then adding a cute sweater to her basket. Luke nodded and replied "yeah I'm looking forward to a cozy couples christmas - presents, mulled wine…cuddling up to keep warm" and his smile grew to a grin.

Penelope shook her head and teased "I just can't imagine my sweet, innocent boy wonder doing things with nasty, sexy you" clearly joking as she giggled.

"Hey, I am a gentleman…" Luke defended and she raised a brow "I am," he insisted but when the blonde said a perverted "that just means you always make sure he finishes" Luke choked on his drink at the rude statement but couldn't stop himself from finding it really funny even if out of the blue.

"And you called me nasty" he said after recovering from her sneak joke and she giggled, he thought about her words though and couldn't resist giving a cheeky nod implying he does in fact more than take care of Spencer's needs getting her sniggering. The pair of them had got a lot closer since she learned about his relationship with Reid, not necessarily because of Spencer, but because it said a lot about Luke's character that Spencer was happy and that Luke appreciated all of what he was, she'd also more than taken the time to get over Morgan leaving and was fully aware Alvez wasn't just some replacement. "Speaking of which, how did your night with Phil go?" Luke asked, knowing the pair had been on a couple dates since the successful double date.

"I had a 'date' with Phil, who said there was a 'night'?" she said as though being accused of something scandalous.

"The bite mark on neck when I saw him this morning" Luke said bluntly, the pair having met for breakfast to catch up, and the blonde went bright red in a second, before her lips devilishly curled rather proud of herself.

"Oh," she got out before diving into the discussion "it went above average" with a playful wink.

Luke shook his head and said "I didn't need to know that" but chuckled through it, besides between having to camp and travel in some of the crazy intense scenarios as they had seeing his friend nude was normal, what he didn't tell Penelope was that while she was perfectly satisfied with Phil's manhood Luke definitely had the man edged out. She didn't need to know that though, it would only make her views on his and Spencer's private life all the more informed.

"So how about the two of you, huh? Livin' it up like sex kittens in a sexy sex dungeon" Penelope said and Luke wasn't sure how to even answer that but he watched as Garcia seemed like she wanted to say something but decided against it at the last second. "What's on your mind, Pen?" he pressed.

"It's inappropriate" she waved it off.

"So is everything else you say…" he replied with reason too strong to deny.

"True," Garcia admitted and sipped her hot chocolate for a moment as she searched her brain for how to talk about such a topic "it's just, we're getting all gossipy and it's fun but a sexy story from you…would either be a sexy story about an ex which I don't want to think about since you and boy genius are a real life OTP but not in an icky way…or it's about Reid who is my friend" she conveyed the risk for awkwardness but it clearly hadn't been an issue moments ago in the jokey may, maybe she was curious about more in depth ones?

"But…you wanna have these conversations?" he asked and could tell he'd hit the nil on the head.

"Yes, it's hard to explain" she got out.

"Nah I get it," he smoothly kept the conversation from getting awkward "plus with you dating Phil it's gonna be the other way around too, just remember it's us sharing - being friends, I'm sure you and Jennifer have talked about Will, or when you were with exes…" he reasoned.

"Okay…" she said before grinning "since we are testing this out…"

"Wait, now?" he blurted and she practically sniggered.

"Why not?" she shrugged and swayed a little on her spinny chair playfully "we tell each other something, that isn't a sex-capade…let's go beginner level…" and suddenly Luke felt like he was being made to play Traffic Lights again "just like…a fantasy?" she introduced and Luke managed to follow her bitty explanation, they weren't sharing something that has happened but something they would like, "I'll go first, because I don't know how to introduce this to Phil…" she said.

"If it's really kinky do I want to know?" he asked cautiously and sipped his drink before stirring it a little with the gradually disappearing candy cane.

"That's the test of friendship," Penelope chirped, clearly having moved from nervous to excited "and it's not super kinky…okay, so not all the time but I am a playful love muffin at heart and I enjoy a little…cosplay," she said and waited to see if Alvez laughed at her, he didn't so she smiled and continued "not necessarily full on role play, although that can be fun, but just a little cheeky nod, you know?"

"Okay…" Luke thought about it, not in depth or about an actual scenario, but he could anticipate his friend not taking himself too seriously especially if in the presence of the bubbly blonde "I don't see that being a problem for him" he shrugged.

"Really?" she replied hopefully.

"Sure, so long as he knows what it's about and doesn't need to learn a whole script I think he'll be down for that" and he could see the relief on her face, both from the answer and Luke not being judgemental or a dick about her opening up to him "is there a cosplay of choice?" he asked cheekily.

With a sly smirk she answered "wouldn't you like to know" and he just shook his head at her antics "so now you go."

"I…don't know what to say" he said at a slight loss, admittedly now seeing how it took a bit of courage and trust to talk like this with someone, but he did take a moment to think about if there was anything. Nothing was missing from their bedroom activities, his relationship with Spencer easily his most passionate and sexually gratifying on top of being his most emotionally bonded one, but this conversation wasn't about that. It was about the sexy additions, the fun to add on top of all the rest.

