#gina sharp

It was hard to believe, considering the situation in which Penelope Garcia now found herself, that it had been only a few hours since that awkward encounter in front of the convention center, since she'd stood next to Reid with that big red hat on her head and that cringe-worthy forced grin on her face avoiding eye contact with the ex-boyfriend who'd had the audacity to bring a date to the con they'd planned to attend together.

"CSU Technician Sharp! How are you?" She'd offered uncomfortably (and a bit too loudly, she'd realized), her eyes wide as her mind and heart raced. Garcia smirked slightly at the memory. Her heart was racing now, too, but she was anything but uncomfortable.

"Kevin couldn't hold a candle to you," Gina said breathlessly, raking her long fingers through the thick blonde curls of the woman beside her on the couch.

"Damn straight," Garcia hissed through a grin. She bit her swollen bottom lip and pulled the brunette even closer.

When she'd seen them together, to say she was surprised would have been an understatement. Sure, she'd brought Spencer, but that was different – she and Reid were teammates and longtime friends. Kevin and Gina, though, they had never travelled in quite the same circles, and Kevin had mentioned more than once during his relationship with Penelope how much he liked Gina. It had hurt her feelings, really, listening to her boyfriend talk about how smart Agent Sharp was and how funny Agent Sharp's jokes were and how nice Agent Sharp always looked. She couldn't exactly argue with him – Gina was smart and funny and beautiful – but while she had kept her silly crush on Agent Sharp under wraps out of curtesy for Kevin, Lynch had never bothered to return the favor.

"He talked about you, you know," Gina told Penelope in between heated kisses. "The entire time we were at the convention. Honestly, he wouldn't shut up about you." The teasing lilt in her smooth voice and the sparkle in those soft brown eyes made Garcia laugh softly, her body shaking in the taller woman's embrace.

"He talked about you, too," She smirked, and Gina's eyes went wide with surprise. "The whole time we were dating," Garcia continued, "He would mention every now and then how nice you'd looked that day, or how good you were at your job, or some funny thing he'd heard you say." Penelope's eyes shot away for a moment as she added softly, "I think he always wished I was a little more like you – or a lot more like you, maybe."

"Fuck that," Gina snapped, and Garcia's eyes shot back up in surprise. Sharp pushed Penelope back by her shoulders, towering over her for a moment before swiftly capturing her lips in a breathtaking kiss. "Lynch never deserved you," she said fiercely, then grinned and added, "He never deserved either of us."

"God, this must be, like, his fantasy," Penelope observed with a giggle as she stared up at Gina through foggy lenses. "The two of us, making out like teenagers on my couch? I think he'd absolutely perish at the very thought."

"Well, to be fair – " Gina paused for a moment to steal another kiss as one hand tangled itself in Penelope's hair and the other dropped to her shapely hip – "We are pretty hot."

"Can I cut in?" Gina asked as she approached Kevin and Penelope on the makeshift dance floor in David Rossi's backyard. She didn't know Agent Jareau or Detective LaMontagne too well, but she loved a surprise wedding as much as the next gal, and she was glad to have been invited – especially since Penelope was here.

"Oh, Garcia and I were just talking," Kevin explained quickly, and Gina had to stifle a laugh. His tone and body language oozed defensiveness, like he was under the impression that Gina was jealous he was dancing with Garcia. Well, she realized with a smirk, he's not technically wrong. Still, though, Gina and Kevin had been dancing just a few minutes ago, before his dance with Penelope, and it was almost ridiculous that he seemed to think she was just desperate for another turn, as if his two left feet and complete lack of any rhythm whatsoever were just a hoot and a half on the dance floor.

"Oh, I meant Penelope," she explained with a confident smile. Garcia and Lynch both stared dumbly, so she smoothed her hands over her skirt and elaborated, "I want to dance with Penelope."

Kevin continued to stand stock-still, his mouth gaping open, so Penelope stepped easily around him as she took Gina's hand, smiled gently and said, "I'd be positively delighted, Agent Sharp."

Garcia's well-manicured hands reached around Gina's shoulders for the zipper on the back of her dress, and Sharp pulled back for a moment. "Penelope," she whispered, "Are you sure you want this?"

Garcia's face fell. Of course, Gina didn't really want her. She blinked quickly a few times, but a tear escaped anyway, and she felt her cheeks burning beet-red as she stammered wordlessly, trying to find something to say that could save what was left of her dignity.

"Hey, hey, hey," Gina soothed, wiping Penelope's cheek with pad of her thumb, "No tears, okay? I just want to make sure you're ready for this. I mean, you and Kevin haven't been broken up very long," she pointed out, stroking the blonde's face gently.

The sincere concern in Gina's eyes nearly melted Penelope, and tears of embarrassment became tears of relief as she realized Gina really did just want to make sure she was okay. A relaxed smile broke over her face as she said, "Don't worry about that." She shook her head gently. "Kevin was good to me for a while, but neither of our hearts were ever fully there, and that relationship hasn't been worth missing for longer than you know." She paused, smirked seductively at the beautiful woman in her arms and added, "And it's certainly not worth missing out on this."

Gina laughed. "Penelope Garcia, you are absolutely one of a kind."