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𝑬 𝑽 𝑬 𝑹 𝑮 𝑹 𝑬 𝑬 𝑵
❝ 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜? ❞

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ㅤ𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐀𝐓.

They decided on looking for a place somewhere in the Upper West Side, as Elle—their favorite New Yorker—recommended. She had also recommended specific restaurants, but the pair decided to be more spontaneous by walking around and eventually ending up at a place that specializes in Mediterranean food.

It was a first for Derek to see just how hungry May can get. Obviously, it's not their first time eating dinner together, having been to several dinners with the team; from dinners during cases, to formal dinners organized by the bureau. But it was their first time eating alone. And watching her somehow made him fall for her more. The fact that she's not afraid to be unapologetically be herself made him feel very special.

It also made him feel very happy, considering it meant that she was comfortable with him.

"So you're telling me you guys descended from wolves?" Derek asked, a frown on his face as he tried to understand the story of Taha Aki and Utlapa, their feud, and the introduction of the wolves. She also told him how her family descended from Taha Aki.

"Well, no," she laughed. "It's just that, apparently, we share our spirit with wolves. They're like our guardian angel or something, meant to protect us and stuff, the way it had agreed to help Taha Aki. And anyway, we may not have descended from wolves, but they're still very, very important to our people, especially my family."

"That's why you got your tattoo, right?" He gestured towards her inner wrist. "You know, I'm still surprised you got that in the first place. I know you don't like needles."

"Yeah, well..." She looked down at her tattoo. "It felt right."

"Even if it was painful."

"Even if it was painful, and even if I passed out. Which I did," she laughed, thinking back on her stupidity.

"Hey, you have trypanophobia," he shrugged. "The fact that you even got near one is a miracle. You're brave, May Black, own it. Even with all the passing out."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Derek Morgan." Then she pointed at the food he'd stopped eating. "You done?"

He shook his head, laughing. "You can have it."

"Thank you!"

When they've finished their meals—or mostly May finishing majority of it—they made their way back to the train station to catch the last train back to DC. They were hand in hand as they watched the surroundings change from the high-rise buildings of New York City, to the more laid-back and somewhat historical sights of DC.

It was near midnight when Derek had successfully dropped May back home safe and sound to a frowning Spencer who had his arms crossed like a mother. Though, he did not say anything bad, rather thanked Derek for keeping her safe. And with May's beaming face, he begrudgingly told Derek that he was glad he made her happy.

As soon as Derek bid his goodbyes and walked away, Spencer closed the door and turned towards his best friend.

"Did you kiss?" He wondered.

"No!" May denied, though her face turned red at the image that popped up in her head. "Would've been romantic, but I really didn't wanna rush into things."

Spencer nodded, accepting her answer. "When will you tell him the truth then? The whole 'fated to be together thing'?"

May let out a sigh. "Look, I'm not...I don't even know where to start, Spence. I mean, it's not just the imprinting thing that I have to tell him, I also have to tell him the truth about me, about creatures that shouldn't exist in real life?"

"Then...tell him the way you told me and Hotch."

"Spence, I told you because you found out, and I told Hotch because he witnessed the supernatural," she said. "I don't...those are completely different scenarios. And it's...ugh, you wouldn't understand."

"You're right," he shook his head. "I wouldn't...couldn't understand your situation, but as a human, if I were Derek, I would want to know because you told me, and not from any external source. And the only way you can be sure of that is if you tell him soon."

"And I will. Soon. I just have to figure out how. And I have to make sure he doesn't freak out."

"Not gonna be easy to do," he pointed out.

"But I'll try," she flopped down on the couch with a groan. "Hey, how come you're lecturing me about this. I'm older than you."

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes. "Yet you still have to do the dishes. Chop chop."

May was tense the entire time in the elevator, barely registering the two CIA agents—the ones Penelope called their escorts—behind her. She was barely even registering the words that were spilling from the technical analyst's mouth. There was something about the entire experience that made her keep her guard up, and she knew it was because there was a certain danger that's coming her way.

Ever since she got more and more connected to the spirit world, and more and more capable of traveling through it, she was beginning to have a sort of sixth sense that made her incredibly hyperaware of...well, everything.

The four of them—namely her, Spencer, JJ, and Penelope—finally stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, allowing May to finally be able to breathe. It wasn't like she had claustrophobia, but the tension felt impossibly thick.

It was only a few days after her date with Derek, and they were all unceremoniously dragged out of their beds—metaphorically—and taken to Quantico. Since she had only slept for an hour or two before being rudely woken up, she could only put on a semi-decent outfit that consisted of all-black pieces: a black shirt, black pants, black Chucks.

They eventually ended up at the round table room. May was sat between Spencer and Elle this time, where she had a clear view of Derek. Before she could control it, she smiled at him. When he smiled back and even winked, her smile only widened before she bit her lip to conceal it.

She couldn't conceal it fast enough, however, when she felt Elle nudge her with an elbow. She only looked at the woman and shrugged, avoiding her pointed gaze that practically screamed out the question of 'what the hell was that?!'. She quickly turned away to focus on Hotch.

