Title: sugar spun spiels
Fandom: elementary & criminal minds
Rating: teen
Length: ~500 words
Author notes: established relationship fluff, also for the sapphic stuffing stockers ficathon \o/

Joan is used to walking into familiar spaces and finding them askew, as much as one can get used to such a thing. Sherlock has turned their living room into a temporary morgue (luckily corpseless), a tropical bird paradise, and covered the entire floor a foot deep with packing peanuts- all in the name of solving cases. (Or getting help from Everyone to solve cases.)

Still, the transformation of her girlfriend’s office takes her by surprise- looks like a parade exploded all over it. Joan inches into the office slowly, careful not to step on any of the decorations. There’s a few empty circles for footsteps, and it looks like the yellow, orange, and brown balloons fell from the ceiling to cover some. Stepping high over an acorn and squirrel figurine, she nearly collapses into the desk chair, thankful she beat Penny here. Seated, she takes in the decorations once more.

The walls are covered in enough crepe paper and streamers that it must be a fire hazard, dozens of hand-turkeys adorning one wall. And judging by the signatures, she got each of her current and past teammates to make one- from Morgan’s turkey with a six-pack to Emily’s with a little British flag.

The floor is lined with real and artificial maple leaves, and if Joan focuses on those, it’s obvious there was originally a path from the door to the chair. Sometime after that the little statues and oversized candles and multi-colored squashes started coming in, and yeah definitely a fire hazard.

With a wistful smile Joan looks up at the ceiling, the only bare part of the office. If she squints, she can see the faint outline of clear tape, and yup, the balloons were certainly up there before.

“Joan! Babe, you didn’t say you were coming into town today- I thought you had that pop-tart case?”

“We solved it early,” Joan answers as Penelope expertly navigates the floor. Her perfume wafts over her first, and Joan smiles at the familiar hibiscus and melted sugar scent. She can’t walk past a bakery or flower shop these days without finding them lacking, takes Penny’s hands.

“Of course you two geniuses solved it early,” Penelope says, bringing her hands higher to dot kisses on her knuckles. “Does that mean you’ll have time for a sleepover?”

Joan stands up, “Yes.”

“There’s something I wanted to try with you sugarplum,” Penny says, leading her out of the office.

“Oh?” Joan winces as a leaf crinkles under her boot, but her girlfriend doesn’t mention her crushing some of the décor.

“A blanket fort! All over the living room, with tons of squashy pillows and cocktails.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Penelope pauses in the doorway, pointing up with a contagious grin. “Mistletoe.”

“It’s not even December,” Joan says, stepping into her warm embrace, might make the complaint more believable if she wasn’t so amused.

Penny bats her eyelashes, covered in a sparkly silvery glitter, and Joan happily leans down to kiss her. (She tastes as she always does, like home.)