A/N: Sorry I haven't updated my serials in a while, I have a few more cutesy one offs to tide you over until I update them! Please comment if you enjoyed!
Penelope and her favorite friends were all meeting up for coffee and pastries at a cute bistro, she showed up last, her friends all sitting at a cozy table in the emptiest corner of the establishment. They were lucky it wasn't so busy today, or they might not have gotten a table to fit all of them, and there was only four of them! Spencer had been there early to save them the table, Emily and JJ showed up at around the same time, and Penelope was about 7 minutes late according to Spencer. "Sorry, sorry!" she said as she sat down at their table. "I forgot Luke lives a little further away from this place than I do." she said as she got comfortable in the seat next to Spencer, setting her purse between her feet.
"It's only been seven minutes, so don't worry about it." Spencer said as he pointed to her cup of coffee. "That should be cooled off enough for you." he added as he sipped his own. Penelope smiled and wet on to add a bunch of sugar and creamer to the mug that sat infront of her. "I may be behind the curve a bit, but who's Luke?" Spencer asked.
"He's Penelope's new boy-toy." Emily said playfully.
"Oh, but I thought her and Derek-" Spencer started, only to be stopped by a shake of JJ's head.
"Derek can choke." Penelope said flatly "Who does he think he is with that 'It isn't you Baby-Girl, it's me.' nonsense!" She said, stirring her coffee a little aggressively. "Him and that Savannah..." she scoffed, shaking her head. "No point in it now, he and I were done like, last year."
Spencer nodded and looked over the menu, reading it over for the 20th time, still unsure of which breakfast pastry he was going to enjoy today. "But you bounced back with this Luke?" he asked, Penelope sipped her coffee and just nodded.
"Yeah." she said, pulling out her phone from a pocket on her dress. "This is him and his dog, Roxy." she said, showing it to him. "If you checked your social media more than once a year, you might not be so behind on the hottest goss." she said sarcastically.
"And miss the monthly coffee meet-ups, I think not." he said as he looked over the photo of her new beau, watching as she scrolled through a few more photos of him and the dog. "He looks like he's the same type as Derek." he said before straightening out his posture.
"I kind of agree." said JJ just as the waitress came around, Penelope had no time to rebut as they all placed their orders for more coffee and their pastries of choice. "I mean, he's big and buff." JJ continued, motioning her hand a little. "You don't really have a great track record with big buff guys, and that's not saying that a fit guy can't love a plus sized girl, don't read into it." she added. Emily just shrugged her shoulders.
"I dunno, I mean... I met him when I was last at Penelope's to drop off that recipe of my mother's she liked so much." Emily said, "And he was super sweet, as was his dog." she added, "Not to mention, Penelope just kind of has the habit of attracting strange guys that don't really work out, he seems very nice, closest to normal any one of us have dated." Emily pointed out. "I stayed for dinner and he was very sociable, not as bubbly as Penelope but he fed off her energy pretty well." she said, taking a nice deep sip of her coffee.
"Thank you Emily!" Penelope said, offering up her mug for a playful tap, gracefully met by Emily's. "I mean he's not some hot Cajun cop, or some hot shot lawyer man, or some really cool British guy! But Luke is super nice and I really like-like him." she said, taking her nice hot blueberry cream cheese muffin from the waitress as she passed out the delicious pastries and refilled their coffees.
Spencer chuckled "I'll let Aaron know you think he's a hot shot." Spencer said as he spread some butter on his nice warm slice of walnut banana bread. "I haven't met him, but all the men you've dated do have rather nice personalities, it's just the flaws that end your relationships." Spencer said as both Emily and JJ took huge bites from their cheese danishes. "Shane was well, Shane. Kevin's little weird thing about needing to get married, and Sam's... Sam-ness. Derek's ego... But you know, I have faith in this." He added before taking a sip of his coffee.
"See, Jaj!" Penelope said "Believe in me like Mulder believed in aliens!" she exclaimed, JJ just smiled and laughed a little before Spencer cut in once more.
"I mean I believe in it on a statistical level." Spencer said, nodding. "On average women will go through about five relationships, and men will go through six. Statistically Luke is either your end game or, worst case scenario, your next relationship will be if this doesn't work out." he rambled Penelope rolled her eyes and took a bite of her muffin.
"But you forget, Penelope isn't your average woman, she's one of the best." Emily stated. Spencer looked off into the distance for a moment before nodding in agreement. Penelope was the best, and only the best deserved her.
"That's true." he said, pouring a touch more sugar into his coffee. "All three of you are prime examples of women, and I couldn't think of any other women I'd rather have for friends." Spencer admitted.
"Aww, Spencer!" Penelope said, giving him a gentle nudge with her arm, he returned the nudge and nodded as he sipped on his coffee. "Ooh, you guys should meet him! We could have a little dinner party at my place tonight!" she said excitedly, tapping on the table with her hand a little. The three took a moment looking at one another before nodding.
