A/N: Thank you to all you wonderful people for the great support. It really means a lot to us and I know I repeat myself, but it was and is wonderful to work with Kricket on this.
After retiring rather early, Penelope and Derek woke just as early and got ready to go to the airport for their flight to Rome. Penelope was so excited, she had always wanted to see Italy. She loved everything about Italy: the history, the food... the men. Oh yes, Italian men were originally on the top of her list.
However, spending time with Derek alone in England probably spoiled her somewhat. She enjoyed her time with him so much, it surprised her. She expected to have fun, what she didn't expect was to get to know her best friend even better than she did before. He was constantly giving, warm and loving, not just when it was convenient for him, but always. He listened to her wants, tried to deliver on them whenever he could. Suddenly, she was not longer looking forward to tall, dark and handsome, other than the one sitting next to her in the tiny plane.
Morgan was constantly in motion; she rarely had a chance to just study him, so she was relishing the opportunity. He was an exceptionally beautiful man. He had his eyes closed, napping, his lashes making dark shadows on his cheeks. His perfect lips were parted and looked moist, even though hers were dry from the airplane air. Even his skin was flawless. She could feel a large pimple trying to show up under her cheekbone, but Derek had not a blemish.
Add his charming smile, his sparkling eyes, and his sweet, teasing demeanor... no wonder she was falling for him.
She sat up quickly and looked straight ahead, as her stomach sank. No, she wasn't falling for him. Not in a million years. He was a good guy, but he was a friend. To think this was anything more than just a fun trip with a buddy would be a colossal mistake. Hell, he had friends, college buddies, they were meeting in Italy; he'd probably want to party and hook up with them, not be exclusive to her anymore.
She decided she needed to splash her face with some water, do something, to stop thinking about this. She unbuckled her seatbelt and started to stand.
"Where're you going?" he asked, sounding somewhat sleepy.
"Potty."
"Oh," he said with a yawn. "Hurry back. I sleep better when you're nearby."
Her heart gave a funny pang to that, as she hustled down to the miniscule bathroom.
Beautiful, sunny Italy sounded perfect, especially since the last time she actually saw any real sun had been years ago. Spending up to 14 hours a day locked in her office, doing all sort of researches and never seeing real day light during the day was unfortunately the downside to her job.
Morgan had spoken to his friend Luca the night before, making sure all the plans were in order. He had already told her about Luca weeks ago, that they went together to college. He was Italian, but raised in the US. After college, he moved back to Italy, and Morgan had never really seen him again. With him being so busy in Chicago and then transferring to Quantico, he never found the time.
Apparently, neither had his friend.
They had managed to keep in touch with email and an occasional phone call or such, but nothing more. For a moment, Penelope had always wondered how that first meeting after such a long time would turn out, but she'd decided on just letting it happen. No reason for her to worry about something that wasn't really her business.
"So where do we meet Luca?" she asked.
"Should be somewhere around here," Morgan replied, looking through the terminal. "Ah, there we go."
They were walking towards glass doors, and the only person around was a woman, smiling at both of them, seeming like she had been waiting for a bit.
She was tall, brunette, tanned, gorgeous and glamorous, looking as if she just stepped out of InStyle. Looking over at Morgan, she could see how he smiled at the woman as well. Derek was the woman's perfect match. After only three hours in a plane, Penelope knew she looked like hell and he still looked like he just came from a GQ photo shoot.
Life was immensely unfair.
"That is Luca?" Penelope asked finally, the surprise clearly visible on her face.
"Yes," Morgan simply replied, the smile not fading.
"But that is a girl," Penelope stated.
"Sharp mind you have there," Morgan winked, smiling at her, before walking over to the dazzling woman.
She followed him, walking over to his friend as well.
"It's so nice to meet you. You must be Penelope," Luca said in a thick Italian accent, when they walked outside towards the car park. "I have heard so much about you. Derek likes to write about you in his emails a lot."
That surprised Penelope. She knew he had mentioned her to Luca probably at some point, but she made it sound like she had known about Penelope a long time before he decided on taking her to Italy.
Before Penelope could answer, they reached the car, put their luggage away and left the airport, with Morgan next to Luca in the passenger seat, and Penelope in the back.
She could hear them talking and laughing about the 'good old days' and talking about people and events she couldn't talk about, figuring they would be catching up on what happened since they'd parted.
She could hear Luca laughing every few seconds now. It made Penelope wonder if everything Morgan said really was that funny. She herself didn't pay much attention, she was still tired from the jetlag and their early morning flight.
In the beginning, Penelope could hear Luca's distinctive voice every now and then, seeming to speak with her, pointing out landmarks when they passed them, but Penelope had drifted off to sleep after a little while, giving in to the urge of closing her eyes.
She didn't know how long they drove, but eventually the car came to a halt and she heard car doors closing and Morgan's voice next to her a few moments later.
"Sweetheart, we're here. Time to get up." He was speaking so softly and silkily, a shiver ran down Penelope's back.
They got settled in Luca's house. Penelope had the guest room, and Morgan took the couch in the living room.
"You know who to come to when you get lonely at night, Hot Stuff, right?" Penelope teased with a laugh, before dumping her luggage in her room.
