A/N: So it turns out that drinking something bright orange handed to you in a pint glass by your friend at about 9 o'clock on a Saturday night is a bad idea. At least, it is if you haven't seen them make it. For me, the colourful drink turned out to be about 60% vodka, of various flavours, mixed with something that was already alcoholic. Add to this three pints of cider and a few VKs and SmirnOff Ices and you end up being completely and utterly trolleyed. Needless to say, I didn't get up until half one. Despite having a whole load of work due tomorrow.

And so I'm doing as I always do when I panic about deadlines: procrastinating! Well, it's working out well for you guys, you're getting another chapter. :) Luckily, I don't get hangovers. You should see my friend this morning. She's calling it stupidity, which it might well be, but I still think Karma has a much better ring to it! :)

WARNINGS: Language, Slash, enough fluff to give you tooth ache. Be warned – I will not be held responsible for nausea or any other symptoms that come from over-exposure.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing you recognise.

-o-O-o-

Weeks passed, in what Alex assumed was normality, though perhaps his definition of that particular human phenomenon was a little skewed. In any case, Mrs Jones returned to take over the running of MI6, Wolf and Alex finally had a place of their own and there was actually talk of both him and Yuri returning to regular school.

Blunt's trial was that afternoon.

Alex had been twitchy all day, barely able to sit still, except for the last hour, when he had been overcompensating and had been the very image of calm.

Wolf comparing him to a fly, constantly buzzing around, might have had something to do with it.

The soldier ruffled his lover's hair and settled himself on the sofa beside him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, quietly.

"I'll be ok," said Alex. He'd been called upon to testify, although the prosecution had assured him that the majority of evidence was physical or written evidence, so it was really just a formality.

"Ok," said Wolf. "But I'll give you a lift down there. I don't want you cornered by the press outside."

Despite everyone's best efforts, the fact that the former head of MI6 had been arrested, had leaked to the press, though the charges so far had remained secret, much to Alex's relief. And while the press would not be allowed inside the courtroom, there was no doubt that they would be outside, ready to hound any caught entering or leaving.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. "I guess we better get going."

-o-O-o-

"How did you first meet Alan Blunt?"

Alex paused briefly to collect his thoughts, but then spoke in a calm, clear voice.

"He came to my Uncle's funeral. We met there."

"And did you notice anything strange about him at the time?" continued the prosecutor.

"No. Well, I found it strange that his driver had a gun, but that was it."

"And did he say anything to you?"

Alex paused to think. "We spoke, but it's too long ago for me to remember exactly. I know I was asked to come into the bank to discuss my uncle's will, but that could have been Mr Crawley who said that."

"And what happened when you went to the bank?"

"Mr Crawley took me to his office – which was next to my uncle's - and left. I wanted to see my uncle's office, but it was locked, so I went through the window, instead. Mr Crawley burst back in soon after – as soon as I realised that it wasn't, in fact, a bank – and tranq-ed me. I woke up at a military base in Wales."

"And then what?"

"Blunt explained that my uncle was a spy and tried to persuade me to finish the mission that killed him. When I refused, he threatened to deport Jack – the woman who was going to look after me – and have me placed in a care home."

"And so you did the mission?"

"Yes."

"Would you have done the mission without Blunt threatening you?"

"No. I just wanted to go home."

The questions continued for what felt like an age, with occasional breaks to show evidence to support Alex's testimony. He was surprised by how much video documentation there was, but with cameras literally everywhere in the bank, he guessed he shouldn't have been.

And then, finally, "no more questions, your honour."

"Very well. Would the defence like to question the witness?"

"We would, your honour."

Alex had to try very hard not to groan.

"Have you been working for MI6 continuously since your uncle died?"

"No. There was a break when I was abducted by Yassen Gregorovich. After searching for me and not finding anything, MI6 assumed I was dead. Obviously, I was not working for them then."

"So you continued working for them, even after the death of Jack Starbright?"

Alex shifted.

"Yes, but-"

"And did MI6 have any input into your investigation into Damien Cray?"

"Well, no, but-"

"So you chose to take on that mission of your own free will?"

"I wasn't just going to let him blow up half the world!"

"A simple yes or no, would suffice, Mr Rider."

"Yes then."

"And when you were abducted from St Dominic's, my client had had no influence in your decision to pass yourself off as Paul Drevin?"

