Aitana knew she should have figured something like this would happen; she really shouldn't be irritated by any means…but she couldn't help it. She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes and the only reason she managed to do it is because it was Spencer and he always meant well. He literally had no mean bones in his body.

"I just can't believe you went and showed me up like that…" she huffed exaggeratingly, earning a laugh from JJ. She leaned back against the headboard of her bed. "You could have at least gone easy on me since I, you know, have a sprained ankle." She made a gesture to her elevated ankle resting on her bed.

"Who could forget?" JJ mused. The news that Aitana had sprained her ankle had spread like wildfire in the BAU and of course Penelope had proclaimed herself the head of the "help Aitana get better fast" committee — after she created it.

"I mean, if you don't want it—" Spencer reached on the bed to pick up the scarf he'd knitted in two days — two days ago when he first started learning how to knit.

"No!" Aitana smacked his hand away. "I do want it!" She all but snatched the knitted scarf and hugged it to her chest. "I just hate how quickly you learned to do it!"

"It's not that hard," Spencer shrugged, "Knitting is a relatively easy craft to learn. Even if you've never knit before, learning the basics can be done in a couple of hours."

"For you," Aitana said, huffing. "Some of us need a little more time with the book."

"I told you it was a bad idea, Aitana," JJ said, shaking her head. "Trying to learn something new with this guy—" she pointed at Spencer, "—puts you in a mood."

Spencer scrunched his face. "What? In a mood? What are you talking about?"

Aitana agreed with JJ but never said it out loud. After all, it was her idea to try and take up knitting while her ankle healed. Spencer had offered to drop by a beginner's book and try it out with her. She loved the idea of working with someone else and had gladly accepted his offer. Being stuck at home with a sprained ankle alone was horrible. She was on top with her schoolwork which left quite some hours on her own and Angel and Elia weren't around all the time.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Aitana said, waving a hand at him. "I'm glad you learned how to knit because I desperately suck at it. I bring shame to my Mexican ancestors."

"Okay, now you've gone too far," JJ laughed.

"I think so too," Spencer said, his eyes shutting as he laughed with JJ.

"I'm dead serious," huffed Aitana, "My grandmothers — both of them — are masters at this."

"Not everyone can do the same," JJ reminded her as she walked around the bed, "And you should just rest."

"Alright mama bear," Aitana said with a sarcastic smile. "Spencer, if this is how you're going to keep acting then I'm going to expect some matching mittens." She wiggled her bare fingers at him.

Spencer smiled. "I can live with that deal."

A short moment later, they heard the front door downstairs opening followed by the clear voice of Aitana's mother announcing that she had arrived.

"Oh brother," Aitana shook her head, her face flushed with embarrassment as her mother continued to holler from downstairs.

"They're all the same, trust me," JJ said with a chuckle. "We'll get out of your hair."

"Or you can maybe stay too," Aitana offered up the idea with a wide smile. "Angel's coming home late today so she's staying over."

"I'm pretty sure your mother wants to spend some time with you," Spencer said, earning a scoff in return.

"You do realize that I stupidly sprained my ankle, right? She had a lot of comments about this," Aitana said, gesturing at her propped ankle. "And they haven't stopped."

"Okay," JJ could barely hold her laugh in. That sounded a lot like a mother. "We're just…we're going to leave you then. Have, um, have fun."

"You're joking," Aitana said flatly.

"You could read to each other," Spencer offered. "That's what my mother and I would do."

"Yeah, my mom's not like that," Aitana shook her head. "Mine likes to watch a lot of telenovelas. I mean, I won't complain because I love them. We're re-watching La Madrastra right now. You guys ever watch 'em?"

"Oh…um…not really, no," Spencer said, exchanging glances with JJ, unsure of how to respond properly. Luckily for him, Aitana was always easy to talk to. She merely smiled at him, on the verge of laughing.

"Alright, I'll be nice and let you guys go," Aitana finally declared when she heard her mother heading into the kitchen. The sounds of pots and pans clanging was a clear sign that Pamela had started dinner already. "But please keep me posted on cases. I am literally dying of boredom here. Course when I go back to work I'm gonna start falling behind on schoolwork so…I guess it really is a win/lose situation."

