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freckledcoffeeaddict · 1 year

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It’s been a minute, but there’s some GarVez things that needed to be corrected. I still have faith that it’ll get set right on screen too. Kirsten has stated that it’s GarVez 4ever and I trust her.

Untitled GarVez Fic 1/27/23

Penelope felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. She hadn’t even realized how stuck she’d felt - in limbo for the past few years, wondering what, if anything, was ever going to happen between her and Luke.

When Tyler leaned in to kiss her, she jumped back in the moment. It almost felt like a betrayal. But once they were out walking, she realized that all the feelings, all the banter, all the flirting, all the tension…it never got them anywhere. Luke had never once made an actual move on her, not even on their one and only date. So she decided then and there to explore this thing with Tyler.

She wasn’t thinking about the case or the fact that Tyler was a material witness. She wasn’t thinking about Luke or Emily or JJ or Derek. She was thinking about Tyler, a beautiful man who wanted to kiss her. So when they approached Oak Street and a light bulb went off for her about the case, she couldn’t let the opportunity to pass and kissed him.

She knew that it wasn’t going to be the start of anything new. Instead, it was a way for her to finally close the chapter on hoping that something might someday happen with Luke. It was a way for her to finally move forward.

~*~*~*~

He didn’t deserve this...her. He knew he didn’t. He had nothing to give her and yet he couldn’t help himself from taking what she had to offer. When she kissed him, he kissed her back. And when they took the next step, there was nothing that could have made him stop – except her saying no.

But she didn’t say no.

She’d never been anything other than straight with him, her words an arrow and her aim on target. From when she told him in no uncertain terms that she did not like him to when she told him that his sister was confirmed to be among the victims. From when she told him that he shouldn’t be alone to when she invited him into her bed, well…not that they ever actually made it to the bed.

But Tyler Green knew that this thing…this connection they had…would never really work out. She brought him back from the darkness that had swallowed him since the night that his sister Allison has gone missing. She understood him in a way he didn’t yet understand himself. And he knew that to be with her – to really be with her – would be letting a part of himself stay in that darkness because she would shine enough light to hide it.

But the darkness would still be there. And he needed to figure himself out before he would be ready to be that half of something with her or with anyone. He knew that their time would be short, but he was going to live in the moment and take what she had to give.

Penelope woke up feeling renewed. She was sated, but knew that this was a connection based on extreme circumstances…not on anything deeper than that. It was fun for sure, but doomed to be short-lived. It might even be over already, which was an odd thought considering she could feel the weight of his arm still around her.

She pulled herself away from him and started her regular morning routine. He woke as she was making breakfast just before heading out. It wasn’t awkward like she thought it might be. In fact, it was nice. Tyler thanked her for all of her help, walked her to her car, and hugged her before they parted ways.

They both knew it was good-bye, even though neither of them said the word. If he turned back for one last look, Penelope wouldn’t know – because she had her eyes focused firmly ahead.

~*~*~*~

Standing in the elevator, her heart was pounding. Deep down, she knew it was nerves and she knew why. But she was trying to just bask in the happiness for one more moment, because damnit, she deserved some happy.

The elevator doors opened and JJ paused before entering, looking her friend up and down, and then at the buttons on the wall, not a single one lit. “You know,” she teased as she started to lean across Penelope, “you need to press the button to make this thing move.”

But Penelope caught her wrist and stopped her from pressing their floor. “Not yet.” She whispered and then JJ really looked at her friend.

“Oh my god Penelope, are you alright?” She asked concerned before pushing past Garcia, not to press the button, but to pull the emergency stop. “Talk to me.”

Penelope took a deep breath and then looked JJ straight in the eye. “I need you to be my friend in this moment.”

“I am your fr–“ JJ began, but Penelope raised a hand to silence her.

“Just my friend. Not my co-worker, or my former boss. I need you to not be a member of this team right now. Just my friend.”

JJ nodded. “I can do that.”

“I slept with him.” Penelope said in a rush, “And it was…oh my God JJ! It was so unexpected…but sooooo good.” She paused, but JJ waited. “But now I’m stuck. It was definitely what I needed, but I promised Emily. She warned me of the complications. A migraine! That’s what she said, after we I told her that we’d kissed, she told me that I needed to stop this thing – and I said that I would. She made me promise. She said it would give her a migraine and that there would be so much paperwork.” Penelope babbled.

When Penelope took a breath, JJ hugged her. “You slept with him!” She said with a smile, “It’s about damn time!”

“You don’t think it’s too fast?” Garcia asked.

“Fast?” JJ laughed. “No. I have to say, I’m honestly surprised it took this long!”

“Really?” Penelope pondered, “Huh?” She paused, “But now I have to go face Emily.”

“Is he going in with you?” JJ asked.

“Nuh-oh!” Penelope said in mock horror. “I’m barely going to be able to tell Emily by myself. I can’t have him standing there. I don’t even know where he is at the moment.”

“Got it!” JJ laughed, then said seriously, “If it matters, I’m really happy for you.”

Penelope smiled, “It definitely matters.” And then they hugged.

