Fox had returned back to his place after Alex suggested he and his new dog do some bonding, grudgingly hauling a rabid pug along with him. Snake had followed with a grin, and Eagle had decided to go home to make a date he had planned with Sadie. Pretty soon it was only Alex and Wolf left in the car while the older man stepped into the passenger seat and for some reason, it wasn't awkward. Just filled with the normal sarcastic taunting and teasing that Alex loved (and Wolf hated) so much.

"So what did Tammy say to you?" Wolf tried to inquire casually. Alex rolled his eyes at the obvious eagerness underlying his voice.

"She said that she missed you and would stop at nothing to have you in her arms for one more night."

Wolf's head snapped to the side to stare at Alex in astonishment. "She said that?"

Alex offered him a dead look. Wolf sighed in defeat, not even bothering to bite back.

"Women… almost more trouble than they're worth." Wolf muttered, averting his eyes by looking out the window. Alex blew a strand of blonde out of his face, turning a corner while the pair headed back to the house.

"True that."

Alex moved forward to crank up the volume, as Wolf shot a halfhearted glare at the radio.

"Damn it, Cub. Were you even alive in the eighties or do you just like to pretend?"

"Shut up, shotgun. I'm driving, so I get to pick what we listen to. Any problems can be addressed to my lawyer, a Mrs. Get-the-fuck-out-of-my-car."

"And I respect that, I really do," Wolf responded loudly, "but Black Sabbath? You can do better than that."

"Them's fightin' words, Wolf. Could be worse. You wanna rock out to a little REO?"

Wolf clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head as he pretended to throw up. Alex laughed, and pulled the car into the driveway smoothly. He sure was a good driver for someone who supposedly spent all his time pretending to be an ignorant child on his missions. Then again, with the way Alex had shot up, he guessed that that hadn't been his role for a couple years now.

Alex locked the car and the two were soon back in the house, Alex immediately approaching the fridge. When he found there to be little food, another sigh was released into a household that was hardly unfamiliar with them, and he moved over to where Wolf was sitting on the couch before collapsing tiredly.

"Been one hell of a week," he admitted.

"Tell me about it," was the only growl of a response he received. Man, Wolf really wasn't one for conversation, was he? It was only then that Alex realized he hadn't talked to Jack for a while now, and he moved to tug his phone from his pocket.

He sped through the phonebook in his cell, eyes dropping on Jack's name before pressing the call button. When she picked up, he felt relief hearing her voice. It sounded so cheerful – he was glad he caught her in a good mood. Then again, being back with her real family, how could she not be?

"Jack?" Wolf froze, eyes darting to the right, where he could see Alex beginning to stand up so as not to disrupt Wolf. He started to move into the kitchen, and Wolf subtly followed, muttering about wanting a drink.

"Alex! I haven't heard from you for days – Jesus, I was starting to get worried. What's up, buddy?"

"Not much. Guess what, Jack? I got a car."

Jack was shocked. She hadn't known he'd even wanted one, never mind had the money to buy one. "No way, Alex! What is it?"

"'Sixty-nine Ford Mustang," He replied happily, "dark blue. And Wolf's a mechanic, so he's gonna help me fix her up."

"That's great!" Jack replied warmly, "It'll be nice you won't always have to use her car, right?"

"Whose?" Alex asked absently, pulling the cereal box out of the cupboard and beginning to pour himself a bowl of Lucky Charms.

"You know, Sa–"

"Cub!" Wolf cried without much forethought, hearing Jack from his place a couple feet away as she began to drop the taboo name. Jack cut off and Alex jumped, dropping the phone and watching in dismay when it hit the hardwood and broke apart. He turned his chocolate eyes on the man, clearly annoyed.

"Brilliant."

"Sorry," Wolf dismissed, not even bothering to pretend he meant it, "I just need you to give me a hand with this."

He was holding the cutlery drawer open, and Alex looked down into it, staring for a moment before pointing and turning back to Wolf.

"Do you need me to take the spoon out for you, Wolf?"

Wolf's mouth went dry, and he felt heat wash over him as he realized how stupid he'd just made himself appear. Alex granted him one last flat look before telling him in a bright tone,

"You're paying for that phone, you know."


Sabina's new apartment wasn't far from the university she was now attending. It was a bit small, but spacious enough to accommodate the two girls living in it. Sabina couldn't afford the place on her own, so she'd gotten a roommate. The girl she lived with was, unfortunately, kind of annoying.