"Oh come now, everybody is into something," she said with a smile, patiently waiting for the man to think of something however small "who knows, maybe talking about it will make you wanna try it enough it happens..?"

And with that one thing did come to mind, but he struggled to find the words around it so it came out right, "I love Spencer, Spencer is the sexiest person in the world to me…" he qualified and she smiled at him both being a good boyfriend and that he had found something to bring up "but there are some things that just happen a little more…with ladies" he tried to lay the ground work before blurting out the thing in mind.

Immediately Garcia raised judgemental brow and defensively said "Luke if you miss boobs I will literally flash you if it keeps your mind wandering from boy genius-" in threatening tone and Luke was quick to get her to stop looking at him as she was.

"No, it's not that…you're looking at me all threatening now, I'd never look anywhere but my lover boy" he said and she seemed to relax a bit "…it's…lingerie."

"Lingerie..?" she said just repeating as she processed he revelation "oh…" and she couldn't contain the slight pink tint on her cheeks and smile.

Luke tried to ignore the giddy woman's reaction as he explained "don't get me wrong, my favourite outfit is no outfit any day but there's something nice about a little lace, a little…you know…and it's not about feminising" he made very clear, more than in love and attracted to everything about his boyfriend "it's just…a treat…a literal bow on top" and even he found himself started to blush a little, for the often mysterious ex-ranger he was exposing a fair bit about himself.

"Oh my" Penelope said, while she did consider Spencer to be some precious creature she had to admit she understood where the want was coming from "the pretty boy in lace? …sounds like a raunchy novel title" she teased but never dismissed the idea itself, the enjoyment of lingerie nothing to be embarrassed about "do you think he'd…you know?" Garcia being unable to say if the genius would be into it too or not.

"I…don't know…to be honest, I haven't asked because I don't want him to think it's about feminising or anything like that, it isn't, I just think he would look really damn hot in it," he spoke honestly and Penelope smiled "and it's hard to tell with Spence, he's sensitive to some things that most people take for granted and completely unfazed about things that bother most other people".

"Okay, well now we've told each other…we need to tell our fellas" she revealed the twist ending to this conversation and didn't back down from Luke's narrowed eyes, grinning persistently.

"That wasn't part of the deal…" he said but in truth now he'd said it out loud and the reaction he'd gotten seemed understanding he felt a little better about it.

"It's now the deal" she said adamantly.

When the team got a case Penelope had boarded the plane with the team to come work locally rather than depending on a difficult signal to reach them. Soon enough the jet had landed and they got to the sheriff's office, Penelope set up her little station of laptops and others spread out covering different tasks and soon enough the case was well underway. There came a time point when Penelope had done all she could and was told to take her break for lunch, using one of the office's she was eating and trying to rest her mind, important to step back sometimes so agents could refresh and not get tunnel vision.

As she chomped away at her lunch Penelope did a quick look over her shoulders and on her phone she started some more shopping, initially it was for christmas gifts and then…she got curious. Ever since her chat with Alvez she was wondering about the options of male lingerie, she knew of a few things but more in the lane of sexy briefs or outfits for men to wear with women, not so much the type that focused on lace or sleek numbers like what was advertised for feminine bodies.

After a bit of googling she found herself lost in the realm of male and unisex lingerie, a real plight for the male form to have an equivalent for the frills and form fitting pretty garments and while place after place was a bust she eventually found a few stores, even ones with walk in stores throughout the US she'd just never known existed. Soon enough she was scrolling through items, avoiding the BDSM section given it wasn't relevant to what made her so intrigued her big eyes scanned page after page through bodystockings, chemises, adjustable corsets that accentuated the chest without needing breasts, stockings and suspenders, panties for male genitalia, heels in men's sizes and a lot of items even prettier than what she could buy for herself!

"What's that?" came the sudden interruption and Penelope could have jumped out of her skin she got such a fright, worse yet in the time it took her to scramble with her phone, handle her heart that jumped into her throat and address the person that came in she was too late. Worse yet of all people it had to be Dr Spencer Reid who had entered the room, the man genuinely not snooping but being able to read so much on a simple glance he took in a fair amount of what was on her phone screen.

"Nothing!" Penelope said more in an embarrassed reflex as she frantically tried to hide her phone and in the jumble of frenzied fingers she practically threw it on the floor while desperately trying to catch it. In a clumsy and comedic mess the blonde fetched her cell from the floor before pocketing it and all that panic for nothing when she looked to the genius and saw he was blushing a little, "you saw…" she said defeatedly.

"I…saw…" Spencer admitted but didn't look at her judgtngly while she did try and find the words to explain but between her embarrassment and not wanting to blurt out about just why she was looking at such stuff considering Luke had confided in her she ended up speechless. Spencer had knocked but the blonde must have been so engrossed in her phone she didn't hear him, he'd thought maybe she was playing a game or messaging someone but instead he was surprised to see the sexy outfits and accessories. "I wont say anything, what you and Phil get up to is your own business" he said just so she knew he wasn't going to go spreading what he witnessed.

