Aitana was a mess when she met her grandmother for the first time after four years. The good news is that it was all on the inside and so nobody could tell a thing.

Julieta Serrano was the matriarch of the Serrano family. Her word was law on most occasions. She could be strict, sharp, and some would even say headstrong. She was a traditional woman who believed in the most traditional Mexican customs and values…but Aitana mostly remembered her grandmother as the woman who used to dance with her, the woman who would make her "hotcakes" (pancakes) in the mornings when they were together in Mexico, the woman who taught her how to sew, plant and grow gardens, etc.

Julieta was her abuelita, her second mother, and it pained Aitana to have to stay away from her for years.

When Julieta finally arrived in D.C., Aitana was a nervous mess. She held an undeniable guilt and worried about what Julieta would say when they met again. Julieta had no idea what happened to Aitana, much less about WIP and Aitana didn't want to share the story and cause any harm to her abuelita's health. She was, after all, 70 years old.

So, Aitana kept her recent "doings" short and as close to the truth as possible. She traveled around the country a lot for her job. That wasn't a lie. She met new people and had to stay away from home for a while — that also wasn't a complete lie. It was lucky that Julieta was more entertained with the idea of the upcoming Day of the Dead festival where Aitana would dance after years of not dancing. It was both a gift and a curse. Each day was different.

The day of the festival, Aitana was up early. Julieta was also up that early. Aitana had stayed at her parents' house to get ready with her grandmother and mother, the former of the two knowing exactly what Aitana should look like. She went through numerous prayers with her grandmother for the sake of a good (and safe) competition and show. Pamela worked fervently to apply Aitana's makeup while Julieta also attended to the hairdo.

Somehow, they only just made it out of the house on time.

"Vamos mija," Pamela said as they made a hasty exit out of their car in the parking lot. "Let's go! You still have to put your dress on!"

"I know, I know!" Aitana exclaimed, struggling to get out of the car without pushing off the great big flowers off her hair. "I'll do that inside!"

They had been given the spacious community center for costume changes. There were already various other competitors in the lot getting ready to head inside. It was on her way inside when Aitana saw the last message on her phone before she would have to hand it over to her parents (her dress had no pockets whatsoever).

Good luck, sprinkles! We're all here, ready to root for you!

Penelope

Aitana felt the cheers in her heart. She was beyond nervous, perhaps on the border of throwing up. She would have to force herself to remember what the others told her before all this, especially Spencer's words.

~0~

While the competition prepared itself to begin, the festival had already started with its dozens of stalls of business and games. Half an hour after arriving, JJ joined Rossi and Spencer with a downcast face.

"Henry's wiping us clean," she told the team of her sorrow. She pointed over her shoulder back towards the stalls. "There are so many games and he wants to play them all."

Rossi snickered. "Is that where Will is right now?"

JJ nodded grimly. "Yeah. Hotch is getting it pretty bad with Jack too. They've tagged-team."

But at the same time she lamented, Penelope and Morgan came over with a series of bags in their hands. Penelope was grinning from ear to ear.

"I love this place!" Penelope exclaimed. She raised her hands, displaying the various small bags all swishing against each other.

"She might need an advance on her paycheck," Morgan warned and chuckled, prompting an elbow on his side.

"I have not wasted that much!" Penelope defended herself then went back to grinning. "Besides, everything here is so cool!"

"You've never been here?" Rossi asked, thinking it strange since Penelope did celebrate Day of the Dead.

"I didn't know the city had one!" Penelope said, sounding irritated with the matter. "I'll have to thank Aitana afterwards. Has anyone seen her?"

"Not yet," Emily answered. She and Spencer were approaching the group, Emily looking slightly disappointed. "We tried sneaking around the building to wish her good luck."

"She," Spencer corrected, throwing Emily a sharp look, "She tried sneaking into the building. I told her we could've just texted her like Penelope."

Emily rolled her eyes and waved him off. "A text isn't good enough!"

"Hey," Penelope said with a pout, "It was the best I could do in this situation!"

"Don't feel bad because you didn't want to trespass, Penelope," Spencer said, still throwing looks at Emily.

"Wuss," Emily muttered under her breath.