Neither Spencer nor JJ could help the smiles on their faces. When they left, they didn't do it without saying hello to Pamela first.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter while there was no one around!" Pamela presented them with a familiar pink box in her hands.

"Oh no, no, we can't…" JJ shook her head, chuckling, "We were going to stop by anyways so we really didn't do much."

"No, no, no, you take it," Pamela didn't wait to hear them reject her again and pushed the donut box into Spencer's arms. "I put a chocolate donut in there," she smiled at Spencer, "Con chispas de colores. With rainbow sprinkles!"

Spencer's brows raised in surprise. It took him a couple minutes to figure out what Pamela had said and when he did, his face flushed. "Thank you," he said meekly. The woman had a good memory indeed.

JJ smirked all the way out the door and did Spencer the courtesy of holding all her comments in until they were safely in her car and driving away.

"It's nothing," Spencer said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah right," JJ snorted. "I didn't get a special shoutout."

"It was not a shout out! She just—"

"Completely remembered your favorite donut?" JJ flashed Spencer a wider smirk. She wished a red light would come up soon so she could do it for longer. "There's only one way she could remember that and that's because of Aitana!"

"You're overexaggerating," Spencer said, shifting in his seat. He held onto the donut box on his lap and looked out the window.

"Oh c'mon, Spence," JJ said, biting her bottom lip as another laugh threatened to slip through, "We've been down this road before. I still think you guys would make a cute couple."

"It's exactly because we've been down this road that I'm going to remind you how terrible of an idea it is," Spencer said.

"Why?"

"JJ!"

"I'm serious!" JJ thanked God that there was finally a red light. She met Spencer's eye and suddenly whacked him on the arm.

"OW!" Spencer cried. "JJ! What was that for!?"

"I'm waiting for an actual answer!" JJ exclaimed. "It's no secret that you and Aitana hit it off almost immediately. Way back in San Diego, you're the only one she would talk to and now you're even going fish shopping or whatever. You like her, Spencer. Admit it."

"I built a rapport with her," Spencer said slowly, swallowing hard. His eyes fixated on the streetlight, praying that it would turn green fast. "And I happen to enjoy some of the same things that she does. Marine biology is very interesting but none of you seem to notice it."

JJ scoffed. "Because some of us are normal. Aitana's somewhere in-between. Naming her fish after space things isn't very normal for us but more than normal for you. That's something you would do."

"None of you guys understand that there's so much more beyond the ordinary hobbies and interests!"

"Except for Aitana, right?" JJ was able to flash her best friend a grin before the light turned green.

Spencer sighed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" He had once hoped that this subject would finally die and avoid him future embarrassments. Clearly, JJ was not on that plan.

"I can't," JJ said helplessly, "Not when it's so obvious."

"There's nothing obvious."

"Spencer, swear to me that you've never considered the idea of going on a simple little date with Aitana." JJ waited patiently for Spencer to deny it. She knew him like the back of her hand. She'd seen several little stolen glances from Spencer and that's why she kept insisting.

Spencer refused to answer and looked away. His fingers gripped the box in his hands.

JJ sighed. "Confession time," she said, "I actually sought Aitana out for my position when I had to leave the BAU."

"What?" Spencer's head flipped in JJ's direction. "You did what!?"

"It was my idea to have Aitana take over as liaison," JJ said, shrugging, "I remembered how you guys got along so well and the way she handled the cop at the park — she was going to be a perfect fit for the team. I just thought it would also be a plus because you and her were just so good together…"

"Oh my God, JJ," Spencer scrunched his face. "You went too far."

"But was I wrong!?" JJ challenged him to tell her that she'd been absolutely wrong with her decision. "Has Aitana not been a good fit for the team?"

"That's beside the point. You lied. And you were thinking of things that weren't true!"

"C'mon Spence, she's so much fun and she clearly likes being around you. You're going to tell me that you don't like being around her?"

"Well…of course I like…being around her…" Spencer said, clearing his throat awkwardly, "But it's just that. I like being around you and-and Morgan, and Penelope and Emily…"

"It's not the same," JJ said, smiling knowingly, "And you know it. Think about it, Spence. Why were you so upset when you thought Angel was Aitana's boyfriend?" She knew she hit the right nerve when silence stretched between them.