"As long as you promise to keep my spot warm," he replied with a half grin, before Luca called to him again.
That evening, after Luca had treated them to a homemade Italian meal, with six courses which stretched over several hours, Morgan decided he wanted to hit town and get Luca to show him the night life. She agreed a little too eagerly for Penelope's taste, but also both of them asked whether she wanted to join in.
Penelope had declined, still fighting with jetlag and wondering yet again how Morgan did it. He didn't seem to be affected the least of their trip so far. Then again, he flew all the time cross-country; he was much more used to travel.
With them on their way to explore Rome's sizzling nightlife, Penelope decided on going to bed early, hoping a long night's sleep would bring her back to normal.
She woke up to loud noises coming from downstairs, assuming first that it would probably be Morgan and Luca, coming home from their night out. However, she caught sight of the time. It was just a little past eleven. Either their night out was a total bust, or this was not them.
Grabbing a stone figure from the nightstand, she left her room, making her way quietly through the house. Ever since she was shot and that night when Battle came back after her, Penelope decided to never face the unknown without a weapon. Although calling a stone figure a weapon might have been a wee bit of a stretch.
She walked slowly down the stairs, careful not to make any noise, and followed the sound into the kitchen. She could see a man rummaging through drawers. She was about to walk further into the kitchen, when he turned around, spotting her and letting everything in his hands fall, looking startled.
He immediately started talking like there was no tomorrow and at a speed that was hard for Penelope to keep up. Not that she understood a word at all. She didn't speak Italian, but could make out a few words. Mainly the word 'sorry' though.
"I … I'm sorry. I have no idea … what you are trying to tell me…" she finally said, when he stopped speaking, catching a break.
"Ah … English," he replied with a laugh and an accent as thick as Luca's. "You must be one of my sister's friends she was telling me about."
"I'm Penelope," she said with relief, offering her hand towards the guy and putting down the stone figure on the counter in front of her.
"Cosimo," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it, before walking around the counter and embracing her.
That was something she hadn't expected and didn't see coming.
"I didn't mean to scare you or anything," he continued after he let her go, pointing towards the small statue on the counter. "I just didn't know someone was home. I thought she went out to show you the city."
"I didn't join them. I was too tired for a night tour of Rome."
Cosimo walking back around the corner and getting busy with something. "You want some coffee? Wine? Food?" he asked, when he got two cups out of the cupboard.
"I …" she began, watching him brew some coffee. "No coffee, thank you. That's not really something I should be drinking when planning on sleeping tonight again. I will have a glass of wine with you, though," she agreed.
Why decline? She was wide awake now, anyway. The wine might help her get back to sleep and Cosimo seemed like nice company.
They chatted for a while until the topic fell on to Morgan.
"You seem close, and you seem to know him well, after all what you just said," Cosimo smiled at her, having his third coffee of the night.
"We … I would say we are close. I know him quite well. He is a great friend," Penelope answered, sipping from her wine.
"Friends?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"Yes, he is a great friend of mine and I hope I am the same for him. I … why? What did you think?"
"Well, I don't know, but not friends," he answered truthfully.
"Why not?" Penelope asked, not sure what he knew of their relationship from Luca. Did Derek say something more?
"No, just … there is no such thing as 'just friends' between women and men. There is always something more," Cosimo stated and for a moment she was surprised. She knew some Italian guys were known for being notorious womanizers – that at least was the stereotype – but she never would've thought that the whole 'guys and girls can't be just friends' discussion would come up.
"But Luca and him are just friends as well. Have been since College," Penelope stated, and didn't miss the little smile on his lips.
"Morgan and Luca friends?" he asked, sounding amused.
"Yes, well… aren't they?" Penelope asked, sounding a bit unsure now.
He looked at her for a moment, not answering. Not needing to answer, because Penelope could read his answer in his face. It was obvious. They had a past. And not just as friends.
"Were they … a couple?" she asked cautiously, her heart beating erratically.
"No, not as far as I know. They never got past the sex stage."
Penelope swallowed. Of course Morgan would have slept with her. He was a heartbreaker and a womanizer back then already. Some things just never change.
"You didn't know?" he asked her, looking like he was worried he said too much.
"I … um … didn't. But I still don't agree that there can't be just friendship between a man and a woman. I mean, Morgan and me are the best example. We've been friends now for years and nothing has ever happened," she explained and added unfortunately silently on her mind.
"For how long did they … stay together?" Penelope asked. She didn't want to ask it, but she needed to know. For how long were they sleeping with each other?
Cosimo shrugged, looking at her. "Not sure. A few months? Maybe two, or three. Who's counting anyway? And what does it matter? Sex is sex. And amore was never involved…" he grinned, sipping at his coffee again.
She was about to ask further, but in that moment Morgan and Luca came back, looking like they had a great night. One glance at the watch and Penelope could see it was way past three. She didn't even notice how time flew by while talking to Cosimo.
"Baby Girl, you're up?" he asked, walking over to her and smiling.
She looked him quickly over and couldn't help wondering somewhat bitterly: If she and Cosimo wouldn't have been in the kitchen, would things between Morgan and Luca have continued where they had ended so many years ago?