Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Alex Rider or any other characters in the Alex Rider series.

When Alex finally woke up around noon he had one hell of a hangover. Wincing at the sunlight that was filtering through his window, he threw an arm over his eyes and groaned. Never again would he agree to go out and drink with the gang, it wasn't worth the pain. He tried to piece together what he'd done the night before, but after heading home from the bar things got a little fuzzy. He remembered stumbling back to his apartment, then sensing something was wrong, but after that it was kind of a blur.

Shaking his head, only to regret it seconds later when the world began to spin around him, he eventually forced himself to a sitting position. The blanket that had been covering him in his sleep slipped low on his hips and Alex paused when he realized he was naked. Usually when he came home drunk he collapsed in his clothes and then woke up feeling gross and in need of a shower. Though now that he thought about it, he really did feel like he needed a shower, he felt all sticky and sweaty despite his lack of clothing.

His eyes widened as images of last night came flooding back to him. Yassen in his living room. Yassen pressing him against his door. Against his bed. "Oh god," he whispered in shock. "What the hell did I do?!" Jumping out of bed, he stumbled as pain laced through him. Apparently they'd gotten to know each other very well last night. Cringing, he limped his way to the adjoining bathroom. He really needed that shower.

By the time he was fully dressed, Alex had come to a decision. He couldn't remember everything that had happened, but he was certain he'd said no at some point . . . at least he thought he had. Not that it mattered, he was clearly drunk which meant that Yassen took advantage of him for some sick twisted little game of his. That thought hurt more than he cared to admit but he ignored the twist in his gut, instead channeling it into anger at the blonde man for what he'd done. It was one thing to try and kill him, but this, this was going too far.

The front door opening pulled him from his thoughts and he instinctively reached for the gun he'd tucked into the waistband of his pants. The weapon hadn't left his side since he'd woken up. Tiptoeing down the hallway, he gripped the gun tighter in his hand and took a calming breath before facing the intruder. It took several more breaths before he felt stable enough to turn the corner, breaths that left him quite suddenly when he came face to face with the man he'd decided he never wanted to see again. "What are you doing here?" he hissed angrily, the gun now aiming for the older man's heart.

"Oh, you're awake," Yassen said calmly, not sounding the least bit bothered by the fact that there was a gun pointing at him. "Sorry I left early, but I thought you might want something to eat so I went out to buy groceries. You really should keep your fridge better stocked; all you've got is eggs and butter, and whatever this is." Tossing the plastic container that had something growing on it into the sink, he turned his back to Alex and began putting his supplies away.

Alex opened and closed his mouth several times before he was able to actually speak. "Get out," he growled. "First you assault me and then you expect me to what, welcome you with open arms?! Get the fuck out of my house before I do what I should've done years ago!"

That got Yassen's complete attention and he stopped what he was doing to turn a curious look on the younger man. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you didn't attack me!" Alex snapped. "Now I'm going to give you three seconds and then I'm going to pull the trigger!"

Glancing from the gun to Alex's face and back again, Yassen frowned. "I think you're misundersta-," he never got to finish his sentence because Alex had begun his countdown.

"1."

"Why don't you put that gun down so we can talk?"

"2."

"Alex, come on now. You don't need to do this."

When Alex's eyes narrowed and his finger inched closer to the trigger, Yassen shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. "Very well, you win. I'll leave," he said softly. "But just so you know, I wanted this to work. I was willing to do anything to make it work." And with that he gave Alex one last wounded look and slowly walked out of the kitchen.

Alex didn't let the gun drop to his side until he heard the door close and his apartment became eerily silent. Letting it fall from his grasp, he barely registered the soft sound the weapon made as it landed on the carpet by his feet. "What did he mean by 'make it work'?" he asked out loud. "Make what work?"

Several days passed, during which the memories from that fateful night slowly became clearer. Four days after the assassin had vanished Alex slapped his forehead as he realized exactly what the man had been referring to. He'd asked him to stay, to stay with him, and Yassen had agreed. No wonder the man had looked so hurt when he'd pulled the gun on him. Groaning at his stupidity, he really did care for the assassin though he was only just now realizing it, Alex decided to find the man and make it up to him . . . somehow.

So he'd locked up his apartment, called in far too many favors than he cared to admit, and went hunting. It was a lot harder than he'd anticipated, though he really shouldn't have expected an expert assassin like Yassen to be found so easily. It's not like he was listed in the phone book or something.

In the end he spent nearly all his money, and some he'd borrowed from Wolf, the price of which was him being the other man's cleaning slave for a week, wound up lost in some backwoods town in the middle of nowhere in a crappy car that was driving on nothing but fumes. Hitting the steering wheel as the car sputtered its final breath and then came to a slow stop; Alex once again regretted his spur of the moment decision. Obviously Yassen had no desire to be found; otherwise he would've stumbled upon him by now.

"Dammit," he muttered, dropping his head on his hands as he gripped the wheel tightly. "All that work, and for what?! To wind up dying on some abandoned highway in a car that looks ready to fall apart any second?!" Pushing himself back against the seat, he looked up at the peeling ceiling above him and screamed in frustration. "I hate you Yassen! You hear me?! I hate you!"

"That's not very nice, and after I came all this way out here to offer you a lift," a voice next to his head said with a touch of humor.

Whipping his head towards the open window, Alex's eyes fell open comically when he caught sight of the smirking man standing next to his car. "Yassen," he breathed before narrowing his eyes. "Where the hell have you been?! Do you know how long I've been searching for you?!"

"Six days," Yassen answered immediately.

He hadn't been expecting an answer so the response surprised him. "How do you know that?" he asked suspiciously. "Have you been . . . have you been spying on me this whole time?!" The look on the other man's face said everything and Alex barely refrained from punching the smirk off his face. "If you've known what I was doing, why didn't you just show yourself earlier? Why drag this out?"

There was a moment's pause before the assassin answered. "I wanted to make sure you were doing this because you wanted too, not because you felt obligated to. I figured anyone who was willing to go through this much trouble to find me must really want me," Yassen said finally with a small shrug of his shoulders.

Blinking, Alex wasn't sure whether he wanted laugh or cry so he settled for reaching through the window and punching him on the arm. "So what, you were testing me?" he asked irritably.

Yassen grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. "In a way I suppose," he replied, squatting down so he was eye level with the younger man. "And I must say you passed with flying colors. After you waved that gun at me and threatened to shoot me if I didn't get away from you I was certain you'd never want to see me again, so when you started to look for me I went into hiding. Well, not so much hiding as keeping one step behind you at all times, but you get the idea. At first I thought you meant to follow through with your threat, but I quickly realized that was not your intention. From there all I had to do was wait for the perfect time to show myself, perhaps sometime when you were in trouble or something."

Narrowing his eyes, Alex took a hold of Yassen's shirt and pulled him so close their noses were almost touching. "Next time, don't hide from me." Without giving him a chance to respond, Alex pressed their lips together hungrily. He hadn't realized how much he missed the man until the thought that he'd never see him again had taken root in his mind. Now he didn't know if he could live without him.

Pulling away from the kiss, much to Alex's displeasure, Yassen reached over the top of him and clicked his seatbelt free so he could tug the smaller man out of the car. "I don't plan on there being a next time," he said seriously as he pulled Alex into his arms. "Now that I have you I'm never letting you go again. I don't care what you threaten me with."

Giving the man another kiss, he smiled brightly. "Sounds good to me." Linking their hands together, Alex tugged him back towards the car he hadn't noticed pull up behind him when he'd been forced to a stop. "Let's go home." And this time, he truly meant it.