(Just went back to edit some mistakes, please let me know if I missed anything)

ALSO! I'm just about to post my first Alex Rider story with Yassen in it! So check that out if it interests you.

This is quite a few years in the future; both Tom and Alex are out of University and working. They are both experts in their fields.

This chapter: You would think Alex would learn not to shut people out...

"Rider."

"Hey you little shit. What's up? Just kidding, I don't care. Listen, I've met this girl and I think I'm going to propose and I'm pretty sure she'll say yes. If she does I'm going to need a best man and I know we haven't seen each other in years but you're still my best mate and-"

"Tom?" Alex cut in, he'd recognize that incessant rambling anywhere.

"Obviously. So, what do you say?"

"How did you get this number?"

"Not quite the reaction I was going for…"

"No seriously. I've changed my number at least five times since we last spoke. This is a secure phone, it's not even listed. How did you get this number?"

"My best friend is a spy, dipwad."

"Tom… there's a reason we stopped talking. There's a reason that you moved to Italy with Jerry in the first place. You were shot, remember that? Jack died. And then after everything that happened last time I saw you? I'm dangerous, Tom."

"Listen close you bloody idiot. I moved to Italy because my parents were shit. You think I'd live in Scorpia's backyard to get away from danger? Hell no. And that shit that went down before? It's our job, mate. I knew what I'd signed up for. Anyway, you cut me off, mate. I didn't get any say."

"Tom-"

"No, I'm talking, you're listening. I'm in London right now, staying in a hotel. If you don't get over your shit in twelve hours and meet me for coffee, I'll come to your house and drag you out kicking and screaming. I don't care how many guns you have, Mr. Spy Guy."

"... I'll see you tomorrow then."

Alex put his phone down, feeling slightly stunned. He'd kept up with Tom regularly for the few weeks he'd lived with the Pleasures. When he came back he'd continued to stay in touch, but had kept correspondence to a minimum. He didn't want Tom to get hurt just for being associated with him.

The last time they had spoken in person was just about two years ago; Alex had been in Italy looking for a Scorpia/Mafia contraband. He'd ended up working with the local authorities - Alex had no idea that that meant Tom freaking Harris.

Tom had joined the Guardia di Finanza, the Financial Guard. It hadn't sounded too fancy to Alex, but financial crimes didn't just mean tax evasion and copyright violations; it was smuggling, money laundering, illegal immigration, anti-Mafia operations and (the reason Alex was there) international drug trafficking.

Tom was usually a part of the anti-Mafia corps, having a 'weird' and 'unexplainable' grasp on terrorist activities. Alex had a sneaking suspicion that he had played a defining hand in Tom's career choice. His best mate had seen his name on a file, and had asked onto the case as the Mafia expert.

So Alex and Tom had spent three weeks traveling the Italian coast and disbanding drug trades. Mostly ship-based. A few outpost along the coast as well.

It was about three weeks in; Alex had infiltrated the main drug syndicate and they'd managed to find the major base - a huge, commercial cruise ship. Alex coordinated the assault from the inside, and Tom was a part of the team that stormed the place. Tom and two other operatives were supposed to come find Alex - he was down in the basement releasing a few prisoners that had fallen victim to illegal drug testing.

Everything had gone wrong. Alex felt like Murphy was laughing at him from beyond the grave.

One of the drug lords had managed to give the assault team the slip - the man had set fire to his below deck drug lab, which exploded minutes after. Half the ship had been destroyed in seconds, taking fourteen lives and most of the evidence. The rest of the ship was sinking, while simultaneously going up in flames.

Tom and Alex had grabbed the last of the prisoners, they'd ran up the stairs to try and find a way overboard. Making it to an open air deck, both boy's had helped the ex-prisoners over and into the water.

Unfortunately, the bad guys had the same plan. A little to the stern of the boat, several men and women toting guns appeared. Some started swan diving over the rail, a few others laid down cover fire.

Alex had been closest to the goons, and had his back to them; he had immediately drawn his gun to return fire. Tom, being the quick witted and more preservative best friend he was, had grabbed Alex from behind and tossed him over the edge like a rag doll.

Later, Tom would tell Alex that it was because he was afraid that Alex wouldn't do it himself. That the spy would let himself get mowed down with bullets so the rest could escape. Tom would tell him that 'you always get to be the hero, Al. Give someone else a turn'.

But not even the great Tom Harris's morbid yet enthusiastic humour could distract Alex from the bullet wound in his best friends stomach; from the fact that hours earlier, Tom had been in a major surgery to have the bullet and an irreparably damaged kidney removed.

It was the second bullet Tom Harris had taken for him; how was he supposed to live with that?

Alex had disappeared from the hospital minutes after Tom had passed into a drug induced haze. He'd disappeared from the country, and in fact the continent, soon after.

He hadn't been in contact since.