Spencer was gazing straight ahead. He didn't like thinking about that moment. He felt embarrassed…and maybe actually upset. Oh God, had JJ made her point? He brought his hand to his forehead, rubbing his fingers over his skin.

"It's alright," JJ said softly, "You know I won't say a word."

Spencer still didn't say anything for a while more. There were too many thoughts going on in his head. All those little thoughts and feelings he'd let slip every now and then were coming back despite him doing his best to shove them into the deepest corner of his mind.

"Is that the white flag?" JJ said before she chuckled.

Spencer leaned his head against his seat, letting out a heavy sigh. "I haven't said anything because everything is okay right now. I don't think about that stuff because…because I don't want to threaten the relationship we've built. I don't want to ruin any of that stuff, JJ."

"Yeah, but, if you're already thinking about it then sooner or later it's going to be too much to keep quiet," JJ shrugged. "Get ahead of it."

"I don't even know what it is," Spencer tried to argue, albeit weakly, "Maybe it's just the extra attention or the fact she doesn't shut me down as often as others do. It could be nothing."

"That's fair," JJ reasoned, nodding her head, "But it could also be something. You owe it to yourself to find out which one it is."

Spencer sighed again. For someone else, JJ would sound completely reasonable but he really thought the situation was more troubling than one would think.

"If you ever need any help…you know I won't say a word," JJ reiterated,

~ 0 ~

Aitana was so incredibly happy when she was able to start walking again. Lying around the house with a sprained ankle was truly the most boring thing ever. She was super happy when Penelope invited her to a singles Valentine's dinner. She had not seen the team for a few weeks since they were off on a few cases. It would be a little reunion before she returned to work!

"Hey, could I invite Elia too?" Aitana asked Penelope over the phone.

"Of course! The more, the merrier!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Great! I'll call her and then we can go together! Thanks, Penelope!"

"Of course, Sprinkles! See you tomorrow!"

Aitana immediately let Elia in on the plans and, just like when they were in high school and college, they readied themselves up together.

"You two are kind of sad, you know that?" Angel caught the two coming to the front door just as he was going into as well.

"Oh look who feels cool just because he got himself a date in time for Valentine's day," Aitana rolled her eyes at her brother.

Angel smirked at her in return, laughing. "Where are you guys going?"

"Aitana's work team is having a singles night," Elia explained, "I'm the plus one."

"Sounds nice," Angel nodded, "Aitana, you know you can't drink while you're on medication."

"I know that," Aitana waved him off. "But I'm bored being stuck at home all day. So bye." She grabbed Elia's arm and pulled her out the door first, leaving Angel to lock up behind them.

From there, Elia drove them to the bar the others were supposed to be at. Aitana wasn't surprised when they arrived earlier than the others. She had a text from Penelope saying that the team had just landed and were getting ready to leave Quantico. They started ordering in the meantime. They were about two drinks in when the others started dropping in.

"Hey there Sprinkles!" Penelope planted a big kiss on Aitana's head and went to the stool right beside Aitana. "Sorry we're late!"

"The case dragged on?" Aitana presumed, raising her glass to her lips.

"Oh yeah," Emily said with a tired groan, practically dragging her feet.

"Dare I ask what it was about?"

"Nu-uh!" Penelope raised a finger in the air. "We are not discussing cases on Valentine's day! It is strictly forbidden! Do you hear me?" The threat went for everyone. "We need a bigger table!" She got up from her stool to find a table for them.

"Okay then," Aitana chuckled, "You guys remember Elia right?" She gestured to her best friend.

Elia gave a wave while she drank from her glass. "Thanks for the invite," she said afterwards, "Feel less sad."

"No JJ?" Aitana asked, looking around. "Or Hotch and Rossi?"

"Nah," Morgan made a motion at the bartender to stop by when he had the chance.

"Well, what about Sp—"

"Morgan, you owe me $25 for the VIP parking," Spencer stalked up to the group, looking mighty irritated with Morgan.

Emily snorted and laughed. "Can't believe you let him pay for it," she told Morgan.

"It's not funny," Spencer said, frowning, "You owe me, Morgan."

"Hey, hey, calm down," Morgan said, raising his hands in front of him. "How about a drink?" He plucked Aitana's glass right out of her hand.

