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𝑹 𝑬 𝑴
❝ 𝚐𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓, 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓?"

"Laughter is the best medicine!"

"No, penicillin is the best medicine," Alina pointed out, pushing Aaron away with a grin on her face. "I know you want to make me feel better, but tickling me to death--"

Before she could even continue, Aaron had pounced and began to tickle her again. Her words ended up becoming jumbled and bouts of laughter and squeals replaced their coherence. "You love me," he teased.

"I do!" She yelled, trying to push his hands away. "But I'm starting to regret that!"

He tickled her harder. "No, you don't!"

"AARON!" She laughed, successfully kicking him away to the point that he ended up falling off their giant bed.

March of the next year, and Aaron and Alina had been married for a grand total of three months. During the Christmas holidays, they spent the eve and the day of with Jack, Jess, and her family. They had a great time exchanging gifts, and Jack ended up getting a little too spoiled by Alina's side of the family. Each of her brothers, and her sister, had given him gifts ranging from more age-appropriate gifts like books and toys, all the way to an entire gaming console decked with several games that Aaron disapproved of.

Dora and Chris were to blame for the latter.

Then, for their little honeymoon getaway during the New Years, Alina whisked Aaron away to the French Alps—specifically to Courchevel—and spent the entire week staying in a private chalet as they tried new cuisines, skied their hearts out, and of course did what all couples do in their honeymoon.

Alina particularly enjoyed the session they had in right in front of the fireplace.

Aaron, at first, had been very unsure of spending their honeymoon in a place so expensive. It wasn't because he was insecure; in fact, he was quite excited to be spoiled for once. Richard even assured him personally that money wasn't an issue when it came to their family, so it wasn't even because of the shame that most people would've expected him to feel as the 'man' in the relationship. No, it was more along the lines of him not being used to the lifestyle that the Narvaez's live.

The urge to spend things on only necessary things was strong, but after getting talked down by Alina—a quite common occurrence between the two—he eventually found himself spending a little too much on several designer ties.

Eventually, when February came, during the first week, they moved into the Narvaez ancestral home in the insistence of Richard himself. The man had already moved out before they could even react, and Jack was quick to jump into the opportunity of living in a place he had dubbed the 'castle,' just like Alina and her siblings had called it when they were young.

It took a lot of serious talks and considerations—and reconsiderations—before the Narvaez-Hotchner family finally moved in. Of course, Alina and Aaron took up the master's wing, a private area of the second floor that housed the master's suite that was separated from the rest of the house by a small den, while Jack took up the second biggest bedroom, the room that was once Alina's. Of course, the bedrooms of the Narvaez siblings were kept as is, serving as 'guest' rooms whenever they decide to visit.

One of the many family rooms, however, was transformed into a fully functioning lab not much different from the one Alina has in the Avengers compound. Not only did it have its own office, but Tony willingly allowed her to install FRIDAY into the room, so she could work remotely. To make sure Jack couldn't enter without permission, she made sure to have it only accessed with a fingerprint, pin, and retinal scan. Aaron was very thankful for her decision.

After settling into the house, the small family had a little housewarming party, inviting everyone they considered friends and family. This included the rest of the Narvaez family, the BAU team, Helen, and some of the Avengers who weren't out on missions.

This was also where they announced their marriage, and everyone who wasn't in the know were livid.

"You're married?!" Helen had screeched, nearly dropping her glass of wine in shock. Her expression was mirrored by Steve, whose jaw had dropped. "Are you serious?!"

"I'm serious," Alina laughed, lifting up her left hand to show off her wedding band. Aaron had to look away to conceal his proud smile. "I'm surprised none of you had realized; it wasn't like I was hiding it."

"An announcement would've been preferred," Gwen playfully rolled her eyes. Though, unlike the others, she was at least in the know, mostly because of Spencer who had turned into a bit of a gossip. After finding out, she marched into the FBI headquarters and shamelessly threatened the Unit Chief. Aaron was absolutely horrified, while Spencer cheered his girlfriend on.

"Actually, an invitation would've been preferred more," Vince interjected. The psychologist—just like the rest of his siblings—found out about the union the day after, and was absolutely devastated. "Still can't believe you, of all people, eloped."

"Agreed," Dora nodded. "I told y'all I was gonna elope--"

Vince could only reply with a weak whimper, muttering about disrespectful younger sisters.