"Sabina!" The loud brunette cried when she arrived at the apartment, the clock above the door reading eight-thirty. "Guess what? No, you'll never guess, I'm just gonna tell you: Doug finally asked me out!"

Doug was one of those guys you saw with the arrogant philosophical mindset. It was clear he was really full of himself, despite the fact that he had average looks and was well on the short side, but then again both Doug and Jennie, her roommate, were majoring in theatre. When Sabina had learned this fact about the bubbly girl, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in understanding. It all makes sense now.

Sabina herself was undecided, though she was currently taking classes for history, law and English literature as well as a sculpting course and one in culinary arts. The final was one her friends had told her she needed to take desperately, as Sabina and K-unit had one thing in common: none of them had ever managed to successfully make a piece of toast without burning it.

"That's great, Jennie," Sabina answered from her place sprawled out on the couch, flipping absently through a magazine. She stopped when she noticed the advertisement for the newest Bond movie, smirking at the image it painted in her head.

"Isn't it? Anyway, he's taking us out to Bravo, that place down on Davies, and then we're gonna see Beauty and the Beast, you know, the live show or whatever? Yeah, Doug says it's gonna be really stupid, and he just wants to go for a laugh. He said he was gonna audition for the part of Beast, but he didn't want to take the part away from any aspiring actors looking for a break, since you know, he's already got his."

"What a nice thing to do," She commented, knowing Jennie would never detect the sarcasm hidden in the words. Predictably, the girl carried on, taking the words as a prompt to continue.

"You have no idea. Sabina, I don't understand you! All of Doug's friends think you're so gorgeous, and you are, and yet you keep turning them down! I mean hello! Wake up and smell the hot guys!"

Sabina glanced over at the girl for the first time, noting the way her small figure had been maneuvered so her hands were on her hips and she was frowning down at her. Sabina pushed a strand of dark hair out of her face, responding carelessly,

"It's complicated."

A beat of silence ensued, and then all hell broke loose.

"It's complicated? What? I've never heard you say that before! So there is a guy? What's his name? Tell me all about him!"

Oh God. Why did I say that.

"There's no guy."

"There is and I knew it! Saaab!! Gimme the dirt! Does he go to UChel? Do I know him? Oh my God, is it one of Doug's friends? It's not Trevor, is it? It is Trevor!" The girl looked like she was on E while carrying rabies. It wasn't pretty.

"He is not one of Doug's friends!" Sabina snorted in an un-ladylike fashion, picturing Alex next to Doug and the rest of his skinny-jeaned V-necked friends. "And he's definitely not Trevor." Then she realized she'd basically confirmed Jennie's theory that Sabina was seeing someone despite the fact that it wasn't true, and inwardly cursed her foot-in-mouth syndrome.

"So you admit it!" She girl practically screeched, making Sabina wince and look away, warming up. "There is a guy!"

"There isn't," she protested weakly, knowing she was getting nowhere.

"Sabina, give it up. First off, what's his name?"

She sighed. The girl could go into annoying boy-crazy mode for the next couple of weeks, going after every single one of Sabina's guy-friends and pestering them for information on Sabina's invisible boyfriend (effectively making things completely awkward between them), or she could give out some carefully chosen pieces of information to keep the girl quiet. In the end, the choice was obvious. Jennie was loud enough without being given a megaphone.

"His name is Alex," she reluctantly admitted, "and I'm not seeing him or anything like that. In fact, I haven't talked to him in years." She informed the girl. It wasn't as though Sabina hadn't dated since Alex, it's just that he hadn't been in the picture. Now that she knew he was within arm's reach, and that his… friends… were trying to set them up, it felt wrong to go out with someone else. For now.

And even if there was no Alex factor, even Sabina knew she was better than Trevor.

"What's he look like?" Jennie pressed. Sabina wasn't sure how much info she could give out on that one, considering she honestly had no clue how much he'd changed since she last saw him on the bridge after Eagle Strike, but she settled for the little things she knew couldn't've changed.

"Well… he's got blonde hair–" Sabina jerked back from the high-pitched squeal Jennie emitted, silently vowing to properly check out her next roommate before agreeing to live in the same apartment as them before continuing slowly, "and… these great light brown eyes… plus, he has these really light freckles that dot his nose, despite how much he denies it."

Sabina stopped. Jennie stared at her unblinkingly.

