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𝑹 𝑬 𝑴
❝ 𝚑𝚎𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚢 ❞

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ㅤ𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 unwrap her arms around Aaron, but still, she hesitantly pulled away from his form, biting her lip as she finally made real eye contact with him. It's been three months since she's seen his face in person, and now that he was back, with a beard, she almost couldn't stop herself from planting a kiss right on his inviting lips.

But she held herself back, and instead, decided to cup his jaw in her hands.

Given that she rushed over from the labs, she was wearing her comfortable clothes consisting of a random band tee, a pair of leggings, and some sneakers that really did nothing for her height, she was only up to his chin. But she forced herself to stand on the tips of her toes, and giving his jaw another kiss.

She could feel his chest vibrating as he hummed in content as they were still practically chest to chest. She watched as he closed his eyes, all while moving both his hands up her arms, his thumbs tracing gentle circles on her exposed skin. The roughness of his fingertips made her shudder against him, closing her eyes too as she stood back on her feet, hands moving down to his waist as she pressed her face against his chest.

The two stood there, holding each other fondly, relishing in the warmth that they both undoubtedly missed.

During Aaron's stay in Pakistan, most of his calls back home were mainly to appease his son—who was not at all happy about his beard—and though Alina was there, as she spent those three months babysitting, the two barely had any time to actually talk.

But here they were now, with the opportunity to finally talk things through, in person.

Despite his internal protests, Aaron pulled away from Alina and scanned her face more thoroughly than he did earlier, as if he couldn't believe that she was actually there in front of him. He let out a breathy chuckle in disbelief before moving one hand up to cradle her head as he pressed a kiss to her temple, fingers weaving through her brown waves.

"I missed you," he admitted unabashedly, moving one hand down to her waist and the other that was cradling her head, down to her jaw. "I missed you so much."

With suspiciously watery eyes, Alina bit her lip before replying. "I missed you too, Aaron." She subconsciously pressed her cheek against his rough and calloused hand as she looked up at him. "I like the beard."

"I'm sure you do," he teased playfully as he let out another chuckle. "Jack doesn't, though."

Alina smiled as she nodded. "I know. Ever since you debuted it, he's been complaining. I, however, have no complains. You look really hot, Aar."

Aaron paid no mind to the heat that was crawling up his neck at her words, and instead asked, "'Aar'?"

"What? Don't like it?"

He thought for a moment before shrugging. "As long as I get to call you...Ali."

"'Ali'?" She tilted her head in contemplation as she absentmindedly fisted his shirt. Somehow, despite her inhibitions, her body acted on its own, wanting to pull Aaron as close to her as possible. "No one's ever called me that before. Dad calls me Sol, my brothers and sister—and everyone else, really—call me Lina. You know, I never understand the purpose of nicknames. I mean, why can't people just refer to each other by their given names? Although, I do like calling people a different name, depending on how much I like having them around..."

Aaron let her ramble, as all he could do at that moment was stare at her. The face he's missed, the face he'd wanted to see in person for months, the face of someone he holds dear to his heart...the face of the woman he's fallen in love with. Even without knowing, Alina's become his solace, his safe haven. Her face was not the face that launched a thousand ships, no, her face was the face that brought peace. Her beauty might not have caused an all-out war, but it did cause tranquility in a man that had been through hell and back.

For him, Alina felt like home.

If only she'd let him show her that.

"...but then again, I've been told that giving someone a nickname means that they're important to you. So tell me this, Aar, am I important to you?" Her tone was teasing, and was meant as a joke, but her smirk faltered once she saw the look in his eyes. The fondness, the affection...the love.

"You have no idea," he responded, still holding her close.

She let out a shaky breath, finally coming to her senses as she gently pulled away. "Hey, uh, we need to talk, don't we?"

He closed his eyes for a second as reality came rushing back at him again. "Yeah...yes, we do. But before that, I have to apologize."

"For what?"

"For the mess I know I caused Gwen and Spencer," he clarified.

She frowned a little. "Wow, I...I nearly forgot about that." She scoffed at herself. "Aaron Hotchner, how in the world are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" He asked, tilting his head curiously. But there was a hint of a smile on his lips that Alina saw.

She rolled her eyes fondly. "You know, how you...you already know."

