A/N- This one is Garcia!
It seems that Penelope Garcia was the only member of the BAU team who did not need to find out for herself about Emily and JJ's relationship. In fact, she could not avoid it.
Being the ever observant and omniscient wealth of knowledge that she was, Penelope sensed the obvious tension between the two women before they ever realized it themselves.
Her first indication was after one of their notorious girls' nights. The three of them ended up pretty wasted, and so they unanimously decided to spend the night at Garcia's apartment as it was the closest to the bar they were at.
Unfortunately, the tech analyst had no extra bedroom, so JJ and Emily were left to duke it out over her couch. JJ won.
In the morning, when Garcia went to rouse the two women and brew a fresh pot of coffee she grew concerned when she saw the couch totally empty. Going to investigate, she found a mess of brown and blonde hair all mixed together on the floor. Emily was lying flat on her back, with JJ curled against her chest. Emily's arms were tight around JJ's torso, holding her in close.
Penelope had enough insight to leave it up to the two women how they wanted to handle waking up in each other's arms, she crept the rest of the way to her kitchen, and proceeded to make as much noise as humanly possible banging around the kitchen to make the coffee.
She faintly heard what sounded like an apology before she saw Emily half sprinting to the kitchen.
Penelope smiled as she watched the brunette throw her hair up in a messy pony.
"What?" The agent asked.
"Nothing." Penelope dismissed, "How did you sleep?"
"Well enough." She knew that the tech analyst was fishing, and she wasn't playing along.
"Mhm, I'm sure."
...
So began Penelope's quest as match maker. It was a long, hard road, and her next break didn't come until Cincinnati. The team had a case so close to Christmas that hotel bookings were tight. Being the tech goddess that she was, Penelope could have easily pulled some strings, but instead she decided to set up her two favorite agents in denial, forcing them to room together. When they returned, you could practically cut the sexual tension with a knife.
She was sure they were so obtuse they would never get together, until all of a sudden they did, and she knew it.
Friday night, the team was stuck working late finishing up some reports for a case they had just closed. Penelope was one of the first done, she was bubbly as ever as she headed out to the bullpen to talk to the rest of the team. She perched on Morgan's desk with a wide smile, "Who's up for drinks?"
"I'm in." Morgan agreed easily.
"Me too." Reid capped his pen, done already.
"What about you, big eyes?" Penelope turned to Prentiss who had yet to reply.
The brunette closed her phone from where she had been checking her messages, "Yeah, that sounds like fun."
"I'll go check with JJ." The tech analyst hopped off the edge of Morgan's desk, patting his shoulder on the way around.
JJ was behind her desk, her head dropped in one hand, massaging her temple. Her other hand was on her desk as she tapped out a text message.
"Good evening my blue eyed beauty." Penelope sang as she leaned in the doorway of the office. She took in her friend's disheveled appearance- disheveled for JJ was different than it was for normal people. It was more subtle, evident in her freely escaping hair, her untucked blouse, and her cracked nail polish.
"How would you like a team night out to the local watering hole?"
JJ pulled her lips into her best attempt at a smile, hoping it looked less like a grimace than it felt, "Sorry Pen, I've got a horrible migraine. I think I'm just going to head home."
The tech analyst nodded. She knew that JJ had taken the last case harder than everyone else. They hadn't been able to save the final victim, and JJ blamed herself, "I understand. You get some sleep and come back bright and shiny on Monday."
"Yes Ma'am." JJ sent her off a weak two fingered salute.
As Penelope headed out of the office and over to the bullpen to get the other three going to the bar with her, she saw Prentiss check her phone and a frown came over the brunette's face.
"Pen, I forgot this thing. I'm sorry, I can't go with you."
The gears were quickly turning in the blonde's head as she accepted her friend's bad excuse.
Fifteen minutes later, Penelope was wrapping up things in her office to head out for the night. Morgan and Reid had already left with plans of meeting her at the bar, and as far as she knew, Prentiss and JJ had gone as well.
Penelope packed her purse and pulled out her pepper spray as she walked out to the parking garage. There were a few cars still out, but not many. FBI agents did work hard, but they still had lives.
She was halfway through unlocking her car, when voices drew her attention. Penelope froze with her pepper spray raised as she looked wildly around the parking garage for the source of the voices.
"Em-"
"Just hear me out."
Penelope knew those voices, she edged quietly around her car, trying to spot where they were coming from. Emily's oversized Jeep was parked a few spaces away from the tech analyst's and when she peeked around her trunk, she saw something that brought a wide smile to her face.
Emily had JJ up against the Jeep. She had one hand on the younger woman's waist while the other hand was pushing some of JJ's hair behind her ear. JJ leaned into the touch, her arms locked around Emily's neck.
"Fine, what do you have to offer, Agent Prentiss?" Penelope could see the flirtatious spark in JJ's eyes all the way from across the parking garage.
"We can watch a movie, I'll cook you dinner, and if you're nice, I might even give you a foot rub."
"Oh, that sounds sexy. Is that how you get all your women?"
"Just the most important one."
Emily went in for a kiss which the blonde happily reciprocated. Penelope's disappointment at her friend ditching the bar night was easily overshadowed by her joy of her two best friends finally getting together. She silently did a little happy dance- congratulating herself for making the women room together in Cincinnati and waited until Emily's Jeep left the garage before getting in her own car and driving to get herself a celebratory drink.
...
It was a normal day in the BAU when Penelope was next confronted with the relationship. She began a group message with Prentiss and JJ, asking about the three of them all going out to dinner that evening.
They quickly made plans, JJ vehemently voting for Chinese until Emily caved and agreed to her girlfriend's choice.
That settled, Penelope set her phone aside and went back to her computer. A couple of moments later, her phone buzzed with a text message.
Her eyes bugged as she read the message from Emily, clearly not meant for her.
'I can't stop thinking about last night, and I need you now.'
The tech analyst was about to reply, letting her friend know she had the wrong number, when her phone chimed with another message.
'I can't wait until tonight. I'll be in your office in five minutes, close the blinds and clear your couch, or your desk- I remember how much you liked it on there last time ;)'
Penelope tried to refrain from swallowing her tongue as she finally found the ability to type out a reply. She waited on sending it though, until she made her way up to the bullpen so she could watch Emily's reaction.
'Oh big eyes, as much as I would love to, it might take more than five minutes to clear my desk because of all the computers.'
The brunette agent's eyes grew wide as her face turned bright crimson. She typed a quick reply while shooting a glance around the office as if everyone suddenly knew her plans with JJ.
'How much will it take for you to pretend that never happened?"
'Morning coffee for the next two months and I get to tease you about it as much as I want.'
'Deal'
A/N- Thank you all for your reviews and reading, keep it up, and I hope you're still enjoying this story! Next up is Gideon.
If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know!