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𝑹 𝑬 𝑴
❝ 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕? ❞

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ㅤ𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐈𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄; it started with her avoiding Aaron while still trying to be as close to Jack as she could, with the former ignoring her too. Then, the little boy somehow picked up on the animosity, and was just as silent as the two, unable to choose a side. So, he ended up just watching TV before his bedtime.

He ended up sleeping beside Alina, because he couldn't fit in the couch with his dad.

The biophysicist felt guilty. Her commitment issues, her problems with relationships, it had always been a little irrational, but she knew she couldn't blame herself—according to Vince, of course, who was pretty much her therapist at this point. She couldn't and shouldn't blame herself because she grew up with an absent mother and a father who was barely there. Her dad also remarried twice, and though both women were incredible to her and all her siblings, her dad just somehow drove them away.

Then, growing up, none of the kids ever liked her. Most of them found her too stoic, too much of a killjoy to hang out with. If they didn't think she was either, they saw her as a know-it-all, a teacher's pet, a goody-two-shoes. Even so, none of the teachers liked her either, considering they knew that Alina knew more than they did. That's when she decided to skip as many grades as possible, and once she got into grad school, it was more or less the same situation.

But instead of her being shunned, she became a game.

Boys and girls flocked after her once she turned eighteen, wanting to be the one to break the so-called 'campus prude'. She wanted to prove them all wrong, so she got herself a boyfriend—her first boyfriend—who ended up spreading rumors about her after their first time together, so she broke it off. They dated for seven months.

Her second boyfriend was sweet, and she actually felt optimistic for once. He was kind, patient, and taught her how to deal with her emotions better. Being with him taught her how to be mindful of her words, how to be more sympathetic and self-aware. But then, she found out that she was only a rebound, and eventually met his ex-girlfriend. She couldn't hate either of them, as they were some of the first friends she'd ever made, so she let him go. They dated for five months.

The last relationship she ever had was when she was nineteen and it had been with a woman; her first and last girlfriend. Being with her had been so fun, that she nearly forgot about her life plans. Being with her...almost cost her, her future. The woman was so enamoring and disarming that she easily manipulated Alina into doing things she never would have done if she wasn't so blinded.

Alina eventually broke it off after three months, after coming to her senses right before she was about to allow the woman to cheat off of her finals exam. It was the first time she'd ever been used. Luckily enough, it was the same year she met Bruce Banner, who became her mentor, and PhD adviser, the first person—outside of her family—that she trusted with her life.

She didn't know what love was. And it wasn't her fault.

She was lucky enough to have met Gwen at the most opportune time. She was slowly becoming somewhat depressed, watching everyone around her laugh and mingle with their friends; a word she knew the definition of yet somehow was unfamiliar with. But Gwen—or the Queen, as she would sometimes fondly call her—was an absolute angel. She was empathetic, patient, everything Alina had always wanted in a friend. In turn, Alina became Gwen's confidante, one of the first people outside those who have history with HYDRA; she was the one person Gwen could count on to remain unbiased.

Alina and Gwen were yin and yang, twin flames. What one lacked, the other supplied. Alina, who lacked emotion, was the mediator to Gwen's intense bouts of feelings. Gwen, who had too much to hide, felt calmed by Alina who was too honest in her words. They were soulmates, and they helped each other become the best versions of themselves.

Alina learned how to be mindful, Gwen learned how to be honest.

The friendship between them gave way to many of Alina's future successes, because if not for Gwen, she probably wouldn't have even befriended Tony Stark, nor allow herself to work with anyone—including Helen—on projects she deemed her own. Gwen was the reason why she had friends, and vice versa.

Yet she was also the reason why she had befriended the BAU agents in the first place.

Groaning, she sat up her bed, mindful of the slumbering five-year-old beside her. A quick glance at the clock beside her covered painting let her know that it was past midnight. Alina groaned again, and turned on her bedside lamp and adjusting its brightness, lowering it so it won't disturb Jack's circadian rhythm.

She rubbed her face with her hand, annoyed that her overthinking wouldn't let her sleep. She hasn't been this restless in six years, yet somehow a simple relationship problem changed all of that...Aaron Hotchner changed all of that.

She slung her legs over the side of her bed and pulled out The List. Written on it were several pros and cons already. And even though she technically wasn't allowed to write another con without a pro, she couldn't stop herself from grabbing pen and writing in the con column: I'm too scared to let him in.

She thought for a moment and wrote another one under it: I don't want to hurt him.

A thought then appeared, and she quickly crossed it out.

I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶u̶r̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶ I hurt him.

Clenching her jaw, she shoved the flimsy piece of paper back into her drawer along with the pen, and lied back down. She was about to finally fall asleep, when the alarms started blaring. She quickly sat back up, eyes wide as she ran out of the room towards where Aaron slept, only to see him sitting up too.

"What's going on?" He asked in a tired voice, yet he was alert as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up to walk towards where his gun was tucked.

"I...I don't know."

It did get worse.

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Dr Narvaez?"

Alina let out a large sigh of relief as she faced Aaron and a now awoken Jack, who was tucked in his father's arms. Without wasting a moment—ever the FBI agent—Aaron had shut off all the lights in the apartment, locked all the doors and windows, and grabbed Jack from the bed to have them all in one room.

"What exactly is going on?" Alina asked, her breathing heavy as her anxiety rose. "Is this a drill?"

"I'm afraid not, as the assailants are trying to dismantle me as we speak."

"What?!"