"The CIA's counterterrorism unit is engaged in a mission to save one of its informants," the man begin, looking at each of his members. "They suspect one of their agents is a mole, and until the identity of that mole is discovered, they've locked down the unit."

Gideon took over. "This gives us the opportunity to profile the unsub up close." He turned to the CIA agent by the door. "Go ahead."

The man nodded and spoke to his wrist, ordering someone to start the video feed.

"John Summers was the CIA's best field agent in the Middle East," Hotch began. "Three nights ago, he was found in his home in Washington. He'd been tortured and murdered." The crime scene images then popped up.

"CIA made it look like suicide," Gideon informed them.

Spencer couldn't help but speak up. "How'd you like to have that job?"

Derek leaned back against his chair before getting up, a frown etched on his face. They all watched as he moved towards the screen.

"Guys, look at the wound patterns," he said. "They come from two distinct angles. Different heights. One's right-handed, one's left-handed. Looks to me like he was tortured by more than two people."

May could see exactly what he was referring to, given her enhanced eyesight. She was surprised he even spotted that, being farther from the TV than the others.

"Hotch, what was Summers working on?" Elle asked Hotch.

The man in question frowned as he answered, "Aaliyah Nadir. Had been beaten and sexually assaulted at the hands of her husband, Hassan Nadir. That's how Summers flipped her and got her to work for the CIA."

"And what's the husband's story?" JJ inquired.

"He's a diplomat for the Saudi government, but he's a fundraiser for major terrorist organizations."

Gideon then spoke. "Aaliyah gave Summers intelligence on terrorist organizations the CIA have never been able to penetrate. Organizations Hassan, her husband, funneled money to."

"And Hassan realized he had a leak?" Derek guessed.

"Yes, but he didn't know who," Hotch answered. "For Aaliyah's protection, Summers never revealed her identity to the CIA until about eight weeks ago. CIA arranged papers for her and Summers brought her and her children to the US about a month ago."

"Only Summers knew where he hid her," Gideon added. He was stood by the room's windows, staring out to the distance. His dramatics made May and Spencer exchange amused looks.

JJ then frowned. "What did Hassan think happen to his family?"

"Car accident," Hotch replied. "Bodies too disfigured to identify. Only the CIA knew it was staged...until Hassan arrived in Washington last week under diplomatic cover."

"Only someone in this unit could have given Hassan the information about his family," May realized.

Derek looked at her. "And now he's here looking for her. Why us?"

Gideon walked around the table as he said, "Over the years, I've conducted psychological evaluations on every field agent in that unit."

"You work for the CIA?" Penelope gaped up at him.

"Not officially."

Hotch once again caught their attention. "The train's running, and if we stop this mission, even for a second, Aaliyah and her children are as good as dead."

The team—except for JJ and Penelope who was told to stay behind—after quickly getting their things in order, were transported to Langley. For the first time in a while, May carried her government-issued firearm. Gideon recommended her to bring it. Just in case, he had said, leading her to be even more tense than she already was. There was already something weird about this case, even from the get-go.

As soon as they entered the unit's bullpen, they were met with a mixture of confusion, suspicion, and even a bit of anger, all from the agents. Clearly, the FBI and CIA conflict is still going strong. After getting introduced to the unit's senior agents, they were led to the conference room by the Deputy Director of Operations, Bruno Hawks.

May eyed him, noting his odd smell. She could easily pick up someone's emotions from their smell alone, and boy, did he smell weird. He was a ball of messy emotions, with several ones more obvious than others; he was anxious, scared, but there was also a very strong scent of anger. And there was a hint of something too, but she couldn't figure it out.

Soon, the team was left alone in the conference room, and immediately after the door was closed, Gideon began to explain.

"We're looking for what the CIA classifies a Type A personality," he stated. "Overachiever, highly adaptable, well-educated, virtually unshakable. Manipulative enough to persuade a loyal foreign national to betray their country, a wife to betray her husband. Most importantly, this unsub long ago accepted the reality they will be summarily executed if caught. Life means nothing to this unsub," he sighed, "not his own life, not his family's, not his colleagues', certainly not ours, and certainly not theirs." He pointed at the picture of Aaliyah and her kids.

Hotch crossed his arms. "One of those agents turned against everything they believe in. Why?"

May looked at him. "Well, maybe they stopped believing."

Derek nodded in her direction, eyes still on the two senior agents. "Maybe it was about ideology."

"We need to find the stressor," Hotch declared, looking at all of them, his eyes sharp. "A major event that caused them to turn. Love, revenge, economics, ideology."

"The intelligence community's mantra says, 'Increase the parameter of your enemies' paranoia'," Gideon said. His words made everyone frown and look at him. He rubbed his hands together. "Right now, we're the enemy. Whatever you see or are told, please trust no one but me."

May couldn't help but look at Spencer—who was sitting behind her—who looked at her almost as soon as she did. It's always like they really were twins with how in-sync they were. But while Spencer looked confused, she had an expression that made him frown.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"I need to ask you something."

author's note: so close yet so far...from literally everything

no kiss, no truth...i wonder how it'll ever happen ??