"On a scale of one to twenty, how hot?" She asked after the brief pause when she realized Sabina had no intention of finishing that train of thought. Sabina remembered the last time he'd asked her that after hearing her ratings of all the various men she'd spotted on the street, and how she'd told him he was just a twelve. After spotting the look of mock hurt on his face, she'd hastily corrected him that ten years would've made him absolutely perfect. Now she was eager to see what had changed in a mere three and a half.

"I couldn't say," she replied. Jennie deflated slightly.

"Oh," she muttered, "so what's he like?"

After hearing K-unit's description of the blonde (out-of-control, party-loving and apparently promiscuous) Sabina wasn't sure if she could accurately respond, but she gave it her best shot anyway, if only to reassure herself that he couldn't have changed that much. After all, he was still a spy – a fully instated one now, too.

"Well… funny. And relaxed," she added, sinking back into the cushions as she thought about him. "He was always really confident, too, although I guess he had every right to be, given the way he… uh… well, I know he's smart, and he can certainly hold his own against other guys," the words were coming out more as a musing now, while Sabina began to forget that Jennie was standing a few feet behind her, enraptured in the description.

"Keeps his head in really tense situations… maybe a bit too much," she added, thinking of how he'd ridicule the enemy into mistakes, usually landing himself an extra punch in the face of two for his efforts. "He's a great surfer," she offered finally, with a very uncharacteristic giggle that had Jennie gaping. "I was forced to give him mouth to mouth once."

"Oh my God!" Jennie wailed, "he's like, perfect! Why don't you talk about him more? Jeez, here you got me thinking he was some kind of leper. I want to meet him! And how come this is the first I'm hearing of 'Alex'?"

Sabina looked down at her hands. "Well, I phoned him the other day, but he didn't return the call, so I'm not–"

"He'll call," Jennie told her with a convinced nod, "after all, it's you."

"Yeah," Sabina muttered, not nearly as confident, "me."

And as if on cue, her ringtone broke into action, blaring out a nearly unrecognizable version of Eye of the Tiger. Jennie gave it a shocked look while Sabina stared at the phone, stunned. Finally on the fourth ring, she gathered her wits and reached for it, opening it hesitantly and greeting,

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sabina," a voice greeted her. She recognized it as one of the men Alex was staying with – was it Oliver?

"Hi, Oliver. What've you got for me?"

"Tomorrow, New York Pizza, at… three o' clock. Can you make it?"

Sabina hesitated, mentally running through her plans tomorrow before deciding Lauren probably wouldn't care that much if they cancelled lunch. "Three o' clock? I can make some room. New York Pizza always did make it best."

"Awesome. He'll be there. Bye, Sabina."

"Bye."


"So, Plan B!" For the first time in a while, K-unit was gathered at Fox and Snake's place, rather than Wolf's. They were gathered around the kitchen table, discussing their options now that Alex and they were back on speaking terms. Snortus snuffled loudly from underneath Wolf's chair, much to the man's chagrin. Snake snickered at the expression he was wearing.

"Right. I'm thinking we'll bring Cub there for lunch. A… thanks for being so helpful with Tammy type of thing?"

Wolf glowered as Eagle laughed, and Fox nodded along with the statement. "Sounds good. Hopefully he won't be on to us before it's too late."

"No guarantee on that one," Eagle commented, "He's SO, isn't he? A certified smarty pants."

Fox looked more subdued. It was Wolf who spoke next, in his usual gruff voice. "Well, maybe we should tell him that I know a place downtown I'd be able to pick up some parts for his car, but we wanted to stop for pizza first."

Snake threw a fist down on the table, startling Eagle. "Now that's an idea! And then we'll tell him to go in there and order us two pepperoni, and when he walks in we'll drive away! Then we'll park, walk back to the place, and make sure everything went down okay."

Wolf shifted his gaze onto Snake. "That's great and all, but I don't really care about Cub and this little blind-date thing, so how about I drive away, drop you guys off about a block from the pizza place, and then go grab a tall, cold beer at a pub to make up for the chick-flick-ish-ness of this whole plan?"

"You have to go. After all, it's your house; this is all to help you. Plus, it's not a lie saying that he's been enabling you into continuing to avoid Tammy rather than just confronting her like you should." Fox told him. Wolf sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this one, and nodding dejectedly. If he had to go, he'd do it swearing colorfully, damn it all.

"Yeah, well, fuck this," he said, although the rest of the unit could easily detect the defeat in the man's voice. Snake clapped his hands together, much to Wolf's growing annoyance.