"I'm the first line of defense, Dr Narvaez."

"Right," she groaned, dropping down to the floor, sitting cross-legged as she mulled over her options. She hesitated before asking, "Is it bad?"

"More than thirty assailants, Dr Narvaez. It's an ambush."

"Fuck," she cursed, unable to hold herself back despite the child in the room.

Luckily for her, Aaron was too worried to scold her. Instead, he asked the disembodied voice, "Are any of the Avengers here? Anyone?"

"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, and Sergeant Wilson are on a mission, Agent Romanoff is still in Paris, Mr Stark is up in his lakeside cabin with Miss Potts for their biweekly vacation, Agent Barton is with his family, and Thor is still in Tønsberg rebuilding Asgard," FRIDAY listed. "Mr Spider-man is with his aunt, Agents Chase and Chekhov are in DC, Dr Cho is back in South Korea. The only ones present here are Dr Banner, Miss Maximoff, and Vision."

"Okay," Alina nodded firmly, her mind going through all possible scenarios. "Bruce won't be able to transform, not with the enclosed space. Wanda and Vision are our main line of defense. Do we know what they're after? It can't be Bucky, because he's not on base. Wanda?"

"Miss Maximoff is on the defense, so is Vision. They don't seem to be attacking her to take her with them."

"So that means we're good?"

"I'm afraid not, as they've just hacked into my mainframe. They're heading to the labs, Dr Narvaez--" Before the AI could say anything more, she was cut off just as the lights in the entire compound went out. The emergency lights immediately went on, and Alina looked at Aaron with a determined look on her face.

"If they're going to the labs, then the one thing they're here for is the Cradle," she told him. "I have to get to it before they can. Disable it, make sure that even if they somehow get a hold of it, it wouldn't work."

"Alina, it's too dangerous," Aaron protested. "I can't let you go alone."

"But you can't leave Jack," she remarked. "I have to, Aaron. That Cradle is mine and Helen's. No one else."

Aaron clenched his jaw, letting out a breath through his flared nostrils. "Alina, I can't have you risking your life like this--"

"You don't understand!" She shouted, startling Jack who jumped in his father's arms, but she paid him no mind. "That Cradle, though its main purpose is to heal, it can be destructive. Do you know what happened the last time it fell in the wrong hands?! A murder bot tried to create a synthezoid to transfer itself into so it can annihilate the entire human race! I nearly died, trying to make sure that wouldn't happen, a-and I can't allow anything like that to happen again." She took a deep breath. "I-I can't. I refuse."

"Alina..." He sighed, looking into her eyes, searching for the slightest amount of fear, but all he can see is determination. "How do you plan on getting there?"

Alina finally smiled and gestured towards her home office. "I've got an idea."

Following close behind her, Aaron was still fighting his urge not to just hold her in his arms and keep her—and Jack—out of harm's way, but he knew it would be too selfish for him, especially knowing that Alina sees the Cradle as her baby.

"What is it?" He asked, watching as she walked behind her desk and booted up her computer. Despite his animosity, and all the other emotions he's got raging within him, he couldn't let it get in the way of his moral compass; he's not that type of person. "I thought FRIDAY was disabled?"

"Tony put in a fail-safe in case of emergencies," Alina explained. "We all know that despite the limitless possibilities of artificial technology, they are still artificial. Without a proper power source, or if their systems were compromised, they're done. So, Tony made sure that those of us that work closely with the Avengers, can still have access to one thing; his satellites." She couldn't stop herself from beaming as her mind ran faster than usual, eager to make sure all things go according to plan. "I can use the satellite images of the compound, all of them real-time, to figure out where the assailants are."

"And how many," Aaron nodded, understanding her train of thought. "But Wanda and Vision--"

"They're distracted, that's the point," Alina stressed, gesturing with her hands as she talked. "They sent out troops to make sure the main players will be left alone to do what they want." She flipped her monitor over to show him. "Look, that's Wanda and Vision," she pointed, "they're outside. In case of any attack, the compound goes on lockdown, and that's what they were counting on."

"No one to protect the inside," he realized, standing straighter. "Are you sure Bruce won't be able to help?"

Alina sighed. "I'm telling you, if he's inside, he won't transform. Bruce is a gentle soul despite the Hulk being known as destructive and animalistic. And he's scared to transform nowadays, not after..." she pursed her lips, "We don't even know where he is right now. The point is, we're the only chance the Cradle has."

Aaron clenched his jaw, sighing heavily at the thought of Alina doing this alone. "I can't...I can't let you do this alone...please."

"What choice do we have?" Alina suddenly whispered. She tentatively placed a hand on his cheek, and she let a shaky breath when he leaned against her palm. She watched as his eyes softened as he placed his own hand on the back of hers, shivering slightly at the warmth. "I have to do this. And..." she smiled, "you can help me."

He frowned, tilting his head, pulling her hand away from his cheek. He looked at her, scanned her face, before nodding, his features hardening as he took on his role as a protector, an agent. "What do you need me to do?"

She licked her lips and grinned. "Seeing as I'm not an agent, a super soldier, enhanced, or anything of that sort, I'm gonna have to use my only weapon: my big brain." He couldn't help himself from smiling at her words despite the situation. "I'm gonna use my smarts in a slightly different manner. It's time I put my degrees to a more...recreational use."

"What do you mean?"

Alina turned to open her desk drawer, before pulling out a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army Knife. "I'm gonna MacGyver this shit."

author's note: how are you guys?? i hope you're all doing good !!