A/N Hello friends, it's been a while, I'm not sure people will still want to read this story but the other day before going to sleep I was struck with inspiration after being stuck (for a few years), so I decided to finish this story, let it be noted I was about to go to sleep and I honestly didn't proof read this... The last chapter is still a work in progress but hopefully it will be uploaded within the next few weeks, this story truly was my escape during the first few months of the pandemic and I'm really fond of it, but then life got in the way, anyway, happy reading!
Masterlist
“The things I've learned from a broken mirror
How a face can change when a heart knows fear
Through all the things my eyes have seen
The best by far is you
If I could fly
Then I would know
What life looks like from up above and down below
I'd keep you safe
I'd keep you dry
Don't be afraid Cecilia
I'm the satellite
And you're the sky”
It was a normal day at the BAU, after a few months of having back to back cases, this week the team was just consulting, they haven’t been invited to any case, so they got to work from the comfort of their desks, Penelope walked near Luke, accompanied by an agent from other unit, he stared at her with eyes full of adoration and a big smile on his face, Matt noticed and smirked at him.
“Luke, you have no idea how happy it makes me to see you so invested in your relationship” Matt sipped from his bottle of water, they had been working nonstop and it was time for a quick chat so he saw his opportunity.
“What can I tell you? I feel very lucky to be with Pen” He followed her with his gaze, the blonde woman was unaware of it.
Matt carefully looked around him, JJ was nowhere to be seen and Tara and Spencer were on teaching duty so there wasn’t any other BAU member on sight so he decided to push the subject a little bit more.
“How long has it been now? 9 months?” Luke bit back his smile, in reality it was more than a year since they got closer and started to hang out frequently outside work.
“It’s gonna be a year since we made things official in a few weeks”
“Oh” His eyebrows raised “And? Do you have any special plans coming up for your one year anniversary?” Luke nodded slightly but didn’t say a word “Come on, dude, elaborate on this”
“One of these days let’s go get some beers and I’ll tell you, I can’t risk talking about this here” Matt understood, he gave him a thumbs up and proceeded to talk about basketball.
The next day Luke bumped into Tara in the parking lot, he needed help from his two closest friends, and out of everyone, Tara and Matt were the ones he was the closest with so he dared to ask:
“Do you have any plans tonight?”
Tara eyed him curiously, she knew from the tone in his voice that he was hiding something “No, what do you have in mind?”
He scratched his neck “I was going to ask you and Matt to go and have some drinks”
“Alright, let’s hope we don’t get any cases” They both entered the elevator “Everything good with Penelope?”
He shot her a shy smile “Yeah, everything’s going fine” She knew he wasn’t lying but there was something else he wasn’t saying and she was certain that’s why he wanted to go out with them.
Later that night, they went to get dinner, it had been quite some time since the three of them had gone out, it was some sort of tradition they started after Matt joined, they were the last three to join the team so when they first started going out, it was to vent about the struggles of the job or how they were coping with the changes, eventually their dinners turned into drinks where they would discuss life.
“Luke, come on, dude, you obviously want to talk about something, so spill it” Matt stopped his conversation about Rosemary’s latest movie obsession when he saw Luke spacing out and with a lot on his mind.
“I want to propose to Penelope” Matt’s eyebrows shot up and Tara smirked while raising her glass to him and taking a sip “I wanted to hear your opinion, do you think…”
Matt cut him off “Yes, Luke, she will say yes”
“Have you talked about it before? Marriage?” Tara asked carefully.
“Sorta, I mean, we have but I’m not sure if her views on it have changed” Both friends sensed his worry, while they knew just like the rest of them that Luke and Penelope were great together, they also knew marriage wasn’t for everyone and knew about Penelope’s previous experiences with commitment.
“It’s important that you bring up the subject again, to make sure you’re on the same page” Matt reasoned as Luke took a sip from his beer and wondered about the outcome of that conversation.
“Would it matter if she wasn't on the same page as you regarding marriage?” Tara added and Luke wanted to say no, absolutely not but he couldn’t help feeling crestfallen thinking about that possibility.
“I love what we have, marriage is merely a wish of mine, but it’s not a deal breaker at all” The firmness in his voice made Matt and Tara feel relieved for both Luke and Penelope.
“It is the romantic in you, Lukey” Tara teased him with a light playfulness in her voice.
“I guess in some way it is but my upbringing might also have something to do with this” He reasoned, they waited for him to elaborate “Traditions are ingrained in the Alvez household, celebrating love with your loved ones and a lot of food is a must” Although he said it in a joking way, there was truth to the statement.
“Let’s toast to love” Matt held his beer in front of them and they followed.