"I do," he chuckled, a feeling of pride blossoming in his chest when she admitted that he makes her lose focus. He just hopes it's a good thing. "But again, I apologize. I wasn't...thinking. We were in a rush, a kid was in danger, Emily was coming back...I didn't mean for it to happen. And I hope that the two..." He sighed.

"I talked some sense into Spencer. Actually, threatened him, more like," she told him. "He deserves to be angry, to feel betrayed, but he sure as hell doesn't get the right to blame it on anyone involved, especially on Gwen. He's supposed to be a genius! With his intelligence, he's supposed to know that what we did was not to spite him, it was for Emily's safety. I swore to him that if he insists on dragging out something that can easily be fixed with open-mindedness, I will rain hell upon him. Not just me--"

"But the entire force of the Avengers, I know," he laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges. Being back with Alina...she was admittedly the only person outside of his family that made him as happy as he was at this exact moment. "If I were him, I wouldn't even dare say anything that could remotely offend Gwen."

Alina scoffed, finally untangling herself from his arms as she made her way over to his couch. She flopped down onto it as she crossed her arms, placing her feet on top of his coffee table. She watched amusedly as he looked at her in mock-disappointed, gently pushing her feet off before settling next to her. She stubbornly brought her feet back up, when he unexpectedly pulled her feet off and placed it on his lap as he sat down right next to her.

She bit back a grin as she got back into topic. "Honestly, with Gwen overrun by hormones, and her current state of neediness, I wouldn't doubt that she'd be a bit less stubborn than usual. Plus, she's gonna be a mom soon. I think she'd rather clear the air at once than drag it out. She's never been very good at holding grudges, anyway."

He hummed in agreement, unconsciously massaging her calves. "Gwen may be strong-willed, but she's always been compassionate."

"That's Queenie for you."

It was silent for a while. The two just sat there together, with Alina lying on the couch, her legs propped up on his lap as Aaron leaned back against the couch. And despite the lack of conversation, it wasn't the least bit awkward; it was comfortable.

Alina turned away from him, choosing to stare up at the opposite wall as she thought over what to say to him. She could say a million different words just so she could tell him how she felt, but it was as though it wasn't enough. She let out a long sigh, deciding to pull her legs off his lap as she stood up. She bit her lip, avoiding his questioning gaze as she picked up her car keys that she had dropped on the floor.

"You're leaving?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, I just...I'm gonna get something from my car. I'll be back."

Aaron only stared at her retreating back in confusion, but still, he patiently waited for her to keep her word by walking back into his apartment. His eyes stayed trained on the wood, and straightened up after she got back, about ten minutes later.

In her hands were ripped pieces of paper.

He frowned. "What is that?"

"It's ripped, so I can't exactly..." she trailed off before huffing. She walked over to the nearest trashcan and dumped the papers inside. She turned back to him. "It was a list of pros and cons of dating Aaron Hotchner."

"You...?"

"Yeah, useless, anyway." She shook her head as she scoffed at herself. "I made this after everyone told me that we should, y'know, date," she visibly shuddered at the word, causing him to stifle a grin, "and uh, well...Steve helped me realize that I was looking at this whole thing the wrong way. That I wasn't thinking like a normal human would." She sighed. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."

Aaron huffed at her, finally letting himself smile, dimples on full show as he leant forward, elbows on his thighs as he stared up at her. "Remind me to thank Steve one of these days."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I was told you thought Steve and I were dating," she snorted, "he's literally my uncle. Grand uncle Steve."

"I didn't know that at first!" He defended. "And Gwen told me you guys were close, 'just friends,' she said."

She laughed at him, shaking her head, before finally: "Back to the point, though. Look, Aaron," she let out a rather shaky breath as she sat next to him again, "I do genuinely like you, and I feel as though it's safe to say that I can...I can imagine myself being with you, officially. However," she shrugged, "not yet."

"I know," he told her. "Which is why I'm telling you now that I can wait. However long it takes. For you."

She gave him a genuinely blinding grin, pulling him into a hug before pulling away with a small smile. "Thank you, but I just have to repeat myself. You don't have to wait for me. I mean, I can't exactly force you into anything, but...again, if you think you've found someone else, don't waste them for me."

Despite his inner protests, despite the fact that he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs to tell the world how much he loved Alina Narvaez, how much she meant to him, he instead gulped it all down, and nodded.