She was doing it for him, after all! He was just too oblivious to see it! Of course sending Aitana good luck texts was good but it would be even better if they got to wish her good luck in person! Plus, it would be a good opportunity to nudge Aitana and Spencer a little closer. He would wish her luck, inevitably sparking a little conversation about Day of the Dead trivia and thus one step closer to the goal! It was perfect!

Except for security.

And that was damn offensive because they were FBI agents. Spencer had shut down Emily's ploy to use their badges to go inside, saying it was abuse of their power and whatnot. It had been a failed mission from all angles.

"Maybe we should go wait by the stage," Rossi proposed, eyeing the bags around Morgan's wrists. "And maybe find a truck for all of those."

Morgan rolled his eyes but Penelope was none the wiser about them. She dragged Morgan after Rossi, prompting the others to do the same. Halfway there, they heard somebody call for them.

It was Elia, Aitana's best friend, walking over to them. She was dressed to the nines in a traditional folkloric dress. It was white at the bodice with puffy sleeves, with a skirt of bright pink, gold, and red.

Penelope was immediately dazzled. "Oh my goodness! That is a beautiful dress!" She exclaimed. In her attempt to touch said dress, her many bags bumped Elia's side and chest. "Sorry!"

Elia chuckled. "It's alright."

"You look really nice," Emily remarked, smiling like the others. "Is that how Aitana looks?"

"No," Elia shook her head. "This dress is traditional to the region of Michoacan, Mexico. It's where my family's from. Aitana's family is from Jalisco so her dress will be from that region."

"So what are you doing here?" Morgan asked, checking his watch. "Don't you guys go on soon?"

"In about half an hour," nodded Elia, "But it's my tradition to come out and scope the area for some good luck vibes."

"There are plenty of acorns for that," Spencer said, prompting the others to give him strange glances. "In Norway, acorns are seen as objects of good luck. It dates all the way back to Norse mythology when the Norse thought that their God of thunder, Thor, favored oak trees. They would put acorns on their window sills in hopes that no lightning would strike down on them. In reality, lightning is attracted to oak trees."

"Huh, so you do do that," Elia said after a moment of silence that they'd all used to process the information. "Aitana told me."

"Oh…" Spencer lowered his head, lips pursed.

"You know, we have good luck objects too," Elia said, smiling mischievously. "Traditions, really."

"What is it?" Rossi asked curiously.

"We light a candle with a picture of la Virgen de Guadalupe on the front." Elia laughed softly at their reaction. "It's true! I'm pretty sure that's how I passed my biology class in the 10th grade." She was much too proud of herself even after the years.

A couple minutes later, Elia bid the group goodbye. She did point the group towards the stage and a specific aisle that promised the best view. According to her, their routine was second to last in the lineup.

They followed Elia's directions and went to the fourth row on the right. They would've chosen the first but according to Elia, the second through fourth rows were always better. No craned necks nor soreness. As they took their seats, they saw Aitana's family sitting in the second row.

The show began pretty soon, starting with the young competitors — the children. JJ thought it was absolutely adorable and even threw the idea out there that Henry should participate in some kind of dancing club later on. Will merely shook his head.

Penelope was dazzled with all the costumes — she paid more attention to that rather than the dancing. "When Aitana comes out, of course I'll pay attention to her!" She assured the team when Morgan pointed it out.

In truth it was pretty easy to get lost in the costumes and the dances, especially since none of them ever got the chance to see dances like this upclose. When it was finally their friend's turn, they all straightened up in their seats, ready to cheer Aitana on. She was the fourth and final female dancer in her group.

Penelope lost it as soon as she saw Aitana. "YOU GO SPRINKLES!" She yelled above the crowd's applause.

Aitana almost matched the color of her dress. Unlike Elia who was in shades of pinks and yellows, Aitana's dress was a more ruffled version. It was white, for starters, with stripes of red, orange, yellow, blue and green at the hemline of the skirt, the ruffles around her waist and the ruffled collar over her chest. Her short hair somehow sustained a huge headband with a bouquet of brightly colored flowers. Large earrings dangled from her ears.

It was honestly a blur of colors when the music began. Aitana couldn't afford to look at anything and lose concentration. Her mind buzzed with the steps she needed to take. She knew damn well that everyone was watching but nobody more than her grandmother.

The music was loud, energetic, and the atmosphere was phenomenal. Everyone watched attentively, listening to the traditional music, cheered for their favorite contestants, and applauded at intricate steps. When it ended, it didn't really end. The crowd cheered for more than a couple minutes afterwards, keeping the dancers in their spots taking their bows. They were tired, sweaty, and worst of all still pretty nervous.