"So is that how it's gonna be? Great! Now let's get some sleep and prepare for suicide mission number eight-hundred and sixty-nine!"

Fox laughed the number sixty-nine while Eagle and Wolf moved towards the door.

They were in Wolf's Camaro today rather than the Mustang, despite Alex's weak protests. Alex took the passenger seat, while Eagle, Fox, and Snake took the backseat, all crowding into the middle so they could still participate in the conversation. AC/DC roared in the background, but it had been turned down so they could still hear each other.

"And we're not getting Hawaiian. That's a chick's pizza." Eagle told them stubbornly. Fox looked away, clearly annoyed, while Alex smiled in amusement. They were like siblings, still arguing over childish things even when most of them were well through their twenties. Pulling up beside the establishment of their choice, Wolf finally said the words they were all craning their necks to hear.

"Alright, Cub. Since it's your car I'm picking up parts for, you run in and get the pizzas. Got it?"

Alex nodded, opening the car door and stepping out into the sunlight. He'd stolen Eagle's persol sunglasses back at the house, throwing on a loose white T-shirt and dark jeans before leaving the house, tugging at the necklace still tied around his neck. He'd had it since he was twelve – the very same wooden beaded one he'd worn in the South of France.

Sabina, waiting patiently inside New York Pizza, hadn't spotted him yet. She'd asked for a water, but other than that sat alone, not bothering to grab any pizza until Alex showed. She was nervous, anticipating his arrival with a bright eagerness and an underlying current of fear of rejection, but she didn't let any of it show, other than the way she was playing with her straw in pure nervous habit, and biting her lip as she imagined what he must be like now compared to the Alex she knew. Probably completely different. Why did she even agree to this in the first place?

The woman herself had worried little on what she was wear as she always had, and allowed her hair to flow naturally in dark curls. Her eyes were dressed in a pale violet eye shadow and she'd applied a bit of mascara, but other than that and some lipgloss, Sabina had decided to go natural. What was the point of plowing on ten pounds of foundation when she had nothing to hide? She wanted Alex to see who she'd become, almost as much as she wanted to see who he had become – outside and in.

And as if on cue, the bell above the door jingled obnoxiously, drawing a wince from the old man sitting near the door. Alex moved towards the counter, and Sabina knew she should be intervening, but she was shocked. He'd gotten taller, a lot taller, and his hair had retained most of its lighter coloring, darkening only slightly. It was obvious he was nearly done growing altogether – she hesitantly stood up, surprised that he hadn't noticed her sitting alone next to the window before calling out softly,

"…Alex?"

He froze, recognizing the voice, and mentally swore at his luck. Oh God, oh no, I'm not ready for this, I bet she's gorgeous, no…

Slowly and painfully, Alex turned around, spotting the girl standing a couple feet away from him. Her fingers were twirling together nervously, and her feet were crossed at the ankles. He noticed the miniscule cut on her bottom lip – must have been from biting it. A nervous habit she had…

Why would she be nervous? Unless… she knew he was coming…

"Shit," Alex muttered under his breath before gathering up all the courage he didn't have and answering.

"Hey… Sabina…"

"It's – it's been a while, hasn't it? Small world…" she stated awkwardly. This wasn't going at all like she'd pictured it – and then she realized that she never had pictured it. She'd been so worried about how she looked and how he would look and how different he'd be that there'd been no time for any fantasizing. After a couple seconds of silence, Alex stepped forward, offering a shaky smile that she instantly recognized as fake.

"It's good to see you again," he said, but Sabina cut him off by shaking her head.

"Man, I knew I shouldn't have come, you don't want to be here…"

All theories confirmed about meddlesome units, Alex stopped her in her self-destructive thoughts. "No, it's not that, really… why don't we take a walk? Unless you're hungry, of course, I'm sure my ride's gone by now…" The last part was mumbled mutinously and mostly to himself, but Sabina caught it anyway.

"I'm not hungry, Alex, but maybe this was a bad idea. I mean I haven't seen you – since you were fourteen, and – well, but if this is how it's going to be–"

"No, it's fine, I'm being a jerk. I – I wanted to see you too." But what I want and what I need are two very different things, Sab.

"Of course you did," she murmured thoughts in a whirlwind. Alex looked around them, only just noticing all the stares they'd begun to gather before taking the girl's soft hand and leading her out of the pizza parlor. Predictably, K-unit and the Camaro were gone like the wind.