"My boyfriend is in London visiting his mother, so I'm free." said Emily
"Aaron is on a big case, so he'll be home late, and I'd love to meet Luke, see if he's smart enough to keep up with you." Spencer said, smiling a little as Penelope reached over and ruffled his hair.
JJ laughed a little "Will could use some alone time with the boys, and I'd like to not have to cook dinner for once" she admitted.
"Then it's agreed! My place, 6:30, bring your appetites!" Penelope said, shooting a text to Luke after setting down her mug.
'My place, 3:00! We need to get groceries!'
Luke and Penelope were in her small kitchen preparing a tasty meal that her friends would love. "Remind me again , why the sudden dinner party?" he asked as he put the finishing touches on some nice vegetarian enchiladas they'd made together.
"Because they had to meet you, and there is a doubter amongst my friends that we work, my spicy little bottle of hot sauce." Penelope explained as she set the table, doubling back to the kitchen to pinch him on his left butt cheek. "Besides, It's not often I get to introduce people I love to other people I love, it'll be fun!"
"Okay, well at least give me some information on them, since I'm sure they know all about me." Luke said as he messed around with some of the other fixings they'd made.
"Okaaaaay, well there's Jennifer, but we call her JJ, she's married to a hot Cajun guy, and her two little boys are absolutely the light of one's life, I love them. She's from a small town that her heart was way too big for and I love her." Penelope started as she transferred some of the food to the table with him. "Then there's Emily, but you already know her and how much I love her." she said as she wiped her hands on an apron she had covering her dress. "And finally Spencer! He's smart, he's got a bunch of degrees and he's a certified genius and he and I could just talk all day and-" she began, but Luke put his hand up to stop her.
"And, let me guess, you love him?" he asked, smiling a little.
"Exactly! But not as much as I love you." Penelope said as she shuffled back over to him and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. As she did there came a knock on her door. "Ooh, they must be here!" she said as she removed her apron hung it up as quickly as she could. "Hold on!" she called to the door as she made her way over, dragging Luke behind her. As Penelope opened the door her friends came in. "Yes, yes, come in my friends You all look so nice!" she said. "Ooh, guys, this is Luke!" she said excitedly, letting go of his hand so she could present him as though she was a game show girl presenting a prize. "Luke, this is Spencer, the super smart genius I was telling you about!" she said.
"Yeah, she told me you were a genius, nice to meet you." Luke said as he extended his hand to Spencer for a shake. Spencer ignored his hand though.
"The amount of pathogens passed through a handshake is unbelievable, did you know it's actually more hygienic to kiss?" he asked, only to be met with a confused look.
"Sorry, the good doctor doesn't do handshakes." JJ said as she reached in and shook his hand herself. "I'm JJ, and we've heard a lot about you, exciting to finally meet you." she said, noting Luke's firm handshake.
"I've heard a lot about the three of you as well." Luke said, giving them all a smile. "I hope you're hungry, Penelope and I worked extra hard on this dinner." he explained as he motioned towards the set table, steaming serving dishes and empty plates ready to go.
"Oh God, I'm so ready, it smells amazing." JJ said as she headed to the table.
"I know, Penelope's cooking is always a treat, and with how great it smells, I'm sure yours is too." Emily agreed, following her friend to the table and taking a seat with her after draping their coats over the back of their respective chairs. Spencer followed and did the same with his things.
"You moved this table, Penelope." Spencer said. "To make room for that?" he asked, pointing at a potted plant Penelope had recently purchased.
"Yeah, I needed some more greenery in here!" she said, motioning her hand vaguely around the apartment as she took her place next to Luke at the table. Luke, however looked at Penelope with a slightly dumbfounded look, as not even he noticed the new plant.
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice that before." Emily said nodding towards it. "Quite the eye, Spencer." she added, as she pat his back gently. JJ just laughed and shook her head, silently agreeing with Luke. Penelope's apartment was quite the cacophony of colors and shapes and things. But in it's own way there was an order to the slight chaos, Penelope knew the location of all her things as everything had its place. Luke was a minimalist himself, but didn't mind the amount of things Penelope had, as it was just part of her personality. At first he had been put off by the hodgepodge of things, as it was slightly overwhelming one had to admit, but after a while everything became quite comforting and normal. She had even given him small gifts of cute and colorful things that reminded her of him, they all had their place in his home on a small shelf where he kept them displayed with pride.
The dinner moved on peacefully and happily, everyone got a chance to get to know Luke, and he got a good chance to get to know them. Penelope's friends were just as colorful as she was in different ways, and he could tell she only associated herself with the best, which embarrassed him a little. He didn't think he was the best, but Penelope must have, because she loved him too. Nothing was black and white and it took a special person like Penelope to see the color in everyone, including him. Maybe that's why she latched onto him so fast, because where other people only saw the minimalist neutral tones he surrounded himself with, she saw a rainbow of possibilities. And that comforted him.