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𝑹 𝑬 𝑴
❝ 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘 ❞

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ㅤ𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 into the round table room, everyone was basically huddled around Pandora as she furiously typed on her keyboard. The two shared an amused glance, before Alina went ahead and walked closer to her sister.

"Status?" She asked.

Spencer excitedly looked up at her. "Pandora just forged an entire fake identity in four minutes and seventeen seconds with her program, complete with a thorough background and several fake accomplishments, including a prison record. She might be able to get an invite through the other end. It's incredible."

"More like creepy," Derek frowned a little. "Is this even...legal?"

"I'd rather not ask," Andi told him. "We'll just pretend it was Anat this whole time and no one would ask any questions."

"How famous is Anat, exactly?" Rossi wondered while looking down at Pandora whose eyes haven't left the screen. "If everyone's willing to turn a blind eye..."

Andi straightened her posture and crossed her arms. "Well, at first we were suspicious. I mean, who wouldn't be? Someone who's calling themselves Anat, after a deity the ancient Egyptians worshipped, somehow who knows all of this information that most people wouldn't have even thought about. We thought the tips were prank, or worse, a distraction. But we all collectively decided to bite the bullet, and none of us regret it. Anat's helped us more than anyone ever did, probably ever could. And to find out it was simply a teenage girl who wanted to do some good."

Aaron tilted his head as an image of the fake identity popped up on the screen. "Whose image did you use? You can't have used a random man's actual face, did you?"

Alina was the one to explain. "It's a computer-generated face. They look like real people. Freaky, but resourceful."

He looked at her, looked back at the screen, looked back down at Pandora, and back at her again. "You're right, it is freaky." He then straightened up and nodded to himself, his features hardening again as he turned back to profiler mode. "While Pandora does her thing, we need to look at this from the leader's point of view. A group like this requires a strong leader."

"Yeah, this guy's in charge of some unstable personalities," Andi agreed.

"Do you have any theories?" Rossi asked.

"I have always thought he led through fear. This guy can blackmail his whole team."

"Look at the progression of this network," Spencer spoke up. "They started abducting victims for sex and then adapted to killing." The genius frowned; this case was hitting too close to home, and all he wanted right at this moment was to go back to the penthouse and bask in the comfort provided to him by Gwen and his unborn babies.

Derek then pulled the attention to him. "Because he saw the growth potential in his assets. Instead of just disposing of them, he made it into a show."

Alina grimaced and took it as her cue to sit beside her sister, letting the others do their profiling thing, while she did her older sister thing and asked, "You doing good?"

Pandora pursed her lips as she typed. "Not really. I mean, I've been doing this for a while, but it doesn't get any easier."

"At least you're making a difference," Alina reassured. "I'm...proud of you, Dora. And I know Gwen's proud of you too. I-I was sworn to secrecy, but," she chuckled, "when you told Gwen about your program and how you made it because of her, she cried. After you left, of course. She knows what it was like to go through this. And back then, she had no one. But now, you're here, and you're here for these people. And you don't even know them, yet..." She grinned. "She's grateful."

The younger girl smiled slightly. "Thanks, Lina. You can be very empathetic at times."

"Only for family."

Pandora then giggled, but then all of a sudden, her expression crumbled as she announced, "I know where she is." Everyone's gaze turned to her as all conversations stopped. She gulped at the sudden attention before continuing, "Like I said before, real estate is the key," she looked at Andi, "She frequented Scotty's, didn't she?"

"Yes," Andi nodded, walking closer to her.

"And the other victims frequented clubs too. The one in Ohio is also owned by the one in Georgetown," Pandora said, her flexing her fingers as she finally stopped typing. "That same guy owns this abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, that—suspiciously—is still running electricity despite it being so-called 'abandoned'. Oh, and look at that," she pulled up CCTV footage in the nearest gas station, showing several cars headed to the factory. "it's pretty popular."

Aaron didn't waste a second. "Let's go. We need a SWAT team," Derek nodded at this and raced down to the bullpen as the others geared up, "We have to assume the unsubs are armed, and that there will be several victims in there, so we need medics..."

As Aaron took on his role as the leader, Alina couldn't stop herself from biting her lip when he took off his blazer. A nudge to her side broke her out of her stupor and she quickly turned to face her sister, who had her laptop closed, sporting a teasing grin.

