Summary: Post Kevin/Garcia break up. Rossi cheers up a lonely Garcia over the holidays. Flirting, food and fun galore. Possible lemons in later chapters.

Note: This all spurred from my recent 'Christmas in July, in April' celebration. For some reason, this pair instantly popped into my head in the middle of the festivities. Hope you enjoy it!

I don't own Criminal Minds

"Come on Kitten, open up." Rossi had to contend with more than one glare from Garcia's neighbors as he entered minute ten of fighting for her to let him in. He's a grump of a jaded man and there's no use in denying it. This is especially true on the holidays when he faces a near constant reminder of his numerous failures of the past to maintain a good marriage or have a child with any of his three former wives. So he had planned to do what he has done for the last four years. Nothing. Go to his cabin with Mudgie, eat cannoli and copious amounts of lasagna and listen to Sinatra until he fell asleep drunk from his fine scotch and forgetting the fact that Christmas celebrations for him used to include a tree.

Instead he is banging on the door of Penelope Garcia's apartment the day before Christmas Eve because fate decided to be a bitch and have him be the last to leave the BAU that day not long after the Christmas party the very same woman organized, having seen her cry as she left. He had been, admittedly, a little warmed by the Christmas spirit that only Garcia could impart so he had offered to take the rest of the last minute paper work off Aaron's hands so he could do his final errands before taking off with Jack to New York to spend the two week vacation with Sean and his fiancé.

Prentiss went off to finally try to find some sort of reconciliation with her mother. Reid went to Bennington and JJ with Will and Henry to Louisiana to spend time with his parents. He had assumed that Garcia was going with Morgan to Chicago since she and Lynch broke up six months ago but after not getting her to pick up he called Morgan's phone to try to get a hold of her. His mission had been twofold: ask her if she wanted him to take in her Emily-gifted orchid she had forgot in the office to his place while she was gone and to see if she was ok. But, he learned from Morgan that she had decided to spend the holiday alone and wouldn't hear otherwise.

He wouldn't have worried so much if it had been any other person. But what is a man to do when Tech Goddess Garcia, the sunniest woman on the planet is down and depressed at her favorite holiday? He stands there at her door like a fool.

"I know you're in there sweet cheeks. I can hear you scurrying around. Open the damn door before I pull a favor I really don't want to use up, get a judge to issue me a warrant and break your damn door down!"

He heard her sigh of resignation and patiently waited a she undid all seven of her locks swinging the door open, her hands perched on her hips. "What the hell Super Agent! Is this how you've gotten so many women? Bullheadedly harassing them until they cave?"

He actually smirked at that, those are the claws he's used I seeing. "Never had to work that hard babe. But it's an excellent suggestion. May I come in?"

After a second of staring at him with an unreadable expression she stepped back before sighing. "What do you want Rossi?"

He stepped in past her into the colorful apartment and waited until she locked the door behind him. "Call me Dave Kitten. Dave or one of your many creative nick names like Super Agent." Admittedly it is still an ego boost when she calls him the latter. "I want to know why you were crying and why you aren't spreading holiday cheer the world over."

She sighed and sunk down into her purple velvet sofa. She would have offered him a drink or something but she wasn't feeling particularly hospitable at the moment. The only reason she let him in is because she knew that he was serious about calling in that favor and it would be much better put to use against an unsub. "Can't a girl take a break from being Ms. Sunshine every once in a while?"

He carefully examined her face as he too took a seat across from her on an oddly comfortable cushioned wooden chair. "Sure, if that's an act. You being sunny is just who you are… how you react."

She huffed. "Just because I look kooky and have personality doesn't mean I don't feel pain Dave."

Now it was his turn to huff. When did this become a fight? "I never said you don't. You feel deeper than most people I know. Hell, Kitten. Your sunshine and light is just part of your personality you show off to the world to cover that up. Just like I use my pain in the ass grumpiness."

"Why are you here?" She repeated. She just wanted this conversation over so she can go back to flopping face down on her bed and trying to forget the world.

Dave sighed and looked to his feet trying to figure out how to break this woman down. She's more impenetrable than the best unsubs when she really wants to lock something down. Otherwise she wears her heart on her sleeve so he knew something must really be wrong. Taking a breath he stood up and maneuvered himself to the coffee table, sitting with his knees touching hers. "Babe, you were crying and refused a holiday with Morgan. Did your Chocolate Adonis do something to upset you?"

She stared at him for a few minutes as if he were an alien and burst into a sudden and short lived fit of laughter. "Chocolate Adonis? You really do pay attention to our friendly flirting don't you?"

He was glad to see a little more amusement in her tone and he too let a smirk creep on his lips. "Hard to ignore. You two could set dry brush on fire. Had to take notes for my own turn."

She chuckled a bit, wondering where her sour mood had gone on vacation. "No, he didn't do anything. But I can't keep using him as a crutch Dave and I don't think I could take another year of his mother trying to convince us to get married and give her a bunch of mocha grandbabies. I love the man but that's just so not in the cards for us. We aren't really like that."

"So that's what's bothering you? You aren't like that with Morgan?" It would make sense, for years he had questions on how that friendship would end up.

