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PEACE IS a strange state. For Astra, it was neither being tranquil nor stressed out as fuck. It was just sort of... the mid ground.
Although there was nothing wrong with that. The Black Wolves were gone, completely eradicated. There was nothing for her to fear anymore.
Kai Walker was dead, so was Enzo Clarke, Dylan Mack had been charged with countless crimes ( although Astra's pretty sure the one he's most guilty of was being a world class dick ) and as for Phoenix Carter? Well, he was the only loophole in Astra Hart's newfound happiness. See, the man had been off the radar months before Kai's death, there was no way of catching him.
Not until he slipped up, that is ( Derek Morgan made a point to Astra to ensure they'd catch the man ) and, while Astra had informed the BAU of Phoenix's appearance during her kidnapping they found a way to dismiss it. There was no concrete proof, after all. And she could quite easily have been in a state of delirium seeing as she'd just been in an explosion.
And so, with the Black Wolves gone, there was a chance ( and she says this in the lightest terms possible because... you never know ) Astra wouldn't have to divert her life to witness protection. And, ( she's desperately hoping here, because there's a large as shit possibility the DA is going to fuck her agreement with them over somehow ) she'll manage to avoid prison time for her crimes committed while being a part of the heinous gang.
Either way, she was just praying to evade ditching the life she'd recently taken a liking to.
And that definitely isn't because of a particular BAU agent.
"You ready to go?" Speak of the devil. "You said you worked at McDonald's, yeah?"
"You're taking me to my old job, where I was arrested, on our first date?" She questioned, trying her best to suppress a smile.
Eyes widening, Morgan was quick to deny it, "no, god no, I just-"
"You're fucking amazing." She smiled — a bright, blissful smile — something she hadn't truly done in god knows how long.
"Oh, yeah." He nodded, "so you're-"
"Don't stress, I love it." Astra reassured the man, placing a hand on his lower arm.
"Yeah?" He grinned — his stupid, cocky, gorgeous grin — leaning his head down, he lay a gentle kiss on her right cheek, waiting for Astra to lift her gaze before ( quite smoothly — she felt she needed to add that piece of information ) placing a short-lived kiss to her lips.
"Oh crap, wheres my coat?"
"Shit, I left it in Garcia's office." He said, making his way towards the blonde technical analysts office.
"I'll get it." She said, "I'll be one minute." She told the man, rushing off quickly before he could protest. "Hey Garcia, sorry for interrupting."
The blonde turned to her, a bright smile on her face as she looked the girl up and down, "and why are you dressed up all nice?"
"Oh, you know, McDonald's." She admitted, her cheeks dusting over in a rosy pink. "Y'know, I never thanked you... for finding where I was that day, when Kai got me. It's incredible you narrowed down all of those potential warehouses, honestly."
Garcia looked at the girl oddly, "what?"
"You found the astronomy building, where Kai took me?" Astra stated, although it came out more like a question. Derek had told her Garcia had narrowed down the Black Wolves hideout spots, right?
"No..." Garcia shook her head slowly, "Morgan told us you talked of an astronomy place when you two were together, I narrowed it down from there."
The blush from Astra's cheeks faded momentarily. What the fuck did she mean? "Oh, yeah." She nodded, swallowing the small lump that had formed in her throat. "Yeah, I got it wrong. But, thank you, either way."
"You're a part of the family, Astra. We love you — of course we'd do anything to help. You don't need to thank me." Garcia reassured the girl, who was still nodding her head.
"Well, I've gotta get going, big date and all." She reminded the blonde while putting her jacket on, "I'll be seeing you." Before the woman could reply, Astra had rushed out of the room. Taking a second to compose herself, she thought back to that night.
She had a concussion. Maybe she heard Derek wrong.
It wasn't a big deal.
One, two, three breaths. Everything was fine. Normal, peaceful. Just like it had been moments ago.
"You took your time." Morgan laughed, reaching an arm out for Astra, wrapping it around her shoulder caringly. "You alright?" He asked, noticing her slightly pale state.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Astra said, relaxing into Morgan's hold. Because it was. "I can't fucking wait to see what you've planned for tonight."
"Oh trust me," he winked, "it's going to be the best date of your life."
"Oh yeah?" She clicked the ground floor button on the elevator, "well, just so you know, I'm driving."
And with that, the two left the building, leaving only a confused Emily Prentiss and Penelope Garcia inside.
"There's something wrong." Prentiss said to herself in unsureness. Everything was too calm, too quiet, it was almost unsettling. "His star. Why does he say his?" As far as Emily was concerned, Astra didn't belong to anyone. So, sure, it could've been a power thing. But Kai already had leverage, he already had the hold he needed to claim it was power.
Astra, it meant star. That was clear from the offset. His nickname was just a weird twist to the many name forms of the word. Perhaps it was just a power move.
But then why didn't it feel right?
Wolves, stars.
There had to be a connection. Something didn't add up.
And Emily Prentiss was hellbent on figuring out what.
