Chapter 6: Epilogue

By: Nightshade2412

"So," Alex said, as they stood on the steps of the courthouse. "I guess this is it, then."

"I suppose it is," Yassen agreed.

Alex wasn't really sure how he felt about it yet. Not much had changed on the surface, except that the arrangement was suddenly permanent in a way he'd never let himself think it might be, whether for better or for worse, he wasn't sure. Yassen had always been his top choice - best of a bad bunch, but still - but being made to think about it had brought up feelings that he'd been trying to ignore for the past weeks.

The man who'd killed his uncle, who'd thrown him to the bull, who would've cut Sabina's finger off without a second thought - or the man who'd saved his life, more than once, had practically sacrificed his own to do so? Sometimes, Alex looked at him and felt a swell of red-hot fury, or else wanted to spit you're not my dad at him, the words sitting in his mouth like the stinging taste of bile. But here, in the sun, the sounds of the city surrounding them but not coming too close, all he could feel was the wash of relief.

He looked over his shoulder, where some of the most powerful people in the world were following them out (not that any of the passers-by knew it), their defeat showing in different ways. He saw Byrne staring after him balefully, and shivered under 's calculating stare.

"Do you think they'll leave me alone, now?" he asked.

"Do you want them to?"

"I- yes. That's all I've wanted for- since it began."

"Ok," Yassen said, and not for the first time Alex wished he would color his voice with actual emotion sometimes because Yassen definitely had more thoughts on the matter than he was letting slip.

"Ok?"

"Yes. If you want a normal life, you can have it. I'll make sure they don't come after us if they even dare to try."

"Just like that?"

"Yes, little Alex," Yassen assured him, exasperated but - and Alex knew he wasn't imagining it - fond.

"What about your job with Scorpia? You don't mind giving that up?" Alex didn't know exactly how much Yassen had been earning, but he knew it was a lot.

"Even if they were prepared to take me back without… retiring me in their own, special way, I'm not sure I would want it. For one thing, I'm getting too old. For another-" Yassen caught his gaze and held it. "Throughout most of my career, every kill I've made has been easier than the last. Then, there came a point when they started getting harder again."

Alex swallowed. It was weird, how little Yassen's past seemed to matter in everyday life, but then suddenly he was reminded of it and - what was he doing, getting adopted by a contract killer? If the public knew what Yassen had done, they'd be calling for his head, and his little change of heart wouldn't make any difference. And what did that say about Alex?

He caught Mrs. Jones' eye as she passed, and received a curt nod which he didn't return. Instead, he turned to Yassen and asked, "What now?"

"How about ice cream?" Yassen said.

Alex blinked, and then he let a smile grow. "Yeah. Ice cream sounds good."

They didn't fly back to London immediately. Instead, they set out the next day on a road trip to Washington DC. Alex spent long hours just watching the countryside flash by, or singing along to the radio to irritate Yassen and begging him to stop for increasingly cheesy roadside attractions, just to see if he would cave.

Which he did. Every single time.

Somehow, maybe even without him realizing it, making their arrangement official had caused Yassen to relax. Alex still didn't know many personal details about the assassin - the man had spent too many years keeping his cards close to his chest - but by the time they reached the capital, he was so used to Yassen's quirks and living in close quarters, just the two of them, that it came as a shock to be surrounded by other people again.

He stuck close to Yassen as they picked a path through the tourists visiting the Washington monument until he caught sight of familiar red curls glowing in the early afternoon sun and broke into a run.

"I missed you," Alex said, muffled against Jack's cardigan, as they crashed into each other just outside the ring of flags.

"Missed you too," she said, clinging to him a little longer before holding him at arm's length to look him over. "You have to tell me everything."

She caught sight of Yassen over his shoulder, approaching at a slower pace, and narrowed her eyes at him. He raised a nonchalant eyebrow in return.

Alex looked between them and rolled his eyes, dragging them both to a clear patch of grass where they could sit down with their supermarket sandwiches and ignoring the tension as he caught up with Jack.

While they were talking, Yassen stayed silent, letting himself fade into the background. He concentrated on tearing off little pieces of his sandwich, and carefully didn't examine too closely his feelings of… jealousy? Nope. Of course, Alex was so comfortable with the American woman, he'd frequently referred to her as his best friend or his big sister. Their relationship was completely different, and it was years in the making. He shouldn't be comparing himself.

He sighed anyway.

"I'm sorry, are we boring you?" Jack snapped at him.