She shook her head adamantly. "No, no. That's why I didn't go with him. I'm more than content on that score. No, I'm just… lonely I guess." She finally peeped up from her lap to his eyes expecting the independent Rossi to be judging her for that but he didn't. He just looked like he was waiting for her to finish her thought. "I mean, I know you might not understand this. But, even if I wasn't totally happy with Kevin and I'm totally over him at least I was never lonely. Well, sometimes when I was with him I still felt that way but I wasn't alone. So, after years of dating him when we probably shouldn't have gotten together after I was still tender from that whole… incident to begin with, I am the only person without a family or somewhere to spend the holidays. Hell, even Reid has somewhere to go." She threw her head back against the cushions. Lord does she hate that Rossi always ends up getting the truth out of her.

Rossi took her in, she really was lonely. "You know, I don't have that either."

"Yeah." She came back with a quick retort. "But you don't want any of it. You're more than content to simply hole yourself up in that cabin of yours."

He quirked a brow, his voice raising in curiosity. "How do you know that's where I spend my holidays?"

She laughed at him shortly. "I keep track of all my babies during inclement weather." She tilted her face back at him. "Did you expect anything else from me?"

He shook his head side to side amused and moved to sit next to her, a few inches away so she could feel some comfort but not close enough to enter her personal space. "No. I would expect just that. But, I'm not exactly happy there sweetheart. I spend a great deal of my time alone lamenting that very fact and you know, you're young and have a whole life to find that person. Me? I'm a worn out old dog, Kitten. No real hope for that to change either."

Both fell into silence for a bit, staring off towards her black television thinking this conversation over. "Well, that's depressing." She managed after a time.

He snorted. "Yeah, well. Misery loves company I suppose."

"That's the truth." She sighed and rolled her head to look at him. She never really saw him open up before and now that she has she can see those small fractures each of his wives and probably several of his conquests has left on him. "I've never spent a holiday alone before. How do I go about it?"

He rolled his head to look back at her, a sudden determination rising on his face as he took her loneliness and desperation in. Oh hell, he would do anything to salvage that happiness he loves of her, simply because it keeps the rest of the team and himself happy. "You aren't going to find out this year." He internally winced, he was really going to break down all his privacy barriers wasn't he? He was going to let Penelope Garcia into his little world and up to his cabin where he doesn't let anyone in. Yeah, that's what he was going to do. "Do you have warm boots?" He stood, ready to be set into action.

Her forehead crinkled of its own accord. "For what exactly?"

"You're coming to the cabin. It's really snowy up there. And before you protest there is internet and cell phone service. I wouldn't expect you to go without those for long."

She was stunned. She never expected this when she opened her door. A lecture? Maybe. A return of something she might have left at the office? Probably. But an offer to spend Christmas with her? Nope, didn't make her list of potential outcomes. "Um, for how long?"

He smiled triumphantly, he expected more of a fight. "A few days at least. I'm spending at little more a week there myself and you're welcome for all that time though I'm not sure how long you want to escape civilization. All up to you." And internally he was just starting to recognize he'd like her to stay the whole time. The thought of enjoying Christmas with her and then suddenly her leaving seemed rather, cold.

"Dave." It felt odd calling him that. "This is crazy. We don't do things like this." They're friends, but not Christmas sharing friends. Hell, Hotch had been surprised to see her at Rossi's when they cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

"Why is this crazy? I'm alone. You're alone. We're family as you always say. Shouldn't we spend the holiday together?" He gave her his best estimation of puppy eyes and immediately saw her resolve diminish.

"Fine." She stood up abruptly. "But don't expect me to be my usual cheerful self."

"Oh Bella, trust me. My décor is thankful for it." He teased. Better to have a falsely offended Garcia than a sad one.

"Jackass. Just for that we are stopping at the drug store for lights and you are buying a Christmas tree." She glared at him to show she was serious and for the first time she actually felt a little… giddy. "I'm grabbing my ornaments and Santa hat. You wait out here while I pack and figure out if you want to be the big man or the elf."

He followed her into the bedroom to point out she needed some sweaters too and stopped in his tracks as he took in her sexy Mrs. Claus outfit she was discarding from her selections. "Gotta tell ya Kitten, wear that and I'll play any part you want." He had taken to flirting with her ever since Lynch left. It was a massive ego boost to hear the things she can say directed at you. Sure it was throwing some of the other profilers in the office off, Reid even asked him if there was something going on between the two of them but he shrugged. It's just plain fun. He needs fun and so does she.

She smirked and held it in front of her. "You sure you wouldn't rather have some svelte beauty warming your bed tonight?"

He snickered and drew closer, folding her outfit and tucking it in her bag. "Trust me Bella, if anyone will be warming me this weekend it will be you with your delectable curves."

She snorted back at him. While used to excessive flirting with Derek, Rossi always returns it with the same level of edge she throws off and her Adonis just doesn't rise to. "OK, but you have to serenade me in Italian."

"You don't exactly drive a hard bargain Kitten."

She smirked as she passed by him towards her closet to pull out her decorations, pausing to kiss his cheek. "See if you're still saying that when you're clad in a green Speedo and Elf hat."

Dave groaned as he watched her walk away. What the hell was he getting himself into?