Being questioned by the defence was infinitely more stressful than being questioned by the prosecution, but he guessed he should have expected that. At last, even that was over, and he was allowed to slip away. He would not be needed for the rest of the trial, and despite his best efforts, the defence lawyer had failed to throw any doubt on the charges. There was no doubt of the verdict in Alex's mind. Blunt was as guilty as sin.

-o-O-o-

Three days later, Blunt was pronounced guilty and given a life sentence. Looking on paper, one would be surprised, but the charge of "child abuse" had covered a plethora of sins.

The day after that, the press got hold of the charges he was accused of. Alex really wanted to hurt whoever was responsible for that little – or not so little, really – fuck up. Sure, they didn't know it was him they should be looking for, but journalists, despite their best impressions otherwise, were not idiots and had successfully put two and two together to come up with 'child agent'.

With Child Exploitation, Blackmail and Child Abuse, as well as Aiding and Abetting Child Abuse, on the list of charges, it hadn't been that great a leap. Conspiracy theorists had taken over the web and snippets of video footage were flooding the net. Some of it was frankly ridiculous, but some of it, such as the three second clip of him parachuting through the museum roof during the whole Stormbreaker incident, was real. Alex was keeping his head down and hoping that he wasn't recognisable on any of them.

Well, 'keeping his head down' equated to hiding in the flat, but that didn't bother him. Yuri might have laughed at him, though. Just a bit.

"Are you seriously not going out, like, ever again?" asked the teen, finally recovering from the bout of hysterics he had collapsed into after hearing of Alex's brilliant plan.

"Nope. Never."

"Seriously?"

"Well, not until they've stopped printing stories about a bloody teenaged spy, at least."

"Coward!" called Wolf, from the kitchen.

"Oh, because you're so eager to go and explain the abduction charges!" Alex hollered back.

Wolf laughed, a full, rich, deep sound that warmed Alex slightly inside.

His own lips twitched in response and he had to quickly turn back to Yuri to stop himself from giving the kitchen door a dopey smile.

"When are you going to tell him?" asked Yuri, looking at Alex with a slightly strange expression that Alex couldn't quite decipher.

"Tell who what?" asked Alex completely nonplussed.

"Tell Wolf that you love him."

"What?" he yelped, "I don't-"

He broke off and glanced nervously at the open kitchen door. "Why would you think that?" he hissed.

Yuri let off a short bark of laughter. "Seriously? You worked for a terrorist organisation to stop him being hurt, you brought down the head of MI6 just to get him back, and you were just about to start smiling at inanimate objects because he laughed."

"That doesn't mean-!"

"That's exactly what it means," countered Yuri, with a grin. "Now suck it up and tell him!"

"Sod off," muttered Alex, throwing a cushion at his friend.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Wolf, returning to the living room with three drinks and a bowl of crisps precariously clasped in his two hands.

"Nothing much," replied the blond, as Wolf settled comfortably down next to him. He snagged a handful of crisps and passed a glass to Yuri before sitting back and cuddling up to the soldier's side.

Of course, if anyone were to put it like that, he would furiously deny it. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

Yuri's look was not helping. He was blatantly telling Alex 'you are so in love you're making me nauseous. Just tell him already'.

Yuri, it turned out, had oddly specific body language.

-o-O-o-

Later that night, when Yuri had returned home to Snake's, and had stopped plaguing Alex with more strangely exact looks, Alex finally had a chance to think.

Ok, so he would tear the world apart to find Wolf, he had killed to keep Wolf safe, and had taken punishment upon himself to spare the soldier pain. But that didn't mean he was in love! Did it?

OK, ok, no need to freak out. How did he feel about Wolf?

Well, he liked being around him. He felt happy when Wolf was happy, and the thought of Wolf in pain sent daggers through his insides.

The door opened and Wolf came into the bedroom.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey," echoed Alex, feeling a smile come to his lips unbidden and a surge of happiness well up inside him.

Oh, oh. He was screwed.

Ok, so he was in love. Maybe that wasn't so bad.

"James?" he said, hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I- Iloveyou," he blurted, after momentary hesitation.

"Sorry," said Wolf with a frown, "I didn't catch a word of that."

"I said… I said that… I love you."

Wolf's grin was blinding with intensity as he pulled Alex towards him and kissed him.

"I love you too."

Yeah, thought Alex as Wolf returned to kissing him enthusiastically, being in love was definitely not so bad.

-o-O-o-

So, what did you think? As always, reviews are much appreciated!