"Hey!" Aitana exclaimed.

"You shouldn't be drinking anyways," Morgan told her as he shoved the glass into Spencer's chest.

"I wasn't," Aitana frowned.

Spencer took a sniff of the glass and agreed. "Lemonade," he said with a smile and handed Aitana her drink back.

"Thank you," she told him, happy to take another sip.

Penelope had stuck her fingers in her mouth to whistle to the group. She had found a table for them and was urging them to hurry up before someone else took it.

"Here," Elia got off her stool and went to help Aitana.

"I got it, Elia!" Aitana shooed her friend away. She got off her stool and, to her credit, did maintain a good walk towards the table.

"You do seem better," Spencer noted, eyeing her ankle while they walked.

"I am," Aitana assured him. She was so ready to come back to work too. She side-glanced Spencer as they reached the table. "Nice scarf."

Spencer's hand flew to the purple scarf around his neck like he'd forgotten it was there. For some reason, he flushed and even more so when he saw Aitana's smirk.

"Still waiting for my matching mittens," she joked, raising her free hand to wiggle her fingers.

"Right…" Spencer quickly pulled a chair out for her, ducking his head as she sat down whilst specifically watching him. Since when did her gaze become so intense?

"Okay! Okay!" Penelope exclaimed and picked up the menu to order. "I know what I'm gonna order! I'm gonna make it a series!"

"Okay," Elia burst into laughter with her. "I might join you, if that's okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes!" Penelope nodded and happily called over a waiter.

"I'm not sure pairing you up was a good idea," Aitana said, "It's a good thing I can drive us home. Are we that sad this year, ladies? It's only February."

"Then why does it feel like it's September or something?" Emily said with a weariness that nobody could outmatch. "Sign me up, please," she told Penelope and Elia.

"Great, I guess I'll be on my own," Aitana raised her lemonade as a salute.

"What are we?" Morgan gestured at himself then at Spencer. "Chopped liver?"

"Oh please," snorted Aitana, "In about 10 minutes you're gonna go flirt with a pretty girl. And in about 10 minutes when it doesn't work out, you're going to convince Spencer to be your wingman."

Spencer blinked and glanced at Morgan. As much as he wanted to disagree, it did sound like how most of their outings tended to go. Morgan didn't like it one bit.

"Alright smart alec," Morgan leaned forward on the table, "Maybe sometimes I do but it rarely works out in my favor. Genius over here," he jerked a thumb at Spencer, "doesn't really help much anyways."

"Hey," went Spencer, scowling indignantly. That's what he got for trying to help Morgan?

"I mean, no one ever really gets what he's saying," Morgan added.

Spencer's scowl deepend. "Hey."

Aitana chuckled. "Well that's probably because they don't bother to make conversation. I mean, I listen, don't I?"

The question brought a smile out of Spencer. She did do that quite often.

Morgan scoffed. "Yeah, because you're on the same sync or something."

"Hardly," Aitana laughed again. "Sometimes I feel like poor Spencer has to repeat himself so many times with me. Or dumb it down."

"No," the counter came out of Spencer like it was an instinct. "I don't do that." Aitana gave him a look to reconsider, which he did not. "I don't. I like talking to you. It's fun." As soon as that left his mouth, Spencer felt Morgan's teasing smirk burning on his face. He would have had Emily's and Penelope's stares too if they weren't so concerned about how many drinks they would be drinking and in what order they would be drinking it.

Luckily, Aitana just smiled at him like she usually would. He didn't know that her cheeks were hot, nor that she was smiling because she didn't know what to say to that.

"Well you two certainly seem to understand each other better than I thought so I'll just go ahead and follow Aitana's schedule for me," Morgan patted Spencer's shoulder and stood up. "Have at it."

If Aitana felt her cheeks warm before, they were blazing. She hated Morgan right now, but perhaps no more than what Spencer felt. He was glaring after Morgan, swearing to get him back for that.

He eventually had to face what Morgan left for him and meet Aitana's gaze. There was nothing he could do about his flushed face. With a clearing of his throat, he tried to talk to her normally.

"So, um, how are you? Your ankle, it, um…it looks better…" It was lame as hell but it was the only thing that could get a conversation started for the moment.