Afterwards, on Valentine's Day, Aaron surprised Alina by officially proposing to her. Given that they weren't even engaged when they married, Alina was quite touched by the gesture and proudly wore the diamond engagement ring together with her wedding band. She was a little confused as to how Aaron found a ring that perfectly matched it, but Aaron explained how he had help from both Jess and Dora, who had gotten close during their housewarming party and used their 'powers as a woman' to pick out the perfect ring.

Alina thanked them both by inviting them to a weekend getaway to the nearest—and fanciest—hotel she could find.

On Alina's birthday—May 15th—she took Aaron and Jack on a trip to Wakanda. Given her close relationship with the royal family, they were given a grand welcome, among other things. Apart from exploring not just Wakanda, but also the neighboring nations, it was there that Alina told Aaron the entire truth about her mother.

In a short yet meaningful conversation, Alina explained, "From what I can honestly remember, she was an okay mom. Did what she had to do for us kids, but I didn't think she expected dad to make decisions without her knowing. Like my siblings and I, dad had always been a little to independent, and I guess mom didn't like that all too much. And when dad transferred to Kentucky, she had enough. You'd think that she would've given us kids some warning, but she literally just vanished in the dead of night. We haven't heard from her since, and, well, none of us really wants to look for her."

The conversation made Aaron figure out more things about Alina's character. It wasn't just her dad that made her give up on love, it was also her mother, who ended up giving her severe trust issues that limited her capability to fully embrace someone into her life. One thing that surprised him, though, was the fact that she never mentioned her mother by name.

Soon enough, it was June. Alina was home, along with Jack. Gwen, carrying the now eight-month-old twins with her, had been instructed by Spencer to stay over, as their current—and local—case seemed to drag on; a bank robbery that seemed to be escalating. Jack, of course, was ecstatic, considering himself as the older cousin of the twins, and even the babies agreed. Finn, in particular, was smitten with the older boy.

Gwen laughed a little as she told the story of Spencer's first time alone with the twins.

"Ever since they were born, we've been taking care of them together," she began, using her hands to explain, "but of course, sooner or later, Spencer was gonna have to take care of them on his own. So, when I was tasked to oversee a mission, I had to stay at the compound for a few days." She giggled. "Don't get me wrong, Spencer's a great dad, incredible, but the twins unfortunately inherited my stubbornness, and had absolutely refused to go to sleep this one night."

"What did Spencer do?" Alina asked with a laugh as she raked her fingers through Jack's hair as he slept on her lap. Both her and Gwen were sat in the larger couch located in the living room.

"Well, he called me first," Gwen shrugged, grinning. Both twins were asleep in their prams, and so she took to moving it forward and backward slowly as the twins loved movement and would fall asleep better. "He was panicking a little already because they've been sleeping full nights already and would routinely wake up around seven, so even if they didn't get enough sleep, they'd still be awake at that time."

"Ah, so he was worried they wouldn't get enough hours of sleep."

"Exactly! So..."

As they conversed, Jack slowly began stirring from his sleep, and quickly asked if he can watch some TV. Of course, Alina had agreed, but before she could fully dive into her conversation with Gwen, Jack called out to her.

"Momma, is daddy okay?"

Alina looked at him, startled. "What do you mean?"

Jack, remote still in hand, pointed at the TV, where news of a bank exploding was being shown on the news. A shaky gasp tore out of her, and her eyes got wide. She looked back at Gwen who was wearing a similar expression.

But Gwen being Gwen, quickly schooled her expression and told Alina to quickly get a hold of Aaron.

Alina did what she was told, as Jack ran towards Gwen's outstretched arms. She sagged in relief as soon as Aaron answered her call.

"I-Is everything okay?" Alina stuttered.

"Yeah," Aaron answered, but he quickly corrected himself. "No, it's bad, but I'm alright."

"You're safe?"

"Yeah, just don't come into the city."

Alina let out a breath and nodded despite knowing he couldn't see her. "We won't."

"Can you take Jack on the bike ride today?" He asked. His voice was a little shaky, and the sound of his heaves were clear even with the loudness of the background.

"Of course."

"Right, can you put him on?"

As Jack moved forward to talk to his dad, Gwen quickly looked at Alina and mouthed, 'Everything okay?'