She smiled again. "Good."

He sighed and changed the topic as he leaned back against the couch. "Hey, uh, I actually have this marathon that I might be participating in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be starting my training in a few weeks."

She hummed in thought, biting her lip as she began to assess his form, picturing the muscles that he always kept hidden underneath his tailored suits. She boldly scanned him up and down, nodding to herself, biting back a smirk when he squirmed under her gaze. She flirtatiously winked at him while staring at toned arms that were on display as he only wore a shirt and a button up on top of it, with its sleeves rolled up to his elbow. She giggled slightly when he was forced to turn away, seeing the redness on the tips of his ears.

"Well, I just hope all the...hard work pays off," she innocently stated, holding herself back from giggling louder when he crossed his legs. She watched him shift in his seat before he finally turned back to her with a slight glare, although the quirk on the corner of his lips was enough indication that he was enjoying her attention. She laughed. "Hey, you never know, you might meet someone while you prepare for that marathon thingy."

He rolled his eyes, finally moving forward to pull her back into his arms. "I highly doubt that."

"A success, just as everyone predicted," one of the investors proudly grinned as he looked around at everyone, all of whom had their chins up and the chests puffed forward as though they were the ones that successfully created a machine that can singlehandedly improve the quality of healthcare and take the world—not just the scientific community—by storm.

Alina had to cover her face behind her clipboard as she rolled her eyes and made faces at the old men who were literally undermining both her and Helen several months ago. Helen, who stood right beside her, covered his face with her own clipboard as she stifled her laughter.

"The money I put into this was worth it, I'm glad," another one of the investors commented. A collective murmur filled the lab, the investors all agreeing with his statement. The only who didn't really agree was Tony, despite him being the main contributor. As a scientist himself and a world-renowned superhero, he didn't care for the money, he only cared about the people this project can help.

And it was obvious by the way he was grinning at Helen and Alina, unlike the other men who were only staring at REGEN almost hungrily.

The billionaire walked forward and pulled the two women into tight, proud hugs, a hug that was distinctly fatherly. He gave them each a kiss on the head before pulling away, grin still on his face. "I'm so proud of you both."

"Thanks, Tony," Helen smiled at him. "Wouldn't have done this without you."

Tony waved her off. "I only paid for it, Dr Cho. You and Dr Narvaez here did all the work."

Alina couldn't help but preen at his compliment, and the fact that he called both her and Helen by their official titles. "We know," she chuckled at Helen who had hit her slightly on the arm admonishingly. "We just hope those...men...don't capitalize on them." She gestured her head towards the other twenty-nine machines—making the total number of machines a whopping thirty—and sighed. "They're for the people."

"They are," Tony agreed. "Which is why, I've decided to buy out their shares."

"You what?!"

"Well, they don't know it yet," Tony shrugged. "But I was hoping to give a percentage to the both of you. A larger one than you would've probably been given. I just...you guys deserve it. You're helping."

Alina stared at Tony for a moment, glancing at the REGEN machines in thought, before nodding firmly. "I'll buy a share." At both Tony and Helen's raised eyebrows, she shrugged. "We all know I can buy one. May not be a billionaire, but--"

"I'll buy out their shares, give you guys a percentage each, and we'll talk about you buying more," Tony decided. "I'll even give them to you for half the price. I just..." He sighed and glanced up at the investors, all of which were old men who didn't really seem to be in it for the people. "They don't deserve all that will be given to them by the people. I don't care how much I have to pay--"

"You do not need to worry about that, Mr Stark," a heavily accented, yet familiar, voice spoke up over all the noise. Everyone paused to look at the source, only for the investors to freeze on the spot, and for Alina, Tony, and Helen to grin.

"King T'Challa," Alina respectfully greeted, smirking at the king of Wakanda. The smirk turned into a grin when she spotted one of her best friends—practically little sister—standing right beside him, waving excitedly and holding a grande cup of something from Starbucks. "Princess Shuri."

Shuri rolled her eyes at Alina and walked forward to pull her into a hug, all while T'Challa stands there amused. The princess then pulled away and crossed her arms in front of her, right arm over the left. Alina went ahead and returned the salute.

