Title: Unannounced Visitations

Author: SweetlyDesolated

Summary: Someone's knocking at the front door. Alex finds a remnant of his past, long since thought dead, there for closure.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider, no matter how much I wish it were true.

Someone hammered at the door, repeatedly. Alex cursed; he had almost fallen asleep when the person showed up. With a sigh, he sat up, swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood. He slipped his feet into the shoes by the side of his bed and grabbed the gun on the bedside table, hiding it next to his leg as he exited his room and went downstairs.

The two men sleeping in the living room were stirring with the constant knocking, and Alex hurriedly crossed the room, mentally wishing there were enough rooms in the house so the unit could sleep somewhere else. Better yet, he wished the problem could be dealt with already so he could live alone again.

He stood to the side of the door as he checked through the reinforced glass windows for who was still there. He couldn't see a face, only pale blond hair and an extended fist criss-crossed with scars. Alex unlocked the dead bolts but left the chain in place as he pulled open the door.

"Rider residence," he greeted the person.

The man's face tilted up and Alex nearly gasped as he saw who it was. "Yassen?"

The man checked around him and the teen closed the door, removed the chain, and let the assassin into the house. The older man entered the house and stepped aside as Alex closed and locked the door behind him.

With a wary glance to the two sleeping unit members, Alex led Yassen up to his room and locked that door behind the two. Before turning on the light, he set the gun aside and shoved the rug under the door to prevent light escaping. He flicked on the bedside light, sat on the mussed covers, and stared at the man that had tried to keep him alive throughout his fourteenth year. "Weren't you dead?"

Yassen sighed and leaned against the wall as he examined Alex. The teen had aged a few years since he had seen him on the airplane. He was physically stronger, medium height for his age, with experienced brown eyes. With notices from his contacts around the world, Yassen knew MI6 had continued to use the teen who had eventually accepted full agent status, the youngest on-record worker for the government. "The vest I wore had layers of blood capsules around it that exploded when struck with a bullet or other physically impairing blow. When you passed out, I made my escape."

Alex continued to warily gaze at him. "So what are you doing here, of all places?" he asked.

The assassin shrugged his shoulders minutely and glanced away as he answered. "I wanted to check in; I heard of what happened with Scorpia, and that they still cause problems for you, enough that you need extra protection." The additional 'as if you need it, after training by Scorpia' went unsaid.

"Closure, then?"

Gregorovitch nodded his head.

"Do you need to stay here for a while, or is this it?" Alex wondered aloud. Truth be told, he had missed seeing Yassen, even if the man had warned him out of the spying world when he was younger. The assassin had been a constant in his life, and one of few ties to his father.

"Just for now; the unit in this house will most likely call in for backup without hearing your words if I stay much longer."

"Alright," Alex agreed. He found himself wide awake now, no longer needing to sleep. Embarrassingly enough, his stomach growled. "Are you hungry at all?"

"I can eat," Yassen said.

Alex stood and tucked the gun into his waist band. It would be good for threatening the unit if they woke before Yassen left, he figured. He flicked off the light and straitened the rug before opening the door. He led the way into the kitchen, bypassing the sleeping unit members. He pulled leftovers from the refrigerator and heated them in the microwave.

He and Yassen sat at the table with a plate apiece, talking over the past years. Mostly it was Yassen speaking, as he knew most of what the nineteen year old had been through. He blinked at realizing this was the time when he had started his Malagosto training, at age nineteen.

Alex learned of the other man's dealings with various criminal organizations, occasionally killing people for money, though he was a freelance assassin rather than one part of an organization such as Scorpia. The teen figured this could have been him, if he had the guts to kill when he was fourteen. Now, with many years of spying, Alex had been able to get over his hesitations, and was able to kill without faltering. He figured it was pretty bleak for his mental outlook, but couldn't find it in himself to care.

Before long, it was three in the morning, and Alex could barely keep his eyes open. On seeing him, Yassen smiled and stood, clearing the table and leaving the dirty dishes in the sink. He couldn't care less of what that would look like in the morning to the early rising unit members, though he figured there was a chance Alex would explain. By the time Alex awoke, Yassen would be on another continent entirely.

"It was nice seeing you again," Alex spoke awkwardly as he walked Yassen to the door. The outside world was dark with no one on the streets, the neighborhood sleeping. Yassen agreed with the teen and said his goodbyes. He left and Alex watched him disappear into the darkness. The teen closed and locked the house before going back to his room, pulling the gun from his pants, and falling into a deep sleep.

He was roused by the hammering of fists on his door. He groaned and wearily sat up, glancing at the clock. He had only gotten five hours of sleep but he had training at nine, regardless of the fact it was Saturday.

"Get up, Cub!" Eagle yelled from the hall.

Alex dressed himself and left the room, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen for a late breakfast. He sat at the table and watched as Snake stared at the dirty plates with a puzzled expression. "Who got hungry?" he asked as the other three, Wolf, Eagle, and Bear, Fox's replacement, entered the kitchen.

Alex smiled guiltily and figured he should have cleaned, but he had been too tired to care. He raised his hand and quickly placed it in his lap when Snake gestured to the fact there were two sets of dirty dishes. "Someone visited last night, and I was too tired to clean up much," he explained.

"Who?" Wolf questioned.

"Just a friend from when I was younger." Alex felt no need to tell them it had been Yassen Gregorovitch, presumed dead assassin, or the men would freak out.

"Explain further," Eagle nudged. The man was inquisitive, and cared not that Alex wanted privacy.

Alex shook his head and resigned himself to repetitive questions. He stood from the table and fixed himself a bowl of cereal, sitting at the table once again and ignoring the men. Training today would be hell, but Alex figured Yassen would want a peaceful retired life, much as Alex had the desire for. He ignored the questions of the unit invading his kitchen trying to worm its way into his private life and sat back in his chair. Though he had little sleep, he was happy for his unannounced visitation brought on by the early morning. He relaxed in the knowledge that the one person who had been honest, if holding back during the time he knew him, was alive, regardless of whether or not he was an assassin. It was a good morning.

I don't know where the ending came from… Originally, Alex went with Yassen, leaving KUnit his house, but I decided to keep him there. Yes, Yassen is a little (or a lot) bit out of character, but I figure a lot can happen in five years. Same goes for Alex.

Please review, and tell me if you liked it or not!

~Deso