Alina scooted closer to her and whispered, "I don't think so. He can't tell me anything, of course," she rolled her eyes a little, "but I can tell even with the way he spoke to me that he's rattled."

Gwen sighed and patted her best friend's shoulder. "You know he and the team are amazing at what they do. You don't have to worry...much."

The shorter of the two snorted. "How reassuring."

Jack raced back towards them and handed Alina back her phone. "Daddy says not to worry too much, and that he loves you."

"I hope you told him that I love him too," Alina teased a little.

"Of course," Jack nodded proudly.

It was waiting game from that point on, and both Alina and Gwen reassured themselves by talking about anything and everything. Eventually, Gwen decided to take a nap, exhausted after taking care of the twins, so Alina went ahead and distracted both her and Jack by showing him her old hiding spots from childhood.

Soon, the night came, and no word yet from Aaron—or even Spencer. Both the women were as worried as can be, when the sound of keys jiggling rom outside the front door, and Alina sighed in relief. Gwen shot her a questioning look.

She smiled. "It's Aaron."

The sound of the door opening had Alina standing up from where she laid—falling asleep next to Gwen—and rushing towards a disheveled Aaron whose frown quickly turned into a grin when he saw her. She gave him a kiss before looking at an equally disheveled Spencer behind him.

"Gwen and the twins are inside," she told him, and the lanky man didn't hesitate to walk inside the house. Which gave Aaron and Alina the privacy they needed.

Despite his appearance and current state, Alina still hugged Aaron tightly, pressing her face against his chest. "I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled into his shirt.

He hugged her back, pressed a kiss on her head, and nodded. "I'm glad too," he admitted. Then, he pulled away, "Well, I need a shower, and you need to get ready."

"What for?"

"JJ and Will are getting married."

"They're what?!"

The day finally ended with the BAU team and their respective families all in Rossi's house, celebrating the union of JJ and Will, a couple that's been through hell and back these past several hours. Will had been taken hostage and nearly got blown up, and JJ had to face off an unsub who had attempted to end their son's life.

All in all, a peaceful night was what they deserved and more. Coupled with an actual wedding, the night was filled with laughter and joy, and frankly, Alina wouldn't mind being surrounded by this small group of people for the rest of her life.

Throwing her head back in laughter, she danced with Penelope who was teasing her about potentially having kids with Aaron.

"You know Jack's been aching for a younger sibling!" Penelope exclaimed.

"I know!" Alina laughed. She was wearing a tweed mini-dress from Balmain, paired with a pair of four-inch white heels; an ensemble she hastily threw on just an hour prior. "He's been telling me nonstop, okay?"

"And?"

"And what?!"

Penelope slapped her shoulder. "And what are you gonna do about it?! Come on, Lina!"

"Be patient, alright?" She kissed the woman's cheek. She then glanced up and saw Aaron waving her over. "Aaron's calling. You mind?"

The technical analyst returned the kiss on the cheek and patted her butt. "Go get your man."

Alina giggled as she let go of Penelope, before skipping over to where Aaron stood, immediately wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he wrapped his around her waist. He placed a kiss on her lips before pulling away.

"Heard your conversation with Garcia," he admitted, beginning to sway and guide her as they slowly danced to the music playing.

"I'm pretty sure everyone did," she laughed.

"That's true," he nodded, chuckling under his breath as he stared down at her. "In that case, when do you think we should tell the team?"

Alina bit her lip a little as she smiled up at him, making sure to remain inconspicuous as she moved one hand to caress her flat stomach that would soon grow to accommodate her and Aaron's baby.

"How about this," she began, moving her hand back to where it was earlier.

"Hm?"

She grinned. "We tell them after I give birth."

At this, Aaron threw his head back and laughed. "You're evil."

"Well, you better get used to it, because you'll be experiencing it for the rest of your life."

After another quick peck to her lips, he grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

𝑭𝑰𝑵.

author's note: and that's officially a wrap :>

of course, i wouldn't leave y'all with a closed ending hehehe. surprise?

you wouldn't be hearing about the arlina baby anytime soon, other than this little tease, of course. because it's fun like that.

but please lmk if there are any spelling mistakes and what not, i kinda finished the second half of this in one sitting and i rlly just went with the flow and only skimmed it a little before publishing.

love you all!! see y'all in 6:30 :p