Alina quickly slapped her shoulder and whispered, "Stop it."

"No, you stop it," Pandora whispered back. "You were undressing him with your eyes."

She whined. "I was not."

"Yes, you were." It was Aaron who answered, and Alina had jumped in her chair. She glanced around and saw that the others had already left, except for Spencer, who was obviously trying not to grin. "You really need to learn how to whisper properly. Even Spencer can hear you."

Spencer couldn't stop himself from snorting.

"Shut up," Alina pouted, but a serious look came back to her face as she said, "You take care of yourself, alright?"

"Always." Aaron looked at her with a soft look she couldn't decipher, before unexpectedly leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you."

"See you." And he walked away.

As soon as he left the room, Spencer burst into giggles. "You know, when Gwen started talking about you and Hotch, I thought she was kidding. But now...undressing him with your eyes? In front of everyone?"

"Shut up, 187."

"If you ever change your mind about the FBI, you have a place in my unit," Andi promised Pandora as soon as they came back. After tearing down the trafficking ring, she headed straight to the BAU's conference room to personally thank the young girl. "Seriously, if you go into the academy and graduate with exceptional grades, I won't hesitate to get you on my team. Just say the word."

Pandora giggled slightly as she stood in front of the agent with Alina by her side. "I'll keep that in mind, Andi. I'm sure the FBI would appreciate me working for them, considering the laws I've broken," she joked. "But anyway, I already have a place in Stark Industries." She shrugged, before smiling. "Congrats on finding your agent, though."

"Wouldn't have found her as fast as we did without you," Andi complimented. "She doesn't even have a scratch on her. Thank you." She sent a look of gratitude towards Pandora, as well as Alina, before finally walking away.

Aaron patted both the girls' heads affectionately, before leaning down to kiss Alina's cheek, who quickly poked his side as retaliation. He chuckled. "I'll just head to my office for a bit. You guys heading home?"

Alina and Pandora had a silent conversation with their eyes before the former finally decided. "Yeah, Dora has school, and I have to what I'm paid to do. I'll make sure to visit you and Jack soon, but right now," she looked at Pandora who gave a sheepish smile, "we both have deadlines."

The man nodded and smiled at the sisters. "Alright, just wait for me in the conference room, we'll walk out together." He quickly ruffled Pandora's hair before walking away.

"Not my hair," Pandora pouted. "Now come on, let's get our stuff."

Walking back into the round table room, the two entered just in time to hear Derek complain about the one guy he fought.

Alina pursed her lips. "So all your training with Viktor was for naught? He ought to throw you around more."

"You should start working out," even Spencer suggested, a small teasing smile on his face as he shared an amused look with Alina. The two had gotten even closer, both sharing a love for Gwen, and appreciating each other in an intellectual standpoint. "Lina's right, Viktor needs to work with you more."

"Oh, you two got jokes now?" Derek deadpanned after Penelope let out a light-hearted snort.

Alina and Spencer looked at each other, before nodding in unison with equally jovial grins.

Seaver looked at them confused. "Who's Viktor?"

The biophysicist couldn't help but share a look with Pandora and Penelope, who had to hold back their laughter. Both of them knew of Alina's irrational dislike for the younger agent, and Penelope was all for it.

Spencer looked at the two women, slightly puzzled, before answering, "One of Gwen's best friends. Practically her older brother."

"Oh," Seaver nodded, before her expression turned somber. Something that Rossi noticed.

"What is it, kid?" Rossi asked.

"We only rescued seven victims today...what about the rest of these?" Her grip on the folders in her hand went tight.

"It never ends."

Pandora bit her lip and looked down at the ground, and Alina quickly slung an arm around her shoulders. She sighed a little. "But today...today you guys did good. You still made a difference."

Derek looked at the two of them. "Not just us. You guys did good too."

"Yeah, we all did," Rossi stated, giving the two girls a grateful smile. "You guys were great help. Thank you. Especially you, Pandora."

Pandora gave them a tight-lipped smile. Mostly because she was shy, but also because she's not good with taking compliments. "You're...welcome. Y-You can call me Dora."

"If we weren't so exhausted, I would toast us," Penelope commented.