Aitana took the bait and looked down at her ankle. "Yeah, I can walk on it now, just slowly. Elia's been coming to help and my mom too. I force Angel too."

Spencer chuckled. "Right…"

"What about you guys? How are the cases going?"

"Like it usually does," Spencer shrugged. "Each one worse in its own way."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aitana sighed, "But that is the nature of our job, right?"

"Hey!" Penelope suddenly snapped her fingers at the two, drawing their heads in her direction, "What did I say about talking about work?"

"Penelope…" Aitana playfully rolled her eyes.

"No!" Penelope insisted. "There are a thousand things you can talk about that aren't about work. You're a genius," she pointed at Spencer then at Aitana, "and you're spunky. Think of something."

"Kind of sounds like we're being threatened," Aitana mumbled to Spencer, both of them still watching Penelope who'd easily slipped back with Emily and Elia about their drinks.

"Feels that way, yeah," he agreed, shifting his seat to face Aitana instead. "But you know what? I did end up finding another possible fish you might want to check out when you're all better."

"I'm better now, Spencer. I promise," Aitana said, resting a hand on his arm, "Anytime you want to go, just let me know."

"Yeah, yeah, it's a da—" Spencer only barely caught himself before he said it all. He ducked his head on the spot, hoping to God that if there was indeed a God somewhere, they would take pity on him and his big mouth.

Aitana imagined what the rest of the sentence was going to be based on past experiences. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach thinking about it. It was one thing hearing people teasing her about this and another completely different story hearing it directly from Spencer. He wasn't capable of making fun of something like that. He was so sweet.

She sighed on the inside. She could imagine a date with him, but that was about it. Like she had said before, he had to dumb his conversations with her many times. There was no way he could tolerate a lifetime of that with her. Imagining was the best she would get. And then maybe one day, she could get over it and act like nothing, like the way it used to be.

When did it get like this? She didn't understand it and she probably would never. She didn't used to think about things like this with Spencer. Her mind wasn't able to construct the concept given her situation after Witness Protection and now here she was…suddenly thinking about it…

And all for half of a sentence that would never be completed.

"Do you want a refill?" Spencer's sudden question cut through Aitana's spiraling thoughts.

She didn't waste a moment and agreed. She needed a moment to herself to get her thoughts in order.

And Spencer needed a distraction.

He was taking Aitana's silence with embarrassment. She probably knew what he had almost said and was laughing on the inside. He took her empty glass and practically fled from the table.

"Wow, that was so sad," Elia shook her head. Penelope and Emily both hummed in agreement.

"You guys heard that?" Aitana scrunched her nose. "Great. Let me hear it. Let me hear all the taunts and jokes and whatnot."

"None of that," Penelope said earnestly, "I'm not drunk enough yet." Aitana rolled her eyes. "But I've been saying this should have already happened."

"Are you okay?" Emily asked as Aitana's shoulders slumped.

"I don't know," she admitted, "I only just started feeling this weird thing in my stomach. I don't know why."

Elia snorted. "Because it's Valentine's day, maybe? Love is in the air!"

"I don't think 'love' is what's in these people," Emily pointed at the other customers around them.

Aitana shook her head. "This conversation is leading nowhere."

"Aitana, I've been telling you that you like this guy," Elia said sharply, "and you decide to listen now?"

"Well, I don't know!" Aitana exclaimed. "He almost said the word 'date' and I thought about it for like 2 seconds and then I…I thought about everything else and…oh dear God, what am I doing?" She had barely put her hands on her face when Elia hissed at her to drop them.

"She's seeing the light!" Penelope cheered and raised her glass in the air, prompting Emily and Elia to do the same.

"To the light!"

"To the light!"

Aitana wanted to kill all three of them. She suspected her ankle would slow her down a bit. "None of you are funny."

"We're sorry, but you've been so blind, Sprinkles," Penelope said, shrugging as she brought her glass down. "We had to celebrate first."

"First?"

"Yeah, because now we get to plan how to make this happen!" All Penelope needed was to rub her hands like a maniacal mastermind.

"Absolutely not," Aitana said sharply, her eyes flickering from one accomplice to the other, "I don't want anyone to meddle. There's nothing to meddle with anyways because this whole thing is ridiculous."