“To love” He and Tara responded and clinked their bottles, they remained the rest of the evening catching up, enjoying having a moment to talk about anything else that wasn’t work related, from cars to TV shows, Luke felt very fortunate to have these people in his life who listened, gave advice and were there for him.
Luke arrived at their apartment, the one they’ve been sharing for the past few months, and found Penelope crocheting, she was recently obsessed with it, making characters for anyone who asked, she even knitted an Alf for Anderson.
Penelope looked up from her spot on the couch and smiled as a greeting and then went back to her latest creation.
“Did you enjoy your night out?” She questioned happily.
“Yes, very much” Luke sat next to her and threw his arm around her shoulders carefully so as to not interrupt her process, but she simply paused and turned her head to kiss him shortly.
“How was your night?” He inquired, seeing the mug half full.
“It was great, it looks like Mildred will be done tonight” She showed him the pink octopus with a proud smile adorning her face, he couldn’t help but mirror it.
“That looks amazing, babe” He squeezed her shoulder and picked up the remote control.
“She’ll look great next to Rox and Sergio on the mantel”
They stayed there for a few minutes, Luke turned on the TV to look for that show about teachers that Matt told them but he couldn’t shake off the need to bring up the subject of marriage to Penelope.
She suddenly stopped what she was doing and spoke to him.
“Out with it, Luke”
“What?” He feigned confusion but he knew Penelope could sense there was something on his mind.
“You’ve been bouncing your leg since you sat here and I can feel the nervousness radiating from your body, what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?” She put down her almost finished Mildred and turned her body towards him giving him her full attention.
“What are your thoughts on marriage?” The words left his mouth before he could overthink it
“In general?” She asked in faux mockness.
He rolled his eyes at her “To me, specifically? Hypothetically”
“Is this your proposal?” Luke could see the mirth in her eyes and he was glad it was that and not fear what he saw.
“Penelope, stop answering with questions” He almost added a please, feeling his heart starting to race.
“First answer me, is this you proposing?” Penelope spoke softly, being more serious about his inquiry.
He scoffed, somewhat offended that she thought he would do it so nonchalantly.
“No, I’m not proposing, I just want to know where you stand” Where we stand, he thought.
“Marriage used to feel so terrifying to me, it’s a huge commitment, agreeing to spend the rest of your life with someone, for better or for worse, and don’t get me started on the patriarchal aspect of it” She paused and suddenly the look on her face turned serious.
“But if I’m being honest, having a wedding where we have our people there, we dance, we eat and let’s be honest, we cry a little because of how much we love each other sounds wonderful to me”
Luke swore his heart was going to come out of his chest, he felt dizzy thinking of the possibilities.
“So I guess you could say marriage to you is a-ok to me”
He almost immediately launched himself to kiss her, passionately, desperately, he placed his hands on her back and lowered her on the couch. She responded with equal excitement to his actions but before he could lift her shirt she said something that sent sparks down his spine.
“Just so you know, if that had been you proposing I would’ve said yes immediately”
A/N Hello, I don't remember how to post on here lmao, here are two chapters of this silly little fic I started writing back in 2020, for anyone who might be interested.
Masterlist
“Candy
She's sweet like candy in my veins
Baby, I'm dying for another taste
And every night my mind is running around her
Then it's getting louder and louder
Baby you're like lightning in a bottle
I can't let you go now that I got it
All I need is to be struck
By your electric love
Baby, your electric love
Electric love”
Luke and Penelope were living in a state of pure bliss, once they had opened up to each other, there was a breakthrough in their relationship, both of them were all in.
In the weeks following they spent more time together, Penelope didn't avoid bringing up more personal things, such as memories with her family, both happy and sad.
They were facing another milestone in their relationship and Luke was thrilled; they were going to share with their friends that they were together. Penelope was the one who brought it up, it took him by surprise but he took advantage of the opportunity and agreed immediately without discussing it much just so she wouldn't change her mind.
He was hopeful about the future, things were finally falling into place; for Penelope it was the same, she was allowing herself to love and be loved in a way that she has never experienced before, because she loved so deeply but when it came to opening up and being vulnerable she failed so the love she received from her past relationships always felt incomplete, they haven't seen her in her most vulnerable state, haven't heard her darkest secrets, saddest stories, not even her joyous moments; she had a tendency to feel like she was too much and not enough at the same time but with Luke, he made it easy to be truly herself without being scared of her flaws or her baggage, he reminded her that everyone had it.
"Everything ok?" She felt the vibrations as she was resting her head in his chest.
"Yeah, everything's perfect, actually" Being there wrapped in his arms, head resting on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, she felt the calmest she's ever been.
"I'm excited for today, it's been a while since we've all hung out"
"Are you trying to tell me you're sick of me?" She didn't miss the chance to tease him.