"I'm sorry for not returning you call, I really am," Alex said as they began to walk down the street, the sun warming both of their skin, "It's just, well… things have been complicated."

"I believe that," she agreed, not a hint of sarcasm in her words. After all, what was Alex Rider, if not complicated? "Been partying too hard to check your voicemail?"

Yes, she understood his predicament, but at the same time she had trouble holding her tongue. If he hadn't wanted to see her, he could've at least phoned and told her that. Stop it. Why is he obligated to do anything for you? You're the one who left with promises to write, right before completely abandoning the idea.

"Never mind," she hastily added, and he smiled at her, showing off perfect teeth. He'd been lucky – Alex had been born with them, and henceforth never had to suffer through the horror that was braces. Sabina hadn't been as lucky.

"You're right; you have every right to be angry at me–"

"No I don't. I'm just being selfish, as usual. If anyone should be cross here, it should be you."

"Well, you're mad, you're not mad, make up your mind," he huffed. She shot him a look, but it was laced with amusement at her own disorganization. Pull it together, damn it. You're the oldest, shouldn't you be controlling this situation?

"So what've you been up to?" She asked him, changing the subject. He paused – it was, of course, the vaguest question one could ask him, but he did his best to answer without compromising anything or lying at the same time. It was made easier that she knew about his day job, at least.

"This and that, you know. Almost out of school."

It seemed wrong to think that Alex was still in school – he seemed so grown up at seventeen, dwarfing her presence. But Alex was feeling the exact opposite, finding her more intimidating than ever with the way she was already in college, and he hadn't even graduated yet. They were both feeling like kids at the moment.

"No more saving the world?" She tried to make it light-hearted, but they could both the strain in her voice at the simple, joking question. She was sure he hadn't stopped at Damian Cray, after all.

"Someone's gotta do it," he returned with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. She instantly felt the need to wipe that off his face – pretend smiles were something Sabina never tolerated.

"You should make Oliver do it," she muttered, and he sent her a look.

"Oliver?"

She glanced back at him, not really bothering to think before she opened her mouth this time. "You know, your friend?" She realized this probably wasn't the best thing to confirm a second later, when Alex's eyes hardened.

"Eagle," he grumbled before turned back to her again, "speaking of our dear associates K-unit, do you realize they've been trailing us for a good twenty minutes now?"

Sabina's head snapped up, her expression startled. She hadn't even noticed – and the dark-haired girl had always prided herself on her instincts. They were being followed? Alex leaned down towards her, having the height advantage.

"By the fountain, behind the guy playing guitar," he whispered conspicuously, his breath warm on her ear as she repressed a shiver. She turned her eyes on where Alex had addressed, finally catching sight of the four men casually hidden behind the fountain and blending in with the group of five or so people crowded around the performer. Now that she knew where it was coming from, she could feel the familiar prickle that let her know she was being watched.

"And not just there," he grinned, keeping his eyes on hers, "we've got company by the hot dog stand, too."

Sabina moved her gaze over to the next place of interest, bewilderment hitting an all time high when she spotted her roommate Jennie accompanied by the aforementioned Doug, Trevor and one more of their buddies, Dan. She recognized each one, and attempted to school her expression into one of cool indifference.

"You look like you're dying, Sab," he hissed playfully, voice still low enough that only she could hear him. For some reason, she liked that tone. It was – secretive. Only for her. However, the deadpan in his words woke her up from her musings, and she turned to him, dark lashes hidden behind wide eyes.

"What should we do, Alex?" She asked him in a similar volume. Alex glanced over to where K-unit was standing, back to the group of Sabina's friends, and then straight at her. She gulped, and he grinned, light brown eyes glinting teasingly in the broad sunlight.

"I think," he moved in closer to her, and only then was she aware of how little space was left between them, "that we should give them something worth spying on, don't you think?"

He leaned down just as she parted her lips, capturing them in a kiss.


Short chapter is short.

Fanfiction, stop killing my scene dividers! They're there for a reason! It's one damn hyphen, would you just deal with it? D:

Bam cliffie! & STFU. Chick-flick-ish-ness is a word, dammit! Or at least it will be, by the time I take over the world :) Sabina's here, finally. Let's see what people predict will happen next! And remember: this story is not all about Alex and Sabina. In fact, it's supposed to be more about K-unit, so don't get too excited (or disappointed, depending on how much you like her. I promise I won't make her a Mary-Sue, either. -shudders-)

Dedicated to Veronica, who I'm sure is reading this. Happy birthday, bitch :)