Criminal Minds A Sweaty First Meeting

The walls in the building were cement and reinforced; gray and dull. It was pretty much a small warehouse in itself; with those square, ratty windows and steel reinforcements supporting the ceiling, which was surprisingly low. Nevertheless, the building was large, as a gym should be, complete with rows of elliptical equipment, punching bags, and a large sparring mat in the center of the entire building. There were also many other mats spread throughout many reserved areas in the spacious building, including in one corner, where Agents Steve McGarrett and Derek Morgan constructed their weekly women's self-defense classes.

The class was coming to an end and Steve signaled for the fifteen women to gather around him and Morgan. Many of the older women—dare he say, _cougars_—shot him hungry looks as they closed in on him and his best friend.

"You guys did great today," He said positively, smiling at each and every one of them. "Next week, Derek and I are going to demonstrate how to effectively take out an attacker if they come up from behind you."

A hand shot up from the back of the crowd and, without letting Steve call on her, the lady—Regina, he thought—asked her question. "Is it effective?"

Steve and Derek exchanged looks. Was it effective? Hell yeah. Even the two agents were afraid of the maneuver. With a laugh and a slight bow of the head, Steve said, "I can assure you that it's _very_ effective. Think of Sandra Bullock's technique from _Miss Congeniality_,"

Regina laughed and retreated back to her place in the crowd, clearly reassured that the move would fend off an attacker if it would ever come down to it. After a few more announcements, they dismissed the class and Steve turned around to snatch up his water bottle from a table that was pushed up against the wall. A smaller wall that bordered off the area that the class was taught in branched off perpendicularly, but it only came up to Steve's waist, and he could see out into the open gym. As he tipped the water towards his lips, his eyes flickered over to the trio of punching bags across from him, where a woman watched him with mischievous eyes. Once she saw that he met her gaze, she simply smiled before unleashing an impressive combo on to the bag.

Morgan, who had padded over to Steve's opposite side, nudged him with his elbow. "She's been watching you ever since the class started, man,"

Steve turned his head to look at him. He wore a devilish grin on his face. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, man. She's hot. She's clearly in to you. _Go talk to her_." Derek pressed. Steve's brow furrowed and he shook his head.

"What're we in, high school?" He joked, taking another chug from the bottle. "I'm not a tenth grader."

His best friend let out a laugh. "Then why are you acting like one?"

"Derek Morgan, sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you."

"Brotherly love, man. Brotherly love." He smiled. "Now go talk to her. When's the last time you got some?"

Steve's eyes flicked over to where she was beating the crap out of the bag again. Her eyes had never left him, and she didn't care that he noticed. It was true; she was cute, even with wisps of her brown hair plastered to her forehead from her sweat. She was wearing a black sports bra with light blue lining, spandex that went down to just above her calves, and a pair of Nike shoes. She was tall and limber. She was sexy, really, and his breath caught in his throat once her smile broadened at the fact that he had been staring for a significant amount of time.

Finally, he shifted his gaze back to Derek. "Go." He told him, taking a sip from his own water. "You'll never hear the end of it from me if you don't."

"If that's the case, then I'm going to head on over there now."

Steve crossed the small distance between the open room and the bags, and placed his hands on either side of the bag to steady it out for her.

"It's easier when someone holds the bag for you," He told her with a smile.

She smiled back. "Thanks, I can tell. I'm Kate." She stopped punching to hold out her wrapped hand. Steve took it gently, as if he'd break off her arm, but she proved to have tremendous arm strength once she shook. He had to put on a little pressure to keep _her_ from breaking _his_ arm off.

"Steve." He replied. "So do you work for the Bureau?"

For a brief moment, Kate's brow furrowed, but then she smiled in realization. They were in the FBI's gym, after all. "Oh, no, it's just that this gym is ten times better than the local ones. Everyone that hangs around there is pumped full of steroids."

A laugh escaped from his throat, even as he tensed his body to steady the bag for her next set of kicks. "Do—you—work—for—the Bureau?" She said between attacks.

"Yeah," He said. "I'm an agent for the BAU."

Again, she stopped for a breath. "Behavioral Analysis Unit," She said. "Impressive."

He smirked. "It has its perks. Travel, a private jet, free health care." Kate laughed, and Steve warmed on the inside. "What about you? What do you do?"

"Para—medic," She replied.

"Now _that's_ impressive," Steve said. "I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure."

Kate stopped and signaled to Steve, letting him know that he could drop the bag. She walked over to a bench and draped a towel around her shoulders. "Don't you handle even _more_ pressure? I mean, I wouldn't be able to take a bullet if I had to."

"Two different types of pressure," He said with a half-smile. "I'm used to bullets. I was a SEAL. And I mostly deal with deceased bodies, not on-the-edge-of-being-deceased bodies."

Kate laughed, but then regained her posture. "A SEAL, huh?"

"Lieutenant Commander," He said matter-of-factly.

"You're the impressive one, hands-down."

Steve grinned. "We'll see about that."

"McGarrett!" Steve looked over his shoulder. Morgan, who was now wearing a serious expression, was holding up his phone; pointing at it. Steve knew what that meant: the team had caught a case.

When Steve returned his focus back to Kate, a small frown had formed on his face, although it was mainly because he was going to have to stop flirting with her.

"Something wrong?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. My team just got a case."

"Oh," She said. "At least you get to travel."

"Yeah, but…" He hadn't done this in a while. Was he supposed to _directly _ask for her number?

A knowing smile formed on Kate's lips. She bent down near her bag, and came back up with a pen in hand. "Here," She said, reaching for Steve's hand. Their touch was electric once their skin came in to contact, and they both looked at each other with what-the-fuck expressions on their faces. Nevertheless, Kate uncapped the pen using her teeth and scribbled down her number on the back of Steve's hand. "I'd like to continue our conversation sometime—if that's okay with you."

"That's definitely fine with me," He said, "Kate."

"Okay, then, I'll see you later. " She scooped up her bag from the floor and flashed him a smile over her shoulder as she exited the gym. Steve watched her ass the entire time. After she left, he rejoined Morgan, who was grinning.  
"What?"

"I told you so."

"Shut up," Steve smiled. "What's the case?"

"A serial in San Francisco. Three bodies have been found in the past week and a half—and all of the skin on their faces has been removed."


End file.

Criminal Minds, Humor, Romance