That didn't matter to Penelope and the rest of the squad. They all cheered for their "sprinkles". Some even joined Rossi with a 'bellissima!'. It was a whole ride, one that had Aitana flushing and laughing at the same time.

They would have loved to greet her coming down the stage but her family was of course already waiting for her. She was engulfed in multiple hugs and kisses from her family, so much she lost track of who had done what.

"So you liked it, abuela?" Aitana waited anxiously for her grandmother to answer.

Julieta didn't think about it for a minute before nodding her head. "Claro que sí!" She laughed. "Ah, te veías tan hermosa bailando mi pequeña!" She pinched Aitana's cheeks like she always did when Aitana was younger.

Aitana went into a series of laughs after that. Her grandmother tended to be slightly dramatic — she had told Aitana she looked absolutely beautiful dancing. Aitana really doubled that when she knew she must look like a mess after the routine. Love was blind indeed.

"My sweet girl!" Julieta insisted, her thick accent emphasizing her words even more.

"Aitana, your co-workers are here too, you know," Mateo said once he managed to pull their abuela back and give a view of Aitana. "You should probably say hello at some point."

"Well of course," Aitana rolled her eyes playfully. "I invited them. I'll be right back," she told her parents. She hunched the sides of her dress skirt enough to walk quicker then headed off.

Penelope had spotted Aitana way before she approached them. "Oh! Oh! You were absolutely wonderful! Come here!" She wrapped her arms around Aitana in a tight hug. "Absolutely wonderful!"

Aitana chuckled. "Thanks, Penelope." When she managed to pull away, she looked at the others. "Thank you guys for coming. It means a lot, honestly."

"You were amazing out there!" Emily said, giving Aitana a side hug, for she was also holding one glass of unknown alcohol in the other hand. She wouldn't live with herself if she got a drop of it on Aitana's beautiful dress.

With so many compliments, Aitana didn't know what to do with herself.

"So when's the next competition?" JJ asked and suddenly the rest of the team was already on board.

"Woah, hold on," Aitana's hands went up in front of her, "I just barely made it past this one. I have no idea when or if I'll participate in another one."

"You did great in this one," said Spencer, "I don't see why you wouldn't be able to handle another one."

"Because not everyone can handle your kind of level, Dr. Reid," Aitana retorted. He playfully rolled his eyes at her. "I think I need a break…I just don't know how to break it to my grandmother yet…"

"You should probably figure it out because she's coming here," Morgan said.

Aitana laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Aitana?"

Aitana audibly squeaked, fully panicking.

Morgan smirked. "Told you."

Aitana was going to smack him but her grandmother arrived at that moment. She stayed right where she was. "Abuela," Aitana glanced at the woman.

"They're going to tell us who won," Julieta said, surprising the others with her English tongue. Up until now, Aitana had never said whether or not Julieta even spoke English.

Aitana nodded. "Okay, yeah, I'll be there. I was just talking to my friends/co-workers."

"Oh, los del trabajo dondé viajas todo el tiempo?" It was clear that Julieta spoke far better Spanish.

Aitana cleared her throat and nodded her head. "Si," she said, "Son ellos."

"Hola, yo soy Emily," Emily stepped forward to shake hands with Julieta. The latter was startled with the direct conversation, but slowly pleased. The others rolled their eyes, of course Emily would pull that card.

"Julieta Serrano," the older woman said, shaking hands.

"Me gustó mucho la interpretación. Aitana estaba muy nerviosa."

Julieta let out a small laugh. "Very nervous, I know," she nodded. "I told her it was nothing to worry about."

Aitana smiled dryly at the pair. "Yes, thank you for that."

Julieta patted her granddaughter's shoulder. "We have to go back."

Aitana nodded. "I know." She looked at her friends and before she could say a thing, they were already flooding her with good luck wishes. She honestly never felt so much love from one group of people, besides her own family of course.

As Aitana and her grandmother headed back to their family, the rest of the team made way for the stage again. The rest of the competitors were gathering on stage, with only a few stragglers coming later. Aitana was one of them but still fine.