"That's impossible, Penelope" She smiled and kissed his chest.
"I'm excited too, especially since we're finally telling them about us"
It was his turn to smile "Love the sound of that" It was almost like he had said it to himself.
"Come on, we need to get up" His grip only tightened.
"Noooo, let's stay like this for a few more minutes"
Truth be told, she also didn't want to get up just yet so she happily obliged.
"Luke? Can we agree to not go into details about our relationship?" Before he could was what she meant by that, she continued "I mean, I'd hate it for it to become like a Q&A session in front of everyone, let's agree to keep details to a minimum and then I'll have a girls' night and you go have a beer with Matt and then we go into detail"
"What if I want to invite Dave and Spencer too?" He joked.
"Oh, Spencer is mine, I'll tell him all about it when we have our weekly Doctor Who episode rewatch and Dave won't want to listen about how long it took us to get together" He could hear the humor in her voice so he continued with the jokes.
"Okay, then we'll facetime Morgan and let him in on everything" This elicited a laugh from the blonde.
"Oh honey, he has known about my feelings for you even before you did" She reconsidered "Actually even before I did, he's been trying to get us together for the longest time"
"Well then I owe him a big thank you, remind me to buy him a nice Scotch or something" He kissed her hair and finally braved himself to get out of bed.
When he got out of the bedroom, he saw Sergio and Roxy laying on Roxy's bed together. He proceeded to start the coffeemaker and went to grab clothes for after his shower; clothes that weren't in a go-to bag but in a drawer at Penelope's dresser.
The domesticity of it all, made his heart beat a little faster, he knew he could get used to it easily.
Later that day, they arrived at JJ and Will's, excited for a Saturday filled with food, laughter and conversations, while they were all outside sitting in a table passing around the food, they casually decided to mention that they were together, no one seemed very surprised, a few congrats, a knowing smirk from JJ and Tara and they moved onto the next subject. Penelope smiled to herself, content with everyone's reaction, knowing full well things were going to be different when she told the girls how it all started and how long it has been since.
Penelope went inside to grab more lemonade when she found Emily and considered something neither she or Luke had thought about before.
"Em, I'm sorry" The brunette who was checking something on her phone was startled and confused by the words.
"What for?"
"It never occurred to me all the trouble we can cause you, Luke and I being together I mean" Emily smiled at her friend and settled her phone in the kitchen counter.
"Don't worry about it, Penelope, I'll handle it, it'll cause just a few headaches and that'll be all" She smirked and even though Penelope tried to relax at her words, she couldn't help but feel mortified "I mean it, everything will work out"
The reassurance made her heart swell with love and joy, she was thankful for having Emily and the rest on her side, their side.
"But in reparation you'll have to invite me over and tell me exactly how it all went down, we knew something was happening but you were very good at keeping it a secret"
"You knew!?" Penelope was half shocked and half relieved by this.
"We're profilers and even if we weren't, the chemistry is undeniable, the tension, oh Lord the tension was palpable" This earned a laugh from her friend.
"Ok, I owe you dinner, wine and a hell of a story, my dear"
"I can't wait"
Meanwhile Luke was grilling burgers and Spencer was in charge of taking said burgers to the six kids that were eager to eat them.
"She's happy" Luke turned to see exactly who he was referring to and wasn't sure if it was Max, JJ, Tara, one of the girls or Roxy, who had tagged along per the children's requests.
"Penelope, I mean, she seems happy, I remembered one day in the elevator you talked about seeing someone, dare I ask, was it her?" It only took Spencer to see Luke's smile to be positive that it was, in fact, her.
"Yes" Of course, he would remember, he had an eidetic memory after all and maybe, just maybe the awkwardness of that elevator ride would make it not so hard to forget.
Before he could say anything else Spencer blurted out something.
"That was months ago" It wasn't a question, for a moment Luke believed he had said it more to himself than to him.
"Yeah, well I'm sure Penelope will tell you about it one of these days but back to your first statement, I hope she is happy, I know I am happier than I've ever been"
In that moment Penelope and Emily came out to the backyard, laughing about something and Luke couldn't help but smile bigger at the sight of her; it still scared the hell out of him to feel so many things for her but he was allowing himself to be all in, and seeing Penelope in moments where she enjoyed herself around the people she loved the most reassured his decision to give it a try, and not only the relationship with her but the closeness with all of them, he was thankful that he had chosen to stay with the BAU after Hotch and Rossi had offered, he would've hated missing on the opportunity to be part of something so special, he had heard the term found family before but it never made sense until now.
you were astonishing, colin. i cannot thank you enough for looking after us. i will always look after you, penelope. you are special to me. as are you, to me.
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