Penelope looked at the woman in the mirror and tried to keep from frowning or fidgeting. Her simple black dress was...nice. Elegant. She ran her hands over the silky, slippery fabric, smoothing it over her full hips, and forced her brow to stay unfurrowed. She could totally do this. Not a problem at all. So what if she didn't have any of her sequins or sparkles or bangles or beads or any sort of ornament other than a plain matching necklace-earring set that she'd gotten as a Christmas present from an aunt who'd never quite understood her? She didn't need all those things, right? She would be fine like this, stripped of her fripperies. Completely laid bare to anyone who saw her with nothing shiny to distract them from seeing her. This was how normal women dressed all the time. This-this would work fine.

Penelope swallowed and reapplied her lipstick-a nice, conservative pink-for the third time, and if her hands shook it was only a little bit. She surveyed her appearance again, her eyes flickering to her overflowing box of accessories and back to the uncertain looking woman in the mirror. It would be fine. Garcia tried a smile. She looked respectable, like the kind of woman that Aaron Hotchner wouldn't want to have drug tested. The kind of woman he'd want to take out and be seen with. Classy. Simple. Nice.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and closed her eyes for a long moment, steeling her nerves, then finally decided she was ready and exited the bathroom. Aaron stood up, nearly jumping off the couch, when he heard her understated pumps click across the floor. He stared at her for several seconds, his lovely strong jaw slack and his dark eyes wide with surprise, before visibly shaking himself. "You look...I mean, you," he trailed off, his eyes raking up and down her body, and Penelope pressed her hands flat against her thighs so they wouldn't shake and managed a tremulous smile.

"I thought I'd try something a little different tonight since we're going to such a fancy schmancy place. Not exactly my normal style, is it," she asked and felt pleased when her tone sounded more joking than uncomfortable.

Aaron blinked slowly at her and his lips quirked in a small smile. "You look lovely. You always look lovely," he said, stepping closer to take her hand. He lifted it to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss to the inside of her wrist, and Penelope's breath caught in her throat.

She smiled at him for real then, certain that she must be glowing with as warm as she felt in that moment. It was fine, she told herself again. It was just clothes, nothing major. She could handle this, no problem.

"Except," Aaron said, trailing off again with a small frown. Penelope's smile froze and her heart seized in her chest.

"Except?" Her voice sounded uncertain and a bit choked even to her own ears, but Aaron didn't seem to notice, too preoccupied with giving her another almost critical once over. She suddenly felt cold as he pulled away and sidestepped around her to get to the bathroom.

"It's missing something," he called out to her, his voice amplified by her tiled bathroom. In seconds, he was back by her side and her lips parted softly in surprise when he triumphantly presented what he'd retrieved.

The hair clip wasn't one of her most outrageous ones, but she'd always thought the fan of bright blue feathers was fun and funky. It was definitely not something that a certain kind of woman would wear to a certain kind of restaurant.

Aaron gently swept her hair up off where it brushed against the side of her face and carefully slid the clip into the shiny strands, securing the spray of feathers there. He took a step back, his fingers still lingering on her hair, and smiled. "There," he said softly. "Now you look perfect."

Lovely ... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.

~The Way You Look Tonight

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