The presenter soon returned as well, announcing the beginning of the naming. The third place winners, the runners-up, had been the youngest selection of the competitors — 12 year olds. Then, the heat started when the announcer called upon Aitana's team and another. First and second place was between them. For a few minutes, it was impossible not to squirm and that went for both teams. They were both equally nervous.

And then, they called second place. Aitana's team stepped forward to receive their congratulations and trophy, which they did so happily.

Aitana had such a good laugh explaining to Penelope — assuring Penelope — that she was perfectly content with second place. Penelope might as well have heard blasphemy.

"But you were amazing!" Penelope exclaimed, still throwing glares at the stage despite there being no one there anymore. "You deserved first place! I should give them a piece of my mind!"

Morgan curled a hand around Penelope's arm immediately. "Easy there, baby girl, if Aitana's happy, shouldn't we be too?"

Penelope frowned. "You know what I mean!" She huffed.

"I think we all know what you mean, Penelope," JJ said, patting Penelope's shoulder.

"I'm glad you have my back," Aitana laughed softly. "But let's save that for when I really need it, okay?"

"Another competition?" Penelope jumped on the idea, making the others laugh.

"No, no…I think I'll be taking a break again," Aitana admitted, "This—" she gestured to her dress, "—is a lot of work and juggling it between work and school is too much for me. Maybe I'll go back to it after I graduate."

"Sounds like a reasonable idea," said Rossi, "Don't want to spread yourself too thin."

"Exactly," nodded Aitana. "But thank you guys for coming. It really does mean a lot."

"Of course, we're glad that you're happy. I think that's the most important thing here," Emily said, looking at the others to make sure they agreed. They did.

"Well, we do have the rest of the day to look forward to," Aitana said, beginning to smile again, "And we go all night."

"A concept some of us won't be able to do," JJ said as she gestured between her son and Jack in the distance with Will.

Aitana chuckled. "Right."

"Aitana!" Her mother called and when Aitana looked back, she saw her family was waving her over.

"You should go," Morgan said, "We'll be good."

"I just — I'll meet up with you guys later, I promise," Aitana said, raising her hand as evidence, "I don't want you getting lost or doing something worse."

"Oh don't worry about us," Morgan said, "We know how to have fun. Even Reid."

Spencer didn't appreciate the fact that everyone laughed. "Ha, ha."

"Don't go pulling pranks on each other here," Aitana warned. She backtracked a few steps when she heard her mother calling again. "You piss off the wrong person and I won't help you again."

"We said we were sorry," Spencer said, "And after your stunt with the shoes, believe us we will never include you in any prank ever again."

Aitana grinned. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Aitana!"

Aitana winced. That was her mother's angry voice. She knew it well enough from her childhood. "I'll see you guys later!" She grabbed the sides of her dress and hurried off.

~0~

Throughout the day, the team would see each other in different places like the stalls, the tasting competitions — Emily won by a landslide — and the mini-dance competitions. It was a variety of fun and by nightfall, it only got better. Music blared in the air, attracting chunks of people at a time.

"Oh my God, is that Morgan?" Aitana barely stifled her laugh as she watched Morgan try to learn a dance routine with a couple of the other competitors from earlier.

Penelope was fascinated by the sight. Spencer thought Morgan resembled a cat…a very bad one…

Aitana laughed that time. "You're kinda mean," she told Spencer, oddly fascinated as well.

"Look at him!" Spencer gestured a hand at Morgan. He was laughing too. "Any chance you got another opening for a student because I think Morgan will need it stat."

"I don't see you trying to learn," Aitana pointed out. "At least Morgan is making the effort.

"I'll try!" Penelope suddenly exclaimed. Her hand clasped around Spencer's wrist. "And so will he!"

"What!?" Spencer's eyebrows furrowed. "No I won't!"

"Oh, yes you will!" Penelope assured him then grabbed Aitana's hand. "And Sprinkles is going to teach us!"

Neither Aitana nor Spencer had a say in the matter. Penelope yanked them to the dancefloor.

"I really don't — Garcia!" Spencer cried.

Penelope was not letting him go for anything. On her other side, Aitana was laughing.

"Just follow my lead!" Aitana told the two.

Penelope trusted her enough to let go of her hand. Aitana moved two steps down and so Pebelope did the same, pulling Spencer with her in the process. When it was time to retake the steps in the opposite direction, he and Penelope crashed into each other.