"Okay, no meddling," Penelope agreed much too quickly and easily to be believed.

"I mean it Penelope," Aitana warned the woman.

Penelope raised her hands in front of herself. "Okay."

"Penelope."

"I — what more do you want me to say? I agree!"

And yet Aitana still didn't believe her.

~0~

"Hey, what's taking so long?" Spencer called to the bartender passing by. The bartender merely made a motion for him to keep waiting and went on to pour yet another glass.

"Hey pretty boy, why the long face?" Morgan walked up to the bar, planting his empty glass on the counter.

"This guy won't listen!" Spencer exclaimed, absolutely irritated. "I've been at this table for 15 minutes!" Morgan chuckled when Spencer tried and failed yet again to get the bartender's attention. "C'mon, man!" Spencer slammed a hand on the counter, huffing.

"Alright, alright," Morgan patted Spencer's shoulder and proceeded to whistle at the bartender, stopping the older man in his tracks. "Two drinks, please?"

"Lemonade," Spencer said loud and clear, openly glaring at the bartender.

"Mojito," Morgan said for his glass, leading Spencer to shoot him a glance. "Not for me." Morgan pointed behind, turning them towards the bar where a bright redhead was grinning straight at Morgan.

"I see." Of course it made sense to Spencer.

"You're not drinking lemonade, are you?" Morgan asked him, prepared to tease him about it. "We're at a bar on Valentine's day and—"

"It's not for me," Spencer told him, "Aitana can't drink right now. She's on medication."

"Ah, look at you getting a girl a drink," Morgan said with a laugh and bumped shoulders with Spencer.

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Knock it off."

"Oh, c'mon, if there was ever an opportunity, it's now," Morgan said, discreetly looking over his shoulder, "You've been all hush, hush so far—"

"What?" Spencer laughed.

"I was watching you. You do have some game, I'll say that."

"There's no landing!"

"Oh, yes there is," Morgan promised the fact, "The mood is right, the moon's right — you should ask her to dance."

"I should what?" Spencer did a double-take at Morgan. Morgan laughed at his reaction. "I think all those drinks are getting to you."

"C'mon, there's a nice song playing—"

"She has a sprained ankle, Morgan!"

"It's a slow song," Morgan pointed out as he gestured to the couples slow dancing in the middle of the bar. "And she's definitely walking!"

"It's a bad idea," Spencer said flatly. "I'm not doing it. It's completely out of nowhere."

Morgan grinned. He could work with that subtle admission. Spencer did want to do something, just not something so blaringly obvious. "It means nothing if you don't make it a big deal."

Spencer scoffed. "And how's that? It's slow dancing."

"It's all in the execution," Morgan said, leading Spencer to scoff again. "It is. Dancing is an art, and the meaning of it is set by the way you present it."

"You're making this up as you go along." Spencer had no doubt about it.

"I'm not!"

The bartender returned with their drinks.

"If you just ask her casually, she won't think anything of it and you'll still get the chance to be closer to her. It's a win, win."

"This is crap," Spencer declared, picking up Aitana's drink from the counter.

"You're telling me you don't want to dance with her?" Morgan challenged to hear the honest answer Spencer was clearly holding onto.

And for that reason, Spencer wouldn't budge. It wasn't a game, and he wasn't going to follow just because of the teasing and taunts.

Morgan figured as much. "That's how you want to play it, then?" Spencer looked away, muttering 'I don't want to dance'. Morgan shook his head. "Fine. Then watch and learn." He took off before Spencer even blinked.

By the time Spencer looked back, Morgan was walking back to the girl he'd been talking to. Spencer thought that Morgan was bound to ask that girl to dance for show, but he whispered something in her ear and next thing Spencer knew, she was coming towards the bar instead. And then she was greeting him.

Morgan soon headed to the table where their friends were and asked Aitana if she wanted to dance.

"Me?" Aitana blinked, almost laughing. "Don't you want to ask Penelope or something?"

"I would but I'm afraid she'll throw up on me after all those drinks she's had," Morgan said, glancing at Penelope having the time of her laugh giggling with Elia. "C'mon, Sprinkles. I'll be gentle on the ankle, promise."

Aitana bit on her bottom lip, suddenly nervous. "I just — I was waiting for Spencer."