Aaron took that as his cue. "Good work, everybody. Go home and get some rest. Nobody needs to come in 'til nine." He looked at Alina, who was smiling up at him. "...thirty." He quickly offered his arm. "You ready?"

Alina then looked at Pandora, who only shrugged as she tightened her grip on her laptop. She looked at Aaron again and nodded, before slotting her hand in the crook of his elbow, waving goodbye at the others as they walked out, her arm still around Pandora's shoulders.

They made their way down the hall, and Aaron quickly pressed the button to call the elevator. As he waited, he turned to the Narvaez sisters. "Thank you for your guys' help. You made our job easier." He smiled slightly as he patted Pandora's head again. "Especially you. You've got potential, Dora. You might make a good agent."

Pandora scoffed, pulling away from Alina's hold to hug Aaron's waist like she usually did with her older brothers. Mostly for reassurance—she had always been a physically affectionate person unlike her sister. "I'd rather not. I hate abiding by the rules, I'd rather make my own."

"A trait you share with your sister," he noted.

Alina only shrugged, putting her hands in her sweatpants' pockets, fondly smiling at the two. "Honestly, Enzo's the only rule follower, maybe Vince. But Chris, Dora, and I were pains in the ass for dad. Who, by the way, is still dying to meet you." She frowned a little. "Not literally, of course."

Aaron let out a huff as he tried to hold back a grin. "I...I'll try. I was told that we'd have less cases for a while."

"Serial killers finally taking a break?" Pandora asked, still hugging him. "Hibernating?"

"I hope," he snorted, hugging her back.

Alina shook her head. "I keep telling him that the purge would be a good idea, but he won't listen to me. Had this whole speech--"

"The purge might actually be a good idea, actually--"

Aaron groaned. "Not you too."

Three days later, the entire BAU team family—sans JJ, Will, Henry, and Seaver—was at the Avengers Compound. Even Jessica was invited, and was now hanging out with the women as they separated themselves from the men, gossiping about everything under the sun.

"Okay, why do you not like Ashley?" Penelope laughed as she turned to Alina, who was sitting right in between Pandora and Gwen. The sixteen-year-old was accepted into the ladies' group—consisting of Gwen, Alina, Penelope, Helen, and Jess—with no problem, and was getting to know Jess while playing with Jack. "She's nice!"

Alina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "It feels like she's replacing Gwen and JJ, and the fact that she's a rookie offends me."

"Gwen isn't even offended!"

"She isn't, but I'll convert her. She's too nice to be as petty as me."

Gwen rolled her eyes fondly, caressing her baby bump as she leant back against the back of the couch they were all sitting on. It was a large, round lounge couch, and they were all just outside again, a little ways away from the main residential area, where a playground was built, next to several lounging areas, it was also right next to the golf course. It had become her favorite place to unwind every time she visited the facility, just to escape the walls of her penthouse, and sometimes escape Spencer.

"Alina's always been like this," Gwen reassured. "She likes to be on top, the best at everything. When you're her friend, she also wants you to be the best. And when someone tries to take your spot..."

"I hate it," Alina pouted, playfully patting Gwen's baby bump while smoothing out the creases of the woman's red dress. "You guys are gonna be the best at everything too, I promise you that."

"Don't be putting expectations on my kids," Gwen slightly scolded. "You know how much I hate pitting kids against each other, or comparisons, or stuff like that. I hated it then, I still hate it now."

Alina tilted her head a little, suddenly remembering the time Gwen told her about her time at the Red Room, and nodded. "Alright, nothing like that. I just want them to be the best they can be."

Gwen smiled. "Thank you."

Adjusting the strap of her top that nearly fell down, Alina only shrugged in reply. Given how warm the day was, she decided on wearing the Heart Singlet tank top in black from a brand called Paris Georgia, paired with high-waisted black denim shorts that made her legs look longer than usual, and on her feet were her Bottega Venetta stretch sandals in the color Nero again. Her hair was up in two loose Dutch braids, and she wore barely any makeup as the sun made her rosy-cheeked with no work necessary.

"Hey, where's Natasha, by the way?" Penelope randomly asked. "I mean, I know JJ's busy with her work at the Pentagon, and Mila's most likely with Rossi somewhere, but where's Nat? There are too many boys here," she gestured towards the golf course where Spencer, Derek, Aaron, Viktor, Steve, Bucky, Chris, and Vince were playing.