Aitana could not stop laughing. It only got worse the more steps she introduced. In the end, Spencer pried Penelope's hand off to escape. It was a matter of life and death to him.

"Oh, c'mon!" Penelope called to him when he broke free.

"No! I'm done!" Spencer declared, making it a warning for both women. "I refuse to make myself look like an idiot across all cultures!"

Aitana was a laughing mess. She had to clutch her stomach seconds into it. Spencer gestured at her to prove his point.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Aitana said in-between her laughs. "You're just too funny, Spencer!"

"You think I'm funny?" Spencer said, dropping everything to take the words in.

Aitana nodded, having to step out of the dancing altogether before people crashed into her while she laughed. "I think you're hilarious sometimes but you don't know it. Which just makes you funnier."

Penelope smirked at Spencer. The latter was too tired for any more of that stuff, so he took off without saying a word.

Aitana didn't agree. "Oh, Spencer! C'mon! Spencer!" She chased after him. "Spencer, this is a really big dress — don't make me actually have to chase you!"

Of course after hearing that, Spencer came to a stop. He turned around and watched as Aitana finally managed to catch up with him.

"This dress is not meant for running," she said, taking deep breaths in and out. "Also kind of tight."

"Sorry…" Spencer felt the urge to say.

Aitana laughed. "What? No. This is my fault. Sorry for back there…Penelope is just too much sometimes and it's always funny."

"I'm a terrible dancer," Spencer said, shrugging. "It gives everyone the perfect ammunition."

"We're all bad at something. I'm terrible at drawing. Like, the worst, actually."

Spencer smiled at Aitana. "But you're really good at talking about space."

Aitana had to laugh again. "Spencer, I'm trying to make you feel better, not the other way around."

"It's fine," Spencer dismissed it as he usually tended to.

Aitana nodded, hearing the tone behind his voice. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't I go get changed out of this dress, and then I'll show you the other best spots around this place that don't involve dancing whatsoever?"

Spencer's brows raised with surprise. "Um…yeah, that…that would be nice."

Aitana beamed. "Great! I'll be fast, I promise! Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Spencer chuckled. "Promise I won't."

Aitana beamed even more. She grabbed the sides of her dress and hurried off again. Spencer watched her leave, feeling about a thousand times better than before. He had to be careful not to let Morgan anywhere near him.

Aitana returned a bit later. She had changed into warmer clothes but kept her hairdo the same. She easily took Spencer with her and brought him to what she considered were the better parts of the festival. Spencer pointed out that many of them included food.

"Spencer, never tell a woman she eats too much," Aitana warned as she bit into her chips and salsa.

"What?" Spencer flinched. "Oh my God, no! I wasn't saying that you — I wasn't—"

Aitana laughed at his stuttering mess. "Easy there before I short circuit the wires in your brain. Here, try some." She offered him the salsa bowl to dip a chip in.

"I've tried chips and salsa before, Aitana," Spencer said, "I'm not that lost."

"Yes, but this is authentic Mexican food. Trust me, our spices hit differently."

Spencer shrugged. He reached for a chip and dunked it into the salsa bowl. Aitana watched him giddily, and perhaps a bit mischievously too. Spencer didn't understand that face until the spice started hitting.

"Oh my God!" He had no choice but to swallow it down since it was already chewed.

Aitana snorted into a laugh watching him struggle. "I told you it wouldn't be that soft stuff you buy out there."

"My mouth is on fire!" Spencer fanned himself.

"Oh, it's not that bad!"

"Yes it is! You lied!"

Aitana shook her head. "Here, try something else —"

"No!" Spencer shooed Aitana away from him. "I will seriously never trust you again!"

Aitana couldn't help her laugh. It was too much for her again. "You're being overdramatic."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"My mouth feels like it's on fire!"

"C'mon drama queen," Aitana curled an arm around Spencer's arm, "Some aguas frescas should clear this up."

"Do they have spice in them too?"

"Some of them might but it's just — Spencer!" Aitana laughed as Spencer bolted from her side. "You have got to be kidding me! Spencer! Come back!"

"No!"

Aitana chased after him nonetheless.

A/N:

Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? I went on vacation for 3 weeks and just now got back to reality unfortunately, what can you do *le sigh*. Anyways, this is sort of a filler chapter but I thought it'd be a cute one ;)

As always, I have AO3/Wattpad accounts under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)