"Cub? You okay? You look like you've been sucker punched…"

Alex looked up; Snake was leaning against the living room door, blurry eyed and half asleep. K unit didn't live with him anymore, not since he turned eighteen. Once he'd reached the age of majority, he'd sold the house in Chelsea and gotten a flat. K unit lived in the surrounding area, and they were over enough that Alex sometimes forgot that they didn't live together anymore.

Nowadays though, they tended to tote along spouses and kids and significant others. Honestly, you though one Eagle was bad? Babysitting was a nightmare for Alex. (Not that Alex was too different nowadays - unlike Tom though, he didn't plan to pop the question any time soon).

Currently, Snake was crashing in his spare room. He'd just been filing reports at the bank the night before, and hadn't want to drive himself home. Alex, being at the bank all the time, had offered him a room and a ride - they would go retrieve Snake's car in the morning.

"I'm fine…" Alex let the statement trail off. He was aware that he was probably less than fine, but fake it till you make it, right?

"Who was on the phone?"

Alex tilted his head, glaring daggers at the cell phone. He'd need to get a new one now, this one was clearly compromised. "Just an old friend. We're meeting for coffee, to catch up."

What am I doing?

Alex stood in front of a cafe, staring forlornly at the door. This had been Jack's favourite coffee place; half way between their house and the school, Jack would always come to pick him up with a coffee in hand.

It had also been a rather good place for him and Tom to hang out when they bunked off school. Or a good meeting place when they snuck out.

Alex hadn't been back here in years, the last time being with Tom a few days before leaving to the Pleasure's. He'd had to explain to Tom about Jack, the mission, that they wouldn't be able to see each other for a while. Tom had explained to him about home, how it had steadily gotten worse and his parents divorce had become unbearably messy. Tom had said that Alex leaving was the tipping point, he'd move to Italy with Jerry.

Though the last time Alex was here wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, there were a lot of good memories here too.

The time that Tom's watch had stopped and they didn't realize school had ended until Jack walked in to get her customary coffee; the verbal beat down that Jack had laid on the both of them for playing hooky.

The first time Alex had convinced Tom to try a coffee instead of tea. His friend didn't know what 'espresso' meant; Tom was bouncing off the wall for hours.

Okay, I can do this.

Alex steeled himself and walked into the small cafe. The room was dimly lit, a cute little lamp hanging above each table and some candles strategically placed around the room.

Tom had arrived before him, sitting in their usual booth - in the back and against a wall, facing the entrance. The black haired boy was nursing a mug of coffee, the steam hit his face making him flush.

Sliding into the booth, Alex waved down a waiter. He ordered a large coffee, with caramel and whip cream and an extra sweetener shot, the same way Jack loved - he was feeling sentimental.

"So who is the lucky girl, then? When do I get to meet her?"

"Actually," Tom swiveled in his seat, "there she is now."

Alex glanced up at the door. He barely contained a flinch because - holy shit that's Tamara Knight! And isn't she like, fifteen years older than us? What the hell?

After his original panic, Alex looked at the situation with a more level head. The girl that had walked in was not, in fact, Tamara Knight. She was not approximately fifteen years older than them; in fact, if Alex had to hazard a guess, the girl looked to be a year or two younger.

She also happened to hold a stunning resemblance to Tamara Knight.

Tom waved her over. She walked through the cafe with easy grace, sitting next to Tom with a quick kiss.

"Hey dear," she turned her attention to Alex. He noticed that from afar she seemed to have brown eyes, similar to Tamara. But close up Alex could see that her left eye was actually green; the lack of symmetry actually made her look more beautiful. "You must be Alex. Tom has told me so much about you."

Alex smiled politely, shaking her hand. "Well, you have the advantage over me." Alex examined her, she had a distinctly American accent, and really did look an awful lot like Tamara.

"Oh sorry," she blushed. "Let me introduce myself; I'm Holly."

"Holly…?" Alex fished.

"Knight. Holly Knight." Ah, that's interesting.

"Any relation to Tamara Knight?"

Holly nodded, "My aunt. I lived with her growing up actually, do you know her?"

Tamara's niece. Alex had heard that it was a small world… but really?

"Yeah I do, through work."

Holly frowned, "You work… for intelligence?"

Suddenly paranoid, Alex looked up at the other cafe patrons. Everything was as it should be.

"A little quieter, perhaps?" Holly looked slightly embarrassed. "Yes. I mainly work for MI6, but I freelance with other agencies. A lot with the CIA."

"Makes sense," Alex gave Holly a quizzical look. "What I mean is, from what Tom has said, you sound like a superhero. I mean between the two of us - Tom with the Guard and me, I work in counter-terrorism - not everyone can handle that sort of life. But you… well, it makes sense."

"You work in counter terrorism?" Alex asked.

"Mhmm. It's how we-" she gestured between herself and Tom, "-met."

Alex nodded. "I guess living with a CIA agent sets you up for an odd sort of life, huh?"

"Same as living with a MI6 secret spy, so I hear." Tom chimed in cheekily.

