Work Text:
Dave and JJ were off picking a third bottle of wine, leaving Derek, Penelope, and Alex in the front room. Alex sat on the floor by the fire while Penelope had called dibs on the leather armchair the moment she walked in. Derek was on the couch.
“Who are you texting?” Penelope asked.
Alex smiled warmly. “Reid. He’s meeting his mystery woman tonight and he’s nervous.”
“Ohhh,” Penelope cooed and clapped her hands. “Mystery and love. How romantic. I hope he has a great time.”
Derek sat forward and regarded Alex intently. “What did you tell him?”
“Just that she’ll love him,” Alex answered solemnly. “He’s worried that she’ll run for the hills the minute she sees him.” She smiled sheepishly. “Cause he looks a little…”
“Odd,” Penelope supplied helpfully. “But he’s still a cutey, just in a nerdy way.”
Derek relaxed back in his seat with a grin. “Reid with a girlfriend. Our boy’s growing up.”
Alex put her phone down. She refilled her glass. She smiled and held up the bottle. “Anyone else?”
Penelope downed her wine. She waved excitedly and hopped up. “Me!”
Derek laughed. “Slow down, Baby Girl. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“Take the time to savor it,” Alex chimed in, pouring the rest of the bottle into Penelope’s glass.
Penelope grinned. “I can’t help it,” she gushed. “It’s soooo good. Your man has superb taste.”
“He does,” Derek agreed readily. He held a hand up. “But I’d rather him not hear you say it.”
Penelope giggled and sank back down. She made a show of sipping her wine. “Is that better?”
Alex held her glass up in salute. “Yes.”
Penelope waggled her eyebrows at Derek. “Truth or dare, Fabulicious.”
Derek rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh God.”
Alex snickered. “Don’t be such a chicken, Morgan.”
Derek shook his head. “You don’t know her as well as I do, Blake,” he said plaintively. “She can be downright scary, especially after she’s had a few drinks.”
“Truth or dare,” Penelope sing-songed.
Derek chewed on his bottom lip. “Either way, I’m going to regret this. Truth.”
Penelope rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “I want to hear the truth about your first kiss with Superagent.”
“And way too interested in our sex life,” Derek added to Alex.
“At the moment, I don’t have one of my own,” Penelope retorted. She bounced up and down in her seat. “Come on. Come on.”
Derek chuckled. “You’re not going to like this, but the first word that comes to mind is angry.”
“Angry?” Alex echoed, puzzled. Her brow furrowed. “Really?”
Penelope thought on it for a long moment. “Okay,” she finally said. She looked at Alex. “You didn’t see them when Dave first came back. Two alpha males with completely different ways of doing things. They were constantly at each other’s throats.”
Derek frowned. “I don’t think it was quite that bad.”
“Please,” Penelope drawled. “You guys did anything and everything to drive each other up the wall.” She noticed the way Derek shifted in his seat. Her eyes got wide. “Is that what happened? Did someone get shoved into a wall?”
“Yeah,” Derek admitted.
“Details,” Penelope prompted. “Details.”
Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “We just got back to the hotel after the Skinner case in Buffalo. It was a bad one that ended with suicide by cop. There wasn’t really anything more we could’ve done, but we were all so wound up. I can admit it now but I was looking for a fight to blow off some steam and Dave doesn’t back down when challenged. I followed him into his room and I couldn’t seem to shut the hell up.” He paused and blew out a long breath. “And instead of a punch, I got a mouthful of tongue.” He closed his eyes. “And it was so fuckin’ hot. Before, I’d never had a kiss like that. The heat was incredible. It was hot, angry, and so fuckin’ intense.”
Penelope just stared at him while Alex muttered a whispered, “Wow.”
Derek’s eyes snapped open and he was panting slightly. “Y’all gotta leave now,” he growled.
“But,” Penelope started to protest.
Alex scrambled to her feet. She grabbed Penelope’s arm on her way to the door. “JJ, change of plans. Let’s go,” she called.
“But,” Penelope tried again.
Alex nodded to where Derek sat stiffly on the couch, watching them, willing them to leave. “He’s like a jungle cat waiting to pounce,” she hissed. “Do you really want to get in that man’s way?”