I plan to kiss you tonight

The Bar

You can seldom stand men. You deal with them enough at your job, so generally you avoid them in social settings. Luke Alvez, however, is one of the very few exceptions to this. You met the agent at the office gym when the floor was full, and you had no choice but to ask to work in with him. You struck up conversation about BCAAs and protein, and eventually a routine was born.

Loathe to admit it, it was nice finding someone to talk to. You had joined the cold case division a few months prior, and the work made for very little socializing outside of your unit. Luke was like your sweet, slightly annoying older brother, and you challenged each other: One more set, two more reps, "Oh sorry, I thought you were stronger than that," and so on.

On some Friday, Luke turned to you on the treadmill with a question on his lips, "Would you be interested in coming out for drinks tonight with my team? Will will be there with Jj, so you'll know more than me."

He took some breaths as he ran on. "It could be fun? I'll introduce you to the rest of my team."

Luke spoke highly of the BAU. So did Will. You knew who they were, and you'd seen them on a few crime scenes, but never had any reason to talk to any of them.

Although going to a bar where you knew less than half of the people sounded like a unique form of punishment, Luke was looking at you with so much hope in his eyes you couldn't help but give him a nod.

"Sure. Why not?" What do you have to lose?

The day passed at its usual pace, and you head for the bar straight after. As you enter you find it much louder than the quiet, moody atmosphere you'd assumed this would be. It's a blessing that you hear your name hollered from across the bar, and that you can see Luke's hand waving you over.

Shoulders squared, you slowly approach the two high tops pushed together to accommodate the party. All pairs of eyes are trained on you. Analyzing.

Do they know they do that? Size up the newcomer? You're no better than them, but you thought they'd be more discrete about it.

You break the silence, "Luke, is your whole team tall and pretty except for you?" An accompanying look shot his way.

The tension seems to be broken in that instant.

"Oh I like her." You hear a blonde whisper, giggling at Luke's blush.

"Me too." A grey-haired man agrees.

"Har har. For everyone who doesn't know, this is Y/N. She's in cold cases with Will, and she's the gym buddy I've been telling you about." You take that as your cue and extend your hand to make your way down the row of agents.

First is Tara Lewis who gives you a warm smile and polite greeting.

Next is Penelope Garcia, the blonde you heard earlier, who excitedly greets you.

"Hi! I'm so glad you could come have drinks with us." She hands you a chilled glass of beer, freshly poured from the pitcher in the middle of the table, by way of welcome.

"Now that you're here I'd like to formally thank you for your service. It isn't easy putting up with Alvez every day."

Your face gets stern as you gratefully grab your glass, and you lean in closely to stage-whisper your response, "If it takes fighting a war for us to meet it will have been worth it." Which earns you a laugh from the table.

Next is Dave Rossi. His handshake firm, eyes soft but clever. "It's a pleasure." He says, as you nod and meet his gaze. "Likewise. I love your books." Your tone cool, hopefully disguising how excited you are to meet him.