Alex ignored him, "So why did you live with Tamara? If you don't mind my asking." Alex knew from experience that talking about absent or dead parents could be a touchy subject; but Alex Rider loved walking the line.

"Oh I don't mind," and she sounded like she meant that. "My mum walked out on my dad and I when I was a toddler, she was Tamara's sister. She sort of disappeared off the map. My dad didn't have any family, so he got pretty close with Tamara and the rest of my mum's family. He died when I was six in a working accident. He was an engineer. His project was behind and some corporate bigwigs were pushing him to finish. He ended up working through a sudden flash-freeze. Slipped and fell of the bride he was building. So, Aunt Tamara took me in, and her long-standing boyfriend."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Alex said with a nod of acknowledgement.

"Past is past," Holly said. "I miss him, of course, but Tamara has been good to me and I've had an awesome life. And from what I hear, you had a rougher time growing up."

Alex shrugged. "Everyone has a rough time, one way or another. I don't think mine was any better or worse than the next guy - just different."

"True enough. We all just do our best, huh?"

Alex agreed. Then a thought occurred to him. Glancing at Holly's hand, he noted the distinct lack of engagement ring. Tom had said the he was planning to propose, but Alex suddenly wanted to know when exactly that would come about.

Tom noticed Alex's gaze and made (not very discreet) hand gestures. His friend scrunched his face up, mouthing nonsensical words while repeatedly drawing a bladed hand over his throat.

Holly noticed the whole thing, but wisely chose not to comment.

After coffee, Alex, Tom and Holly were all wandering towards Tom and Holly's hotel. They were passing through South Park. Slowly, Tom and Alex fell behind Holly; or more likely, Holly sensed their need for a moment and had sped up.

"So mate," Alex started slyly, "when are you going to pop the question?"

"Actually…" Tom craned his neck, looking at the light woods to their right. A sandy path led to a small red bridge, which passed over a cute little stream.

Alex was aware that this was the same Park that Tom's own parents had gotten engaged in. Despite how that marriage had turned out, Alex knew that Tom really did love and admire his parents. That even though they spent their entire marriage fighting, they really had been in love.

And Alex knew that whenever his parents told the story of their engagement, no matter how pissed at each other they were, it calmed them right down. It was a good memory, one that they shared with Tom often enough. Talking about their engagement was one of the few things they could be civil about.

Tom smiled at Alex before rushing forward, catching up to Holly and pulling her to the bridge by the arm.

Holly followed along, looking only mildly annoyed, but clearly used to Tom's excitement and outbursts.

Alex pause where he was, not going any closer, but not backing away either. He pulled out his phone - thinking that, as best man, it was his duty to get things like this on camera.

Tom led Holly up the bridge, pausing at the peak. With the light canopy of trees, the sunshine dappled around them; making uneven but beautiful patterns on their skin. The stream below was clear, and sparkled in the light.

Holding Holly's hand, Tom spoke a few words that Alex was just far enough away from to miss. Alex watched understanding dawn on Holly's face. Tears formed and the woman brought a hand up to cover her now-gaping mouth.

Tom dropped to one knee, pulling a velvet box from his jacket with one hand while holding Holly's hand with the other. He cracked it open, the diamond shining like a fallen star in the case.

Alex watched as Holly started nodding quickly. Tom slipped the ring on her finger, rising up to capture her in a bear hug. His mate lifted Holly off her feet, spinning around on the small wooden bridge.

One miss step saw Tom catching his hip on the bridges rail. A look of surprised crossed Tom's face the microsecond before he and Holly were sent tumbling over the low barricade offered by the bridge.

Alex huffed in laughter, though neither of the happy couple seemed particularly bothered by their condition in the stream.

Holly gave Tom a long kiss, stopping to smile or giggle every so often.

Alex glided forward carefully, still filming.

"You really know how to make a splash, huh Tom?" Alex laughed at his soaking wet friend.

"Oi, shut it mate." Tom flung a handful of water in his direction.

Alex danced back, "Watch the phone, mate! I want everyone at the wedding to see you two falling in love."

Response to Reviewers:

This chapter is dedicated to the Guest that pointed out that I haven't written about Tom! I love Tom, and I plan to write about him lots more.

Dear peevesisawesome: first of all, amazing name! Thank's for the tips, I forgot that it was pounds not euros. I went back and fixed it. And yeah, I wasn't sure about credit cards in taxi's, I live in Canada and you can but obviously Europe is different. It was more a plot device than anything.

I don't know if I'll do another shot based so far in the future, but leave suggestions if you'd like!

Anyone else you'd like to see the appearance of? Any suggestions for how the members of K unit turned out? Did they settle down? Have kids? Are they still working? Married to the job? Any ideas are welcome!

I promise Eagle's wedding is coming! I'm a bit stuck, but I'll get there.

Also, still trying to think of a way to introduce Eagles kid. I haven't settled on a gender or name for the baby, so suggestions are welcome! (I'm leaning towards a baby girl).

And I'm still looking for suggestions on who Alex's significant other should be?