The Very Beginning

Jack Starbright walked into the coffee shop with a small amount of trepidation. This was only her third interview of all time. The coffee shop was near enough to the places they both lived that it wasn't too inconvenient. Jack glanced around the coffee shop and her eyes found what had to be Ian. He looked exhausted. She wasn't sure how sympathetic she was, given what the man had told her about leaving his nephew with other people to travel to work. Jack walked over and sat down. The chair scraped the floor a little bit louder than she intended. Ian continued sipping his coffee. "You must be Jack. I'm Ian."

He held out his hand. Jack took it. He had a warm, firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. Your job description was, um, very thorough."

Ian looked like he was enjoying a private joke. The brown eyes seemed to get some light back into them. "I try."

Well, at least he knew what sarcasm was. Jack ran a hand through her hair. "What do you do, anyway? You said you traveled a lot?"

Ian took another sip of coffee. Honestly, he looked worse off than Jack's continuously hungover roommate. "I'm a banker. I work for the international affairs department managing many clients from overseas. A lot of that is flying out and meeting people."

Jack let out a sigh. Sounded about right. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your job description sounds a little…ah, you know-"

Ian held up a hand and finished his coffee. Jack hadn't touched hers. "Dodgy?"

Jack felt herself sweating through her blouse. Ian looked a little bit blank. Men. That was probably a good sign. "We'll go with that."

She wasn't sure Ian's heart would take 'is this a job where you want sexual favors?' very well. The poor man looked like he was about to collapse. "Would you like to go over the details? The last woman quit unexpectedly. She seemed a bit put out."

Jack let out a sigh. Well, he seemed fairly harmless. Probably got by on being a good-looking man. "Do you have any pictures of Alex?"

Ian pulled out his wallet and flicked one of the pictures out. The small square was slid across the table. Jack felt her heart melt at the sight of the cute little boy in a school uniform. He couldn't be more than seven or eight. "He's adorable."

Ian gave her a light smile. The shadows under his eyes looked almost dark enough to be bruises. Jack wondered just how terrible his hours were. Then again, he was supposedly looking for a live-in. "He is. Alex can be mischievous at times but probably nothing you can't handle."

Right. Ian had likely never met anyone who worked with kids. Jack wondered how bad 'a bit mischievous' was. "Sounds about right for a boy his age. Are there any pets?"

Ian gave her a sly look. Jack very nearly resisted an eye roll. His eyes lit up with a bit of mischief. "Technically, I don't know about it but he caught a lizard in the garden. Make sure to tell him that lizards eat meat sometime today, yeah? He was trying to feed it a carrot."

Jack could get on board with that, though she would have preferred a kitten or puppy in a closet. Well, either Ian was the most convincing liar on the planet or he was just an exhausted banker looking for childcare. Ian seemed a bit more relaxed. "Oh, fine. I'll come back with you to meet him."

Ian beamed at her. Jack let out a silent sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. You were the only one who applied. Also, if you're not drinking that, can I have it?"

Jack almost feared for her fingers as she slid the coffee across the table. Ian snatched the coffee up and gulped it down in one go. He set down a few bills for the coffee and tip and rose from the chair. "Thank you, Jack."

Honestly, Ian looked like he needed a vacation and a lot more sleep. She followed him out to a car. They were rarer in London than in America. It was a bit strange to see Jack tried very hard not to gape at the car. It was a goddamn Bentley. Ian grinned at her. "The leather is amazing. Hop in."

Jack sat in the car and ran her hands over the leather. It was easily the softest leather she'd ever touched. "I see where all your money goes."

Ian laughed at her. His eyes were fixed on the road. "I do most of the work myself so it cuts down on the costs a bit."

Jack was fairly certain her family's house wasn't worth as much as the car. Ian let out a pouty little huff as they got stuck at a light. "In the countryside, you can gun it."

Jack rolled her eyes. Men were the same wherever you went. Fast cars. Ian's driving was surprisingly responsible. Maybe it was a British thing? Or maybe he was a bit cautious when he had passengers and pedestrians on the line. They arrived at a fairly attractive-looking house. Ian grinned and got out. Jack followed him to the door. If he acted like this while tired, she was going to nickname him something rabbit-related. Ian unlocked the door and held it open for her. Jack stepped in. Where was Alex? Ian gave her a look that seemed almost out of place on a man's face as he held a single finger over his lips. He crept utterly silently into the living room. "BOO!"

Jack heard a shriek of delight. There was a pause before a voice that was a kid answered. "IAAAN! You're back!"

Jack heard a bit of murmuring. She looked at the entryway in the meantime. It was way nicer than her dorm room. Jack would be willing to bed the couch had better back support than the beds. "You can come in now, Jack."

Jack went through the living room door. The room was warm and cozy. The armchairs looked comfortable. There was a fireplace and a television. Alex was staring at her with wide eyes. "Hello, Alex."

Alex kept staring at her. She held out a hand but did not approach him. "You have red hair! Is it true that gingers have no soul?!"

Ian flushed slightly at that. Jack felt herself internally cackle at his expression. Jack put on an air of solemnity. "Absolutely. Which means we can do cool science experiments together."