Gwen gave a subtle look to Alina before answering, "She's in Paris visiting a friend. They haven't seen each other in a while, and you know..."

"Oooh, one of her spy friends?"

"...yes," Gwen nodded, smiling a little.

Helen then brough the attention to her by calling out to Alina, "How's the list going?"

"What list?" Penelope asked, sipping on her iced tea. All the ladies were now laying back against the couch, basking in the heat of the sun, sunglasses on their faces to protect their eyes. They were all pretty much sunbathing.

"Well, Alina's... Aaron likes her, and Alina here can't see how much of a great guy she is," she replied, glossing over the fact that Aaron and Alina were already having sex. She wasn't one to reveal other people's secrets.

"BOSSMAN LIKES YOU?!" Penelope practically shouted, earning the attention of even the men who were all a bit of distance away, currently in their fourth hole.

"Shh!" Jess laughed, playfully swatting Penelope's arm. "The boys do not need to hear this, Penelope."

"Sorry," Penelope grimaced. "But seriously, Hotch likes you? Why was I not informed of this?"

"Penny, he was being very obvious when we were over at the FBI, don't tell me you didn't notice," Pandora giggled.

Penelope shrugged. "Maybe that's why I'm not a profiler?" Her statement became more of a question, but she shook it off. "If Hotch likes you, what's the problem? He's a great guy!"

"This one," Gwen nudged Alina, "doesn't do relationships. We've been trying to get her to change her mind for weeks."

"My solution was to have her write a list of pros and cons," Helen explain before turning to Alina. "How's it going?"

Alina opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again sheepishly.

Helen glared. "You haven't started it, have you?"

The woman only smiled sheepishly, her expression bordering into a grimace. "...no?"

"Oooh, I can help!" Penelope raised her hand. "Let's start it!"

"My condition is to make sure every con has pro and vice versa," Helen told her.

"Okay, let's do that. Where do we start?"

"I can list it on my phone?" Alina offered.

"Good enough," Gwen snorted.

Jess then raised her hand, while her other caught Jack before he fell as he rushed to Alina. "I got a pro! Aaron's handsome, one of the reasons my sister fell in love with him. Always going on and on about how dreamy he was."

Penelope shrugged. "I agree with her. If Hotch didn't look so stern all the time, he'd be popular with the ladies."

"I can give you a con already," Alina announced, picking Jack up and letting the boy cuddle into her. "I don't like relationships."

Pandora rolled her eyes and snorted. "I can give you another pro. He's your type."

"He's your type, huh?" Penelope teased.

Alina groaned as she typed that all down in her phone. "Come on."

"Got another pro!" Gwen laughed.

"Wait, I don't have a con yet!" Alina whined.

Helen laughed. "That's your sign that you should just go ahead and date him, dingbat."

Gwen high-fived Helen as she poked her tongue out at Alina. "It seems as though Operation Arlina might just be successful, eh?"

"I hate all of you."

As the women continued to laugh, the men were all still teasing Aaron after hearing Penelope's scream.

"Alina? Seriously?" Bucky jokingly complained to Aaron who was face-palming, trying to hide the redness of his cheeks. "There are many fish in the sea, and you chose a piranha."

Viktor snorted, aligning his enhanced golf club—one that was made to withstand his strength, curtesy of one Shuri Udaku—with the ball. "Piranha, that is a good description of her, if I'm going to be honest. She's a feisty one."

Steve patted Aaron's back. "Good luck."

Derek smirked. "You're gonna need it."

author's note: i just love how seaver's so clueless at everything gwen and alina related lmfaoooo

i'm still trying to add more to gwen and alina's friendship as they've been best friends for years, but i'm thinking that i might be able to expound it more properly in 6:30 instead.

and hey, she finally started the list™. let's see how far it'll go ehehehe.

season 6 just ended, and the next few chapters are definitely gonna be full of time skips so pls bear with me. the 7 month skip between season 6 and 7 is already a pain in the ass, idek how to work with it. hopefully it'll turn out okay.

i hope you guys have a wonderful day and i'll see yall soon!!!

also if any of you play genshin hmu, let's play lmfao.

bye !!