"Oh?" The smirk that crossed Morgan's lips put Aitana even more on edge.

"For a drink! He was getting me a refill on my drink!" She exclaimed. "That's it!"

"He won't mind," Morgan said with a casual shrug, glancing towards the bar.

Aitana followed his gaze and saw Spencer was making small talk with another woman. "Did he get her a drink?" The question had tumbled out of her mouth without thinking but with all the feeling in the world. Did he get her a drink instead? Aitana swallowed hard. The butterflies in her stomach faded away to be replaced with such a horrid feeling. It was like all the energy was sucked out of her.

"Hey there, Sprinkles, why the long face?" Morgan pouted.

Aitana shook her head. "Nothing. It's stupid."

"I bet it's not. You can tell me while we dance." Morgan held his hand out to her. She took it and left her spot at the table.

"I can't dance very well yet," she warned him when they reached the dance floor.

"That's alright, it's just for fun," Morgan said, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her hand. "Although, it doesn't look like that's happening right now. Am I bothering you?"

"Course not," Aitana shook her head, sighing, "I'm just strange like that." She happened to look at the bar counter again — Spencer was now drinking a lemonade with that same woman.

In his nerves of the sudden attention from the stranger, Spencer had started taking sips of the glass he was supposed to bring to Aitana. He tried to order another one from the bartender.

"Who is that?" Aitana asked Morgan, eyes glued on the woman.

"Hmm?" Morgan glanced in the same direction and chuckled. "Oh, that's Tinsley, a friend I just made."

"A friend?" Aitana raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when?"

Morgan heard her tone shift and if he wasn't careful, she might just hurt him. "About half an hour ago. I thought she was nice and more along Reid's lines so I…made the little nudge."

There wasn't a clear anger in Aitana's eyes but there was definitely vexation in them. "You did that?"

"Aha," Morgan nodded, "I guess tonight I was the wingman."

"I can see that…" Aitana said curtly, eyes flickering towards the pair at the counter.

"That's not a problem, is it?"

Aitana's gaze immediately switched back to Morgan. "No," she said quickly, "Why would it be? It is Valentine's day, right? Night of relationships — old and new."

"Mm, yeah," Morgan nodded, "So who do you want me to fix you up with?"

"What!?"

"I've got someone in sight for you."

"No, no thanks. I'm good."

"Oh, but I really think you'd like him."

"It's not you is it? Because I'm not liking you very much right now."

Morgan chuckled. "Duly noted. No, I got someone else in mind. He's tall, very smart, and he's got these strange hobbies…" He leaned beside Aitana's ear to whisper, "Like going fish shopping and crocheting." As he leaned back, he saw the color drain from Aitana's face. Morgan couldn't help but laugh.

Aitana used that moment to try and get away. Morgan tightened his grip around her and pulled her back to him.

"It's okay Sprinkles," he assured her that he only meant well. When she tried to snack him, he locked her between his arms and chest. "I'm just trying to help out."

"Well don't," Aitana mumbled.

"I really don't mean to make you mad. It's just sometimes you're kind of blind," Morgan said, looking down at her.

"I was recently told that I had seen the light," Aitana sighed, "But I'm not sure it's a good idea to see the light."

"And why not?"

A weak smile marked Aitana's face. She looked towards the bar counter. They were laughing now. Ironically, she felt her heart sink lower.

"It's scary as hell," she said with a shaky voice, "It took me years to get better from Witness Protection and even now I'm still not completely there. Just because my life was ruined doesn't mean I should go ruin someone else's. Besides, Spencer looks pretty happy where he is now, so…"

Morgan told her she was wrong. Of course she was wrong. But given the circumstances, Aitana wouldn't believe him. She danced with him until the song was done then returned to the table where their other friends were busy getting drunk. Aitana no longer waited for her lemonade, nor for any other drink for that matter.

Spencer didn't return to the table regardless. He had finished the glass meant for Aitana and paid for them while Morgan explained what he had tried to do. Spencer didn't say a word about it except 'thanks for trying' then excused himself for the night. He would go home that evening with a mixture of feelings and the biggest one was, funny enough, how much he would have liked to dance with Aitana.

A/N:

These poor lovesick idiots :'(

As always, I have AO3/Wattpad accounts under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)