elle sat at her desk, tapping a pen against a stack of files, her mind not on the case in front of her but on something—or rather, someone else entirely. she glanced across the bullpen, catching a glimpse of you as you worked, completely absorbed in whatever task you were doing. her heart did a little flip, the way it had been doing more and more often lately.

but this time, the confusion and uncertainty of it all were getting to her. she needed to talk to someone. with a sigh, elle pushed back her chair and made her way to the tech room, where she knew she’d find garcia.

“hey, penelope,” elle greeted, leaning against the doorway.

garcia looked up, her face brightening. “elle! what's up?”

elle smiled faintly, shaking her head. “i just wanted to talk.”

garcia’s eyes narrowed playfully as she turned her chair around to face elle fully. “ooh, talk as in gossip or talk as in serious girl chat?”

“maybe a little bit of both,” elle admitted, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her.

garcia’s curiosity was piqued. she could sense something was up, and elle wasn’t the type to share personal stuff easily, so this had to be important. “alright, spill it. what’s on your mind?”

elle hesitated for a moment, not quite sure where to start. she leaned against garcia’s desk, crossing her arms. “there’s this... person. someone i've been thinking about a lot lately. it’s not something i'm used to. i mean, i’ve dated before, but this feels different. i really like her.”

garcia’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she grinned, clearly excited for elle. “you’ve got a crush! that’s amazing! who is she?”

elle glanced at the floor, her confidence wavering. “that’s the thing, penelope. i don’t even know if she’s into girls. i mean, she’s never mentioned anything, and i don’t want to make things awkward or misread the situation.”