It took Penelope a moment to realise just what Reid had said and her face turned deep scarlet, heating up to the point she thought her cheeks could light fireworks, now Reid thought Phil wears this stuff for her! While she appreciated that boy wonder had been considerate and accepting of her in that scenario it simply wasn't the case! Trying to find the words to rectify the situation she looked to the door where the genius had been moments before only to see he had already left.

"Hey good looking, wh-" JJ chimed as she stepped into the small office room the sheriff had provided for Garcia, she had expected the blonde to at least let her finish her greeting when the blonde nervously jumped and immediately turned in her chair to see who had spooked her.

"People need to knock or 'beep' or something!" she said in reflex and JJ wanted to chuckle at the ridiculousness - beep? but instead she was very curious as to why her friend was so on edge so she slowly stepped further into the office and asked "you okay, Penelope?"

Garcia got her nerves back to normal, since the incident earlier she had tried to somehow tell Spencer something convincing as to why she was looking at what she was without giving away what Luke told her and also not sounding like she was lying, on top of not being sure how to even accomplish that the good doctor was busy working on the case and she had no opportunities to even try. Penelope just sighed, conveying that she was having quite the day, but it was nothing sad or serious "it's nothing, silly actually."

"'Silly' is your middle name…or was it 'baby girl'?" JJ joked to lighten the mood and Penelope chuckled which helped.

"Actually it's Grace" which was true before the bubbly agent added "baby girl is the name I earned in the hood, dark times" and both had a giggle.

"See? Silly is your middle name" Jennifer said with a smile and pressed "so come on, what got you all frazzled?"

"My lips are sealed, devil woman."

"So there is something…" JJ mused and Penelope stuttered a little but effectively got out the words "sealed, zipped, nada," in defiance to her friend's almost mind reading ways - darned pesky profilers. While Garcia continued to deny any details JJ checked her phone for any messages from home but saw a curious email notification and smirked. "Uh…Penelope?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you sign up for a unisex lingerie store?" she asked boldly and Garcia gasped, in disbelief over how JJ had completely annihilated her defences and figured out so much so quickly, trying to play dumb she said "what? no, why?"

"Because I got an invitation email, the whole recommend a friend and if I sign up you get a discount thing" and when she saw the colourful woman's cheeks burn bright red Jennifer tried her best not to laugh and just waited for an answer.

"I grant you…I signed up" knowing she could say she was hacked "I must have clicked recommend a friend by accident, but…I…I have big calfs and…sometimes the ladies slim fit just doesn't...cut it…." her lie not working for a moment and Jennifer's quirked brow and knowing smirk telling her she wasn't buying it. Without a hope of convincing her of further fibs Garcia resorted to just saying what she could "okay, it's not for Phil, its not for anybody, I was just curious…"

For the first moment in all of Garcia's rambling JJ heard her speak sincerely and if anything that was more intriguing "because…this sort of thing just comes up?" she jested before she reasoned "or maybe it did…" and as she thought about who in the team would possibly be interested and confide in Penelope the answer became abundantly clear "is Luke buying Spence lingerie?!" she concluded, her excited tone she at least controlled enough to keep her voice quiet.

"No…but you have used witchcraft this day, I should burn you" Penelope said accepting her losing position in the information battle as JJ then said with enthusiasm "tell me everything, Penelope!"

"Alvez, Garcia and Lewis, I'll need you to stick around for accounts and reports" said Emily, sounding half chief and half apologetic friend, the case was over and the team as back home, she would be sticking around too to help and the named agents resigned themselves to the extra hours of work, dutiful and they wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the smirking agents getting to slip away on time.

"Let's go before she gives us a job to do" Rossi said not hiding his voice but made his way hurriedly to the door, getting a chuckle from Matt who also followed suit close behind.

After Spencer said arranged of Luke to come over to his after work JJ threw her arm over Reid's shoulders with a smile, "yeah, Spence if we just back away slowly we might go unnoticed" she smiled and soon enough the genius and the blonde were making their exit too.

"I'll see you tonight, cariño" Alvez waved off to his boyfriend, smiling sweetly despite being in his head over how he still needed to make good on his deal with Garcia and tell Spencer about the lingerie thing.

He couldn't shake being a little worried and even if Spencer outright rejected the idea it would be totally fine, it was about the risk taken when creating expectations or putting pressure, he didn't want for even a second that Spencer might fear disappointing him, especially since he couldn't if he tried! So instead he just decided to focus on getting through work so he could get home and snuggle up with his amazing boyfriend for the night, the thought making it so tempting to just follow him out the door as he watched the lithe man exit with JJ, the pair gossiping about something on their way out.

Quote: "Lace is formed from the absence of substance; it is imagined in the spaces between the threads.
Lace is a thing like hope. It lived, it survived, and it was desired for what it was not."

― Iris Anthony, The Ruins of Lace