They had set out early the next morning, having found a dice in the library. They would roll it every time they had to take a turn, certain numbers were different directions. It was odd to him though Penelope seemed to be off in her own thoughts and hadn't said a single word.
"You okay?" Derek asked starting to think that the car ride was getting to her again.
"Yeah I'm fine, don't you worry about me." She said reacher across the center console and placing her hand on his.
"I won't ever stop worrying about you," Derek said flipping his hand and entangling his fingers with hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
He knew there was something she wasn't telling him he could see it in her eyes. But he also knew that it wasn't the time to push her on whatever it was and so he held her hand so that she knew he was there for her. She threw him a reassuring smile before disappearing back into her thoughts. He shook his head before turning up the radio so that he could hear the music, before moving his focus back to the road. He hadn't been listening to the radio much, it had really been serving as background noise. That was until he heard Penelope singing so softly that he had to strain to hear her at all.
"You know you can sing a little louder." He suggested wanting to hear her beautiful voice.
"Oh god, you heard that?" She said and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she looked out the window trying to escape the situation.
"Why was I not supposed to?" Derek said teasingly, looking over at her raising one of his eyebrows.
"No." She said it so quietly he could've sworn he had imagined her saying it at all.
He started laughing and then he decided there was only one was to get her to sing. So he turned up the radio just a little bit to hear it and started to belt out the lyrics to a song he had never heard. He was off key and his voice was threatening to crack, but it was worth it when he heard Penelope start to sing with him. Her voice was soft and feathery and did the lyrics justice that the original singer couldn't have done. While anyone else might have said she couldn't sing, to him her voice was music to his ears.
They passed through deserts and small towns, turning up the radio as they went. Singing terribly off key and loving every minute of it.
"You ready to tell me what's bothering you, baby girl?" Derek asked.
"I don't know," Penelope said her mind going a million miles a minute, she wanted to tell him so badly. But at the same time, she didn't want to be rejected.
"You can tell me anything you know that right?" Derek said hearing the uncertainty in her voice.
"I just don't want to ruin our friendship. I've never had a real friend before and now that I do. I just think that if I tell you our friendship will be ruined and I don't want that." She said her thoughts speeding up, even more, waiting for the slew of questions he was now inevitably going to ask.
"Woah mama, calm down." Morgan said she had been talking so fast he had barely been able to process what she had been saying, "I will always be your friend."
"You promise?" She asked, 'he wouldn't break a promise would he?'
"I promise, not what is it that you need to tell me," Morgan asked pulling the car to the side of the road so that he could give her his full attention.
"I like you," Penelope said under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear what she was saying.
"I like you too, silly girl," He said with a small chuckle.
"No I like, like you and I've just ruined our friendship because you don't feel the same way. I think I'm falling in love with you and you aren't." She said it like him not feeling that way about her was the simplest thing in the world.
"Sweetness, like I said I'm always here for you. I made a promise that intend to keep. And about falling in love I'll make you a deal." He offered up.
"A deal?" She asked thinking it was some sick joke and she prepared herself for the rejection.
"Yeah, a deal. You can fall in love with me as long as I can fall in love with you." He said all the things she had said had reflected the exact way he had been felling.
"This isn't a game." She sniffled thinking that this was all some game for him because the way he was talking it seemed like it was.
"Of course it's not. Baby your heart is not a game to me. I care for you a lot and I can't explain it. You have been a beacon of light these past few days, in what seemed to infinite darkness. I know I haven't known you long, but I care for you. You are beautiful, witty and smart, I've never met another person quite like you. I have the biggest crush on you baby girl." He put out everything that had been in his heart in the past few days and reached over to hold her hand in his.
"You do?" Penelope asked with a small chuckle, "Are you getting soft on me?" She teased.
"I'm only a softie for you baby girl." He said with a smile glad she had believed him and brought her hand up to his lips kissing it.
She chuckled and gave him a smile, before looking around. The sun was just about ready to set in the sky, seeing as the desert sky had turned a bright orange color.
"Do you want to watch the sunset?" She offered motioning to the empty field next to where he had pulled to the car over.
"Of course I do." He said pulling the car out of sight. Before getting out of the car and walking over to where Penelope was opening the door for her. Before continuing the back of the car, grabbing blankets out of one of the bags she had packed. Gabbing two before taking his hand with his free one, walking into the field with her. Laying the blankets on the ground in the middle of the field and laying down on one.
Penelope smiled before laying on the other blanket next to him. One of his arms wrapping around her shoulders as they both looked up at the sky. Watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon, as streaks of pink and purple appeared in the sky. It was absolutely beautiful, but Derek couldn't focus on it, instead, his eyes were trained on Garcia.
"Has anyone ever told you how breathtaking you are," Derek said breathlessly.
"Has anyone told you how hot you are?" She threw right back causing him to chuckle.
"No one who mattered," He threw right back meaning every word.
She smiled before rolling over on her blanket to face him, before smashing their lips together into a kiss. Derek wrapped his arms around her pulling her flush against him, deepening the kiss. They both moaned into the kiss exploring every inch of each other's mouths until they had to pull away out of breath. Resting their foreheads together, both still trying to catch their breath. They both finally moved to lay back down, this time laying on one blanket the other one draped over them to keep warm. Resting her head on Derek's chest, watching the expanse of stars that now littered the sky.
"Aren't they beautiful?" She asked him as he held her close.
"They are," He said and even though there a sky full of stars above him, he looked at her the entire time.
"The stars are up there Morgan," She chuckled knowing that his eyes were on her instead of the sky.
"Not all of them," He said with a smile.
Penelope smiled moving her head to face him before giving him another kiss. Derek smiled into the kiss, holding her in his arms.
"Ready to go to sleep?" Penelope asked after they had both pulled away.
"Yeah, we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow. Are you up for it?" Derek asked.
"I'm up for anything as long as I'm with you," Penelope said with a small smile before nuzzling into Derek.
"I kinda love you, Derek Morgan," Penelope was the first to speak breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between the two
"I kinda love you, Penelope Garcia," Derek answered without missing a beat.