"Not at all," he said quickly, cursing himself for the slip-up. "Carry on with… whatever."

The full force of her glare was unnerving.

"Are you sure you're ready for this? My Pop's been doing much better lately, maybe we should rethink this? Looking after a teenager is quite a commitment. And I know what you espionage types are like, always one foot out the door."

"You know what Ian Rider was like," Yassen corrected. "And I've already been looking after him for the past few weeks, anyway. I like doing it. He's no trouble."

"Then clearly you don't know him that well. Alex is always trouble."

"Hey!" Alex protested.

"You may have a point," Yassen conceded, ignoring him. "But I'm coping just fine."

"Uh-huh," she drawled. "Even when Tom Harris gets thrown into the mix?"

There was a beat. "Well. It's not so bad."

"Not so bad, he says. Just you wait. There was this one time with the pigeons and the-"

"You don't need to tell him about that!" Alex interrupted. "That happened ages ago."

"I think you mean only four months, Al."

Yassen shifted to a more comfortable pose, sensing a story. "Tell me more."

6 months later

Alex shut the door behind him and shrugged his schoolbag off in the hallway.

"Hey, I'm home," he called when he didn't hear any movement from further within the apartment. He waited a bit, but Yassen didn't return the greeting.

He wasn't panicking yet, but - Well, for all Yassen liked to caution against it, they had a routine. Sure, the man's shifts varied, but they generally knew each other's schedule pretty well, and somehow they'd slipped into little domestic rituals as well, even if it was just a quick hello when Alex got back from school. So now he padded down the hallway as silently as he knew how (almost useless since he'd already made his presence known, but old habits die hard) and into the living room.

The sight that met him seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone: Yassen, fast asleep on the couch, in the middle of the day. He wasn't outright snoring, but his face was as loose and relaxed as Alex had ever seen it.

Alex gave himself a moment to appreciate it, and then grabbed snacks and his homework and waited for Yassen to wake up.

He was knee-deep in French pronouns when he glanced over and saw Yassen's eyes open and staring at him. He jumped; the transition from asleep to awake had been flawlessly imperceptible, and he had no idea how long ago it had happened.

"Hey," Alex tried again.

"I didn't hear you come in," Yassen said instead of answering.

"Nope," Alex grinned. "Age must be catching up to you. No more living on four hours a night."

Yassen hadn't done that consistently in a while; some days, he liked to sleep in even later than Alex, and the teenager was hardly a morning person himself, not counting the times where nightmares forced him to be.

"I have the night shift later," Yassen tried, not that he was fooling anyone.

"Yeah, yeah. It's ok, you can admit it, you fell asleep because you were bored here without my scintillating company."

"Har har," Yassen answered with sarcasm of his own. "You're right, the peace and quiet was such a tragedy."

"Uh-huh," Alex smirked. "You know, maybe we should get a dog so you're not alone here."

"We're not getting a dog," Yassen said flatly. It was an argument they'd had many, many times. Between school for Alex and Yassen's job as a helicopter paramedic, not to mention living in a small apartment in the middle of London, it just wasn't practical, but that didn't stop Alex from trying.

"One day," Alex threatened. "One day you'll see what a great idea it is."

"Dr. Three called," Yassen said, changing the subject before Alex could turn on the puppy eyes. "Asked if I'd discussed the benefits of taking science A-levels with you yet."

Alex snorted. "Have you told him I want to take Drama?"

"God, no," Yassen said. "He'd probably send itching powder in the post. Or something worse."

Alex grinned. He enjoyed acting, but when he fantasized about a successful future career, it wasn't about winning the Oscars. He only wanted just enough recognition to make everyone who had used him pale when they saw him onscreen. Sure, he might take Physics as well, but he had a good feeling about the future. And between Alex's inheritance and Yassen's blood money - though he preferred not to touch that if he could manage it - he had the luxury of trying.

Retirement suited them both. Yassen had taken the medical qualifications - all genuine - that he'd presented to the court, and combined that with his deep-rooted love of helicopters by joining the Air Ambulance, where the work was fast-paced, but with the sort of team he'd never had a chance to settle into with Scorpia. And he took pleasure in the irony that he was now saving lives.

Meanwhile, Alex had thrown himself whole-heartedly into being a Normal Teenager™, at least until his damn personality got in the way of that, and he figured that whatever his idea of normal was, it wasn't working for him. There was no way he was going back to MI6, and as for what he wanted to do instead?

He had time to figure it out.