Gratuitous Gifts

Walker was in a bit of an awkward spot. On one hand, it was dead convenient for his mission of recruiting Alex Rider that he was allowed to live in the kid's house. On the other hand, he was a decade older than the kid, and, well, the fact that he was letting a grown-ass man live with him no problem was…concerning.

That said, Walker did feel a little bit guilty. Which was why he had gotten Alex a present. So far, his strategy of buying Alex gifts whenever he felt guilty for manipulating a literal child was working. Sort of.

"It's not my birthday or Christmas."

Walker grinned and shrugged. So suspicious. It was a bit cute. "Sometimes, people like to get each other nice things when it's not a special occasion. You'd know this if you had been taught how to interact with society instead of being a feral little thing."

Alex scowled and folded his arms. Walker rolled his eyes. He gingerly approached the package. "It's still weird."

Walker let out a sigh. Look, he knew the kid had issues. Just take the damn gift, Alex. Right. Calm. "It won't bite you. Sorry, a cougar wasn't going to fit my budget."

Alex snorted and then walked over. Walker watched as he ripped the paper open. Excellent. The kid's mouth dropped open. "You got me the latest gaming computer!"

Walker grinned. He was good at bri-er, gifts. This was why his specialty was recruiting people. Besides, everyone liked being appreciated. "You've only been salivating a little bit when the commercials come on."

Alex looked at the computer with the kind of lust Walker typically reserved for a significant other. Ah, well. Everyone had the item they would kill for. "Thank you, Walker."

Walker walked over and ruffled his hair. Alex turned into the touch. "I thought you should have something nice since you managed to get caught up in school so fast. You're doing well."

Alex grinned at him. Walker resisted a chuckle as he all but ran upstairs to set up the new console. There was always time to bring the awkward stuff up later. Walker leaned back against the wall. This was kind of fun. He wasn't the type for dealing with little kids, but Alex was alright.

Alex emerged just as Walker finished cooking dinner. For some reason, the kid insisted that they switch off. Walker was an adult. Alex was a child. Walker should be cooking. "It's my turn!"

Walker rolled his eyes and dumped the vegetables on the plate. Alex looked ruffled. "Eh, you forgot one night because you were excited. It's not a big deal."

Walker scooped pasta onto both of their plates. It was one of his better dishes. To be honest, he was mostly just looking recipes up and cooking them. "As long as you're sure."

Walker handed Alex a plate. Alex took the plate and sat down. "I don't mind cooking, kid."

Alex looked mildly uncomfortable. Walker was of the opinion that Ian had ruined a perfectly good child. He sat a glass of milk in front of the kid. "Milk?!"

Walker coughed back a laugh. The indignant expression was priceless. "You're still growing and need your calcium."

Alex gave him a very unamused look. Walker was thoroughly entertained. "You're an American, aren't you supposed to drink coke every night?"

Walker snorted loudly. Alex loved winding him up. "Only if you're from the nineteen twenties or aiming to have diabetes."

Alex pouted at him. It was kind of adorable. Walker was setting a good example and also drinking milk. Normally, it would probably be a beer with dinner, but he didn't want to encourage any more destructive habits. Walker leaned back in his chair. "My school called asking who you were. I've been answering all of the voicemails left for Jack using her email. So, uh, what kind of story do you want to play?"

Walker let out a sigh. Oh, well. Turns out the school might care after all. "Cousin?"

Alex pulled out his phone and began composing an email. Walker felt his eyes sweep over his form. "Second cousin. We look nothing alike."

Walker supposed he had a point. But still. "Rude."

Alex gave him a scathing look. Walker felt his lips twitch. It was hilarious to be glared at judgmentally by a kid. "If you don't be quiet, it'll be a third cousin twice removed."

Walker inhaled his milk and sputtered. He coughed the milk all over himself as Alex sent the email. The little gremlin beamed at him. "All done."

Walker wiped his face and arms with a napkin. That little shit. "You're a little shit."

Alex continued to look way too happy. Walker rolled his eyes. "Oh, but you buy me nice things anyway, cousin dearest."

Walker let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. It still burned from inhaling the milk. Alex stood up and walked over. "Are you good, or do I need to do the Heimlich maneuver?"

Walker gave him a baleful glare. It wasn't serious. "You do know that if I needed the Heimlich maneuver, I wouldn't be able to tell you, right?"

Alex grinned. "We can make sure if you want."

Walker swiped at him playfully. "Now, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, are you sure you don't want your own…space?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, someone somehow qualified you to live with a child, so you're a responsible adult now."

Walker nearly choked on air this time. Yes, because Scorpia should be trusted to give prime childcare. "I wouldn't go that far."

Alex's expression turned angelic. "Are you sure you don't need me to blend up your food? I've heard that some people have trouble swallowing in their old age?"

Walker dove after him as he took off. He managed to grab the kid and began tickling him. "I am twenty-four, you little shit!"

Alex's eyes shone with unshed tears of laughter. "Positively ancient!"

Walker glared but that was enough distraction for an opening. The kid threw him off and took off up the stairs. Walker heard his laughter echoing off the stairwell. He felt a soft smile appear and began to clean the kitchen up. It was probably good for Alex to be able to forget to do the dishes once in a while.

Fin

Based on a prompt by Zyzyax (see story summary). This is the 209th work in the Winds of Change 2022 Alex Rider Prompt event, where a new prompt (plus a short 1-3K work) is posted every day. For more details, see the AO3 collection. We have an index of all the prompts used in this event so far and going forwards - join the discord to get access to the online index (and to take part in our events, chat about everything and anything, and meet a load of awesome people!