“Ok, so…” JJ nodded toward the panel, “Ready to press the button?”

She nodded and JJ reached over and turned off the emergency stop and hit the button for their floor.

The doors opened and they found Emily in the vestibule. She took one look at Penelope and her hand went to her forehead. “No!” She said, “No, don’t tell me this.” She said, resigned to what she could see was the truth.

“Sorry, not sorry.” Penelope tried, as she pulled her shoulders up and cringed.

“My office. Now.” She pointed and as Garcia started towards her office, she turned to look at JJ, “And you knew about this?”

JJ put her hands up, “I just found out.”

Emily sighed, then turned and followed Penelope down the hall and into her office then closed the door.

JJ made her way to the bullpen, where she found Rossi and Luke both already at their desks. She grinned at Luke as she passed him.

“What?” He asked, but she just smiled. “Are you OK this morning JJ?”

She nodded, “Just really happy for my friend…for both of my friends. Even if it might cause some extra paperwork for Emily.” She winked at him.

He laughed awkwardly, “JJ, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“OK, I get it.” She said, settling into her desk and then glanced over at Rossi who seemed to be completely oblivious to their conversation. “I won’t say another word.”

~*~*~*~

Emily caught JJ getting coffee later than morning. “A little heads up would have been nice, JJ!” Emily scolded mildly.

“Hey! I literally just found out in the elevator this morning, but c’mon,” JJ lowered her voice, “you can’t tell me you didn’t see this coming.”

“No, I didn’t see this coming at all.” When JJ visibly scoffed, Emily motioned them towards her office and didn’t continue until the door closed behind them. “Tyler Green! Are you kidding me? I thought they hated each other. Do you know how bad this is?”

JJ’s eye went wide as she mentally replayed her conversation with Garcia over in her mind…and then her conversation with Luke. “Oh God!” JJ said, realizing her mistake. She sat down. “She slept with Tyler Green?” JJ said in disbelief.

“Wait – I thought you already knew that.”

“I thought she slept with Luke!” JJ exclaimed, then put her hand over her mouth as if that would keep the words from escaping.

“Oh god, “Emily sunk into her chair, “That would have been so much easier to deal with than this. This – “ She gestured towards the door, “is going to cause me a nightmare. I’ve already talked with Garcia and she knows that things with Tyler Green can not continue. The bottom line is that I’d need to fire her – and she knows that. And she seemed…I don’t know…already resolved to being done with him. I’ve assured her that I’ll keep this as quiet as I can, so if Rossi, Tara, and Luke don’t already know, I’d like to keep it that way.”

God yes, JJ thought, and nodded to Emily in silent agreement.

~*~*~*~

It had been days since he’d crossed paths with Garcia. Either she was working from home or he was out in the field. It wasn’t that unusual for their paths not to cross at work, but it almost seemed intentional on the part of Emily and JJ to keep them separated. He’s also been hyper aware that she also hadn’t been texting him outside of work. And they’d been bantering in text for years now.

A few days later, Luke & Tara were in a conference room when Garcia came in. He smiled at seeing her and readied himself for the ribbing she always delivered, already thinking about new comebacks. But instead, she just gave them an update with some new information she’d uncovered and turned to leave. He called her out on it, even tried to coax something out of her, but she didn’t engage with him as he’d expected.

After she left, he turned to Tara and quipped that Garcia must be getting some. But instead of rolling her eyes and telling him he was off base, she smiled, then laughed and agreed with him that yes, Garcia was absolutely getting some.

And that’s when he realized it wasn’t funny. For years, he’d been pleading with her to stop with the teasing and insults; to stop calling him Newbie and referring to him as her frenemie. But now that she had, it was like a dagger to his heart.

~*~*~*~

Over the next weeks, they continued to work the case and every time the team regrouped, Penelope didn’t tease or bait him, didn’t flirt with him or insult him, or hell – even look at him for more than a passing moment. And he felt that loss more profoundly than he ever thought he could.

He thought back to their one and only date three years ago. Jesus! How had three years gone by so quickly? After she left the BAU, he’d finally gotten his opening to take her out. They had a nice dinner – excellent food with a side of great conversation. At the end, like the gentleman that he was, he walked her to her door and they made plans for their second date.

But before that date ever happened, the whole world went on lock-down. “Shelter-in-place” it was called in the beginning, and it was only supposed to be for two weeks. So they postponed, but then two weeks became four. Four became six. And six weeks somehow turned into three years. And that second date never happened.

He couldn’t let this continue. That night, he stopped home briefly, then headed over to her place for an unplanned visit. It had been weeks since he’d gotten a just-for-him smile from her, and he was getting desperate.

He pressed her doorbell and then smiled and waved at the camera. She opened the door just enough to see him, but not enough to welcome him inside. She was clearly surprised to see him, and reached for her phone as she asks, “Luke? Did something happen? Do we have a case?” She was scrolling through messages looking for something she might have missed.

“No case,” he says, still in the hallway. “But can we come in?”

“We?” She asks, but then she notices Roxie’s muzzle peeking inside. Her face lights up and she immediately kneels down and extends her arms, “Roxie! Come here sweet girl!”