"It's good to see you, Alina, and I swear to all that is living, if you call me princess one more time--"

"Shuri," T'Challa warned, more as an older brother than a king. He rolled his eyes a little at his baby sister and turned to face the three. "I was under the impression that may need some...help."

Helen shook her head in amusement. "Your Highness--"

"T'Challa, please. We are friends here."

"T'Challa," she nodded, smiling. "How'd you even know?"

"A little birdy may have persuaded me," he side-eyed Shuri who was now stuck to Alina like glue. "And, well, I had a feeling Stark here would eventually make this kind of move."

"Know me a little too well, pal," Tony mused. But it was clear he was thankful. "So, what's our first move?"

All five of them turned to the group of investors who were all suddenly afraid to look at them.

T'Challa hummed. "Well, let's see..."

The next couple of hours were torture, for the investors, anyway. At first, they tried to kiss up to the Wakandans, but after being blatantly dismissed by the two royals, they moved to instead proposition several ways that they can all 'equally' earn, but none of the options seemed to satisfy T'Challa. Then, because of the blatant disregard the king showed when they were trying to come to an agreement, they became defensive and refused to give their shares.

Alina had rolled her eyes as she slouched down on her chair, all of them having sat down so that they won't get tired of standing. Now, she was tired of sitting.

Another hour later, and the investors seem to have tired too. Most of them were old men, wrinkled and all—Alina swore that one of them looked like a bleached prune—and they all looked as though they aged a decade with all the verbal beating they were receiving. On one hand, Tony was shoving scientific facts and stats down their throats, and on the other hand, T'Challa was reprimanding them in a way that only a country's fair and just leader could; with politics, laws, and a very strong moral code.

This led to them giving up half the shares they were supposed to acquire.

With a triumphant grin, Alina turned to face Tony just as the shareholders left. "That was a good call."

"Couldn't have done it without them," he gestured towards T'Challa and Shuri. He gave them both a curious look and asked, "But why are you two here, anyway?"

"Well, we heard about the success of these ladies," Shuri smiled at Helen and Alina, "and we wanted to formally invite them to Wakanda to celebrate."

"What do you say?" T'Challa asked.

Without thinking both Alina and Helen let out an excited 'yes!'

T'Challa smiled. "Well then, we will wait for you."

"Wait, what?" Alina frowned, confused. "You mean we're going? Now?"

"I think you both deserve a royal welcome," he teased. "We don't have to leave right now, can be tomorrow. We'll let you all talk it out."

The two royals walked out of the labs, presumably towards where they're going to stay for the time being. All Alina and Helen could do was stare at each other in shock.

"We're going to Wakanda?" Helen breathlessly asked.

Alina nodded dumbly. "We're going to Wakanda."

It was a no-brainer when Alina decided to go to a bar to celebrate, inviting Helen, Tony, and T'Challa to go with her, leaving the underaged princess to sulk back at the compound. This time, instead of picking another random place to head to, she was adamant about going back to the Edinburgh, partly for the drinks, but mostly for the blond bartender named Sean who she got along with.

Helen, who showed clear attraction to the man on their first meeting, nearly begged Alina to choose a different place. Alina, of course, refused and reminded the geneticist that Sean was her type.

The four of them, all dressed to the nines, walked into the bar and nearly had everyone's eyes on them within the first minute they were inside. But Alina paid them no mind and strutted straight up to the bar and gave Sean a happy grin.

"Alina, hey," Sean softly greeted, his hands busy with cleaning a few glasses. His gaze was then captured by the sight of Helen walking behind the small woman. He nodded at the Korean and gave her a smirk. "Helen."

Helen blushed like a school girl, shyly tucking a strand behind her as she smiled up at the blond. "Hey."

Alina laughed, throwing her head back in amusement after witnessing their interaction. As soon as she calmed, she tapped the bar and snorted. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. Hope you decide to take her home," she winked at Sean while completely ignoring Helen who was cursing at her in Korean. She gave the two a nonchalant expression before quickly making her way back to Tony and T'Challa.

The latter looked completely out of place, and both Alina and Tony nonverbally made a pact to loosen up the king, even just a little.

And as Alina let herself go, the last thing on her mind was how Aaron would feel about her leaving.

author's note: sorry this took a while!! it's back to school for me already so i'm tryna juggle that with wattpad hehehe

hope you guys like this ;)

also, book's about to end !!!!! can yall believe this