Alex flopped dramatically on the couch. The young boy seemed to seriously consider it for a few minutes. Ian looked like he was about to start sweating. Jack stifled her giggle. "Okay. She's alright."

Ian seemed to sag with relief at that. Jack would have been nervous too. Alex jumped off the couch and ran over to her. Jack was dubiously poked by the child. "What happens if you microwave an egg?"

Jack had never thought to try. Ian was smirking ever so slightly. Alex was giving her Bambi-eyes. "I have no idea. Did you want to try it?"

Jack was promptly dragged to the kitchen by a chattering Alex. She wasn't quite sure what he was talking about but there would be time later for that. He opened the fridge and gleefully got an egg out. Jack watched as he stuck it in the microwave and set the timer for one minute. For the first few seconds, it went fine. The low hum of the microwave was the only sound as Alex goggled at the microwave. To be honest, she was hopeful that this was a faster way to cook eggs. She jumped as the egg exploded. Alex grinned at her. "Cool!"

Darn, no getting around boiling eggs. The microwave looked fucked up. Ian was drinking more coffee and standing in the corner. It took her a minute to realize that he was suppressing laughter and that she'd been conned by a literal child. These two motherfuckers. Oh well, it was almost like having her family back the way it had been before The Incident. "I believe I just got conned. Well done, kid."

Alex grinned and looked at her hopefully. Ian started chuckling into his coffee. Time to drop the hammer. "We're going to do a new lesson. It's called 'Cleaning the Microwave Before the Egg Hardens into Cement'. Ian, get the vinegar and paper towels."

Alex's mouth dropped open. Ian seemed to sense that she would accept no arguments whatsoever if he wanted her to stay and slunk off to find the cleaning supplies. "But JAAAAACK-"

Jack gave Alex her best older sister look. He pouted and leaned himself against the table. "But nothing. You make the mess; you clean it up."

Alex let out a dramatic little sigh as Ian came back with the cleaning chemicals. Jack gave him a look. "I'm feeling nice today so I'll help you."

Alex gave her a mildly sulky look but moved towards the microwave with the paper towels. Jack beamed and walked over to help him. "Start with the big chunks and scoop out whatever you can. The vinegar is for the parts you can't get off and for cleaning up after. And be very careful not to get it in your eyes. My dad used to make me wear safety glasses while we cleaned."

Alex wrinkled his nose and started scooping out the egg chunks with paper towels and chunking them into the nearby trash can. Jack prayed it was the right trash can. She was going to label those the second she got the chance. "Really?"

Jack gave him a slight grin. Alex scooped up more egg chunks. "Really."

Ian was on his fifth cup of coffee. Jack wondered whether a caffeine overdose was possible. Probably. "What is your dad like?"

Ian seemed to choke on his coffee. Eh, she was used to semi-feral disaster children, thank you very much. Her siblings had been some of them. Ronnie still hadn't managed to not eat himself sick every time there were gummy bears and he was twenty-seven. "He can be nice. A bit strict on the chore chart. But he spent a lot of time playing with us and teaching us sports and hunting and house repair."

Despite how her parents' marriage had ended, she was still fond of her father. He had tried his best during their childhoods and that was the important part. Alex looked slightly depressed at that. "Sounds nice. Do you think we can explode more stuff?"

Jack stifled a snort. Boys. Honestly. "Probably."

Alex did a little victory dance as he threw the last of the large egg chunks into the trash. Jack shook her head slightly as she took the spray bottle. Alex goggled as she sprayed down the microwave and began to wipe the whole thing down. "Why are you spraying the clean parts?"

Jack paused in her wiping. She did a second round of spray. "Egg yolk can grow bacteria easily. We're cleaning up the germs that we might not be able to see."

Alex nodded along and continued watching her. Jack finished cleaning the microwave decently fast. Ian seemed to have finished his ninth cup of coffee and was brewing another pot. "Go to bed, Ian. There's not a single person who needs more than nine cups of coffee."

Ian gave her a slightly sulky look and turned the coffee machine off. Jack fixed him with a look. He slinked upstairs. Good boy. Alex was staring at her with wide eyes as Ian presumably got to his room and passed out. "Why did you do that?"

Jack let out a sigh. Alex continued looking at her. "Ian needs sleep right now. Unfortunately, he's as human as the rest of us."

Alex pouted slightly and sat in a chair. Jack turned around to see more Bambi-eyes. "Can I have ice cream?"

The look was so hopeful that she almost caved. Then she remembered that she just cleaned the microwave. "After lunch if you're still hungry."

Alex pouted as she began to get out ingredients for sandwiches. Jack resisted a giggle. He was so damn cute. "But JAAACK-"

Jack handed him a sandwich. Alex gave her the Bambi-eyes and slowly took a bite. Children were con artists. This seemed like it was going to be a fun time.

Fin

The Alex Rider 2022 Anniversary Event was hosted by the Winds of Change server. For more information on the event, please see the collection on AO3. Please join the discord if you want to take part in our events, chat about everything and anything, and meet a load of awesome people!