As Roxie is enveloped in Penelope’s hug, Luke takes it as an invitation for him to enter as well, closing the door behind him. As he takes in the sight, he cannot believe that he’s jealous of his dog, who is being showered with attention from Penelope for a ridiculous amount of time.

When Penelope and Roxie have both had their fill, she finally stands to face Luke. “Thank you – I missed her.” She smiles and his heart soars.

“She missed you too.” He says, the more quietly, “We both did.”

“You missed me?” Penelope laughed. “You see me almost every day.”

“No.” He shook his head, “I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

“Luke.” She tilted her head, trying to understand, “We were on a video call yesterday.”

“Chats, texts, video calls, phone calls, all about work and all with the team. But I haven’t seen you in weeks.” He paused and took a step closer to her, “And I miss you Penelope.”

She couldn’t let herself get pulled back into this, but she also couldn’t find any words.

When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “I know something happened. I mean, I get the impression that maybe you’re dating someone else now. But that doesn’t need to change things between us.”

And suddenly, Penelope found her words, “It doesn’t need to change things? Haven’t you been the one for years asking me to change? To stop teasing you, to stop calling you Newbie, to stop insulting you. And when I finally get the message – when I finally do something for me to be able to move on, then you miss me? Well too damn bad Luke Alvez! That Penelope is gone!”

“Whoa!” He backed up a step, “Why are you so angry? What did I do?”

“Nothing Luke! You did nothing and that’s the point.” She yelled, “So when Tyler made a move –“

“Tyler?!?” Luke spat in disbelief. “Tyler Green?”

“What’s wrong with Tyler?” Penelope shouted.

“He’s a criminal! He’s involved in the Sicarious case – my God Penelope – He’s a material witness!” Luke was pacing. “You slept with a witness!?!”

Roxie had settled in on the couch with Sergio lounging on the arm rest. At that moment, the Black Queen entered – the cat that Tyler gave her.

“That part’s bad – I’ll admit it.” She acquiesced. “But the rest of it? The rest of if is none of your business Luke Alvez!”

He sighed and sunk down into her couch, causing Roxie to have to shift over to make space for him. He leaned forward and set his head in his hands. “And here I came over to finally ask you out on that second date.” He said quietly.

But Penelope was still angry, “That’s really shitty Luke. Why now? You’ve had years, but you wait until you think that I’m maybe with someone else.” She parrots his words from earlier.

“You’ve kept me at arms length – all these years.” He pauses and looks up, then waits until she meets his gaze. “Frenemie.” He says with venom.

“Because I didn’t want to get my heart broken again!” She admitted, still yelling.

He stood and rose to the bait, “And you don’t think Tyler Green will break your heart?”

“I know he won’t.” She said emphatically.

That was a gut punch to Luke. “You can’t…you can’t think you know him well enough to know that.” Luke said, feeling resigned to losing her – even though she was never really his.

“No!” She yelled, “I know me well enough.” Then she continued, “Tyler can’t break my heart because I don’t feel that way about him.” She paused, then add quietly, “And we already ended things.”

It took Luke a minute to catch up and connect the dots, but understanding dawned and his heart started to pound, “But I could break your heart.” He stated.

“You could shatter it.” She confirmed in the heat of the moment. “You and your blandsome face and your amazing dog. And your stupid shoulder that’s always there for me. But you and your mixed signals – I’m done with it. You’ve had years of chances and never took it. I’m sick of this will they or won’t they bullshit. I knew Tyler for mere weeks and he took a shot!”

“You think I send you mixed signals?” He asked in disbelief as he stood back up, anger boiling.

“Oh please!” She stood to match him, going toe to toe, “I didn’t like you at first because you replaced Derek, so you had to chip away at my walls and make me like you. I’m fun to flirt with and banter with – until you find someone you like better, like Lisa. When that ended, then I’m your girl to flirt with again – dance with at Rossi’s wedding. Then you get me to go out on a date with you – an amazing date! – and then….nothing. You got me, and then you didn’t want me.”

“You think that I don’t want you.” He repeated, very evenly, very controlled.

“You just wanted the challenge. Once you got it, that was it. I’m not a challenge anymore, so you’re not interested.” Her eyes glistened, but she refused to let him see a single tear.

“You’re insane!” He exploded, then corrected himself, “No, it’s not you. It’s me – I’m the one who has to be nuts here. I’d have to be certifiable to have fallen in love with you. You think I’ve been sending you mixed signals? Well – let me be abundantly clear and direct.” He paused until she looked up at him. “I love you Penelope.”

They both froze on his words. And then all at once, he wasn’t sure who moved first, but she was in his arms and he was finally – finally – kissing her.

It was awhile before they came up for air. When they did, Penelope pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. “You love me?”

“Always.” He assured her, pulling her back into him.

“You know that I love you too, Newbie.” She said into his chest. “Don’t break my heart, Luke Alvez.

“Never.” He vowed.

#garvez #luke alvez #alvez x garcia #penelope garcia #criminal minds #garcia x alvez #garvez criminalminds

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