The Affable Adoption
Ian had left him alone in yet another foreign country. Alex had sworn under his breath and then found the cash envelope. Yay, budgeting. He was pretty sure most other ten-year-olds didn't even know what a budget was. What was the point of taking him on 'vacation' if they weren't even spending time together? At any rate, Alex knew how to mostly ditch concerned adults and buy his lunch. He ordered his sandwich from the stand. The beaming shop owner handed it to him. Alex was starting to enjoy his day alone in the Australian sun after he finished his lunch. He walked along the street, determined to reach the beach. Alex saw a flash of light and stared at one of the most handsome men he'd ever seen. It was rude to stare but the man's teeth were unnaturally white and- Alex felt a jolt as he realized that the man was going to be hit by a bus. He ran forward and shoved the blonde man out of the way as the bus sped past them both. The man picked them both up and got them the rest of the way across the street. "Crikey, we almost got hit by a bus."
Alex folded his arms and glared at the man. He probably got by on his stunning good looks because Alex was pretty sure talking on the phone in the middle of the road was a dumb blonde move. "Quit talking on the phone in the middle of the road, dumbass. You're giving blondes everywhere a bad name!"
To Alex's surprise, the pretty man started laughing. Alex was half expecting to be slapped. "Alright, maybe it wasn't the smartest move. Where are your parents?"
The question stung a bit more than it probably should at this point. Maybe it was because Ian had abandoned him. "Dead."
The man dampened a bit. A flash of the unnaturally white teeth later and he'd recovered. "Guardian?"
Alex folded his arms. He wasn't used to questions. "Away."
The man huffed as Alex kept walking. Alex ignored him. Pretty man could learn to have some diplomacy. "When can I visit to say thank you?"
Alex didn't think Ian would care what he did. Bankers were boring like that. "He'll be back in ten days."
The man fell into step beside him. His nostrils flared. "WHAT?! That's child abandonment."
Alex rolled his eyes and waved the man off. He was probably just exaggerating. "Eh, I'm used to it. Besides, I can feed myself and he left money-"
Blonde interrupted him mid-sentence. "I know you think that makes it better but it doesn't. I was a father. I know these things."
Alex rolled his eyes and kept right on walking away from the apartment and towards the beach. Adults were weirdos. Then again, this might be just a particular brand of Australian weird. "I'm going to the beach, Blonde. See you never."
Alex stalked off as the man sputtered. There, that should get rid of him.
Brendan Chase whipped out his phone while safely on the sidewalk. "Crux? Abandoned orphans are free real estate, right?"
The woman's tone sounded unamused. Crux was no fun. "I wouldn't phrase it like that. Mr. Chase, what did you do?"
Brendan was deeply offended at that implication. He was not that bad. There were no murderous massacres to his name. "I was talking on the phone in the middle of the road-"
Brendan heard an exasperated sigh on the end of the phone. He refused to be monitored by a security team twenty-four seven. Brendan plowed on. "-then, all of a sudden, this blonde brat pushes me over. At first, I thought he was a pickpocket but then I felt the bus whoosh by us both. So, then I hear that he's got no parents and his guardian won't be back for ten whole days and I'm like-"
Crux cut him off. Brendan was offended. Offended. He grinned at her exasperated tone. "You want to adopt a random British orphan who saved your life and forgot to get his name?"
Brendan rolled his eyes. Picky, picky, picky. His employees were the worst. "He was doing his best to run away from me. Plus, he was a bit grumpy."
Crux made no noise but he could practically feel her exasperation radiating through the phone. Brendan popped in a piece of chewing gum while he waited. "Did you at least get a picture or some other identifying information?"
Brendan texted her a picture he'd taken as the little brat had spun around and sulked off. He reminded himself that the kid hadn't had much parenting and the behavior was probably a result of the child neglect. Crux muttered under her breath. Brendan was going to ignore that. She was a good employee. "Just try your best! We can't go abandoning baby orphans."
Crux continued typing. Brendan waited with bated breath. "This may take a few hours, sir."
Brendan pouted as he moved to hang up. It was now time for a late luncheon. He walked towards the beach. Maybe he'd get lucky and run into his new favorite child again. Probably not.
Alex was minding his own business and cooking dinner while standing on a chair when he heard a knock on the door. He turned the burners down and went to open the door. There were two police officers and a lady. Crud. "Is there something I can help you with?"
The officers exchanged a glance and looked at the woman. "We were hoping to speak to your guardian."
Alex sighed. His luck was just not great today. Two adults asking after his guardian in one day. It was a new record. "Um, he's away."
The lady smiled patiently. Alex began to sweat. "Who's cooking dinner?"
Alex swore and jumped slightly. The adults looked fairly alarmed. He tore down the hallway. "I'm going to burn the sauce!"
The adults followed him just in time for him to get back up on the chair and sleep the sauce from boiling over. Alex checked on the other parts of the dinner before putting lids on the pots and turning the heat down for the simmer portion of the cooking time. He set a timer for the sauce. Alex turned back around and let out a sigh of relief. "Do you know when he's going to be back?"
Alex winced slightly. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. "Not really? He left me a note on the table. Do you, um, want any dinner?"
One of the officers was steadily reddening. Alex wondered if he was having some sort of allergy issue. The other one snatched up the note. He read it and placed it back on the table before taking a picture. "That's alright Alex. We've already had dinner."
Alex nodded and switched the stove off. The food was done anyway. "Do you mind if I eat?"
The woman smiled at him. Alex thought she looked pretty nice. "Not at all. Don't let us stop you. May the nice officers take a few pictures?"
Alex shrugged. Given that they were like two meters tall and a hundred kilos, the officers could probably do whatever the hell they wanted. "I guess?"
Alex sat down with his food a few minutes later. The officers were walking around and taking pictures. The nice lady was sitting in front of him. "I didn't ask for any of your names, sorry."
The woman looked thoroughly entertained. Alex wondered what he was missing. "I am Ms. Crux. These are officers Williams and Brown."
Alex held out his hand. Great, he probably reeked of garlic. Oh, well. Ms. Crux seemed like she would forgive him. "I'm Alex."
The woman smiled at him. She was pretty. Alex noticed the faintest hint of roses as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Alex."
Ms. Crux rose from her chair and looked at the officers. Alex finished his dinner. "I think we've seen enough here, boys."
The officers exchanged a look. Alex fidgeted. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. "Um, enough for what?"
Ms. Crux sat down at the table. Alex started putting the dishes in the sink. "We're going to wait for your guardian to show up."
Alex shrugged. And began scooting his chair towards the stove. Ms. Crux stood up. "Why don't you let me handle that?"
Alex perked up. Finally. "Really?"
The woman rolled her eyes. Alex flushed. "Go sit on the couch, Alex."
Alex sat on the couch. He was kind of tired.
Brendan had fully intended for Crux to fabricate evidence against Alex's guardian. As it turned out, there hadn't been a need to. Little baby Alex had been left all by himself. The officers had thoroughly documented piles of evidence. Crux and the officers had stayed for nearly twenty-four hours and the Ian guy hadn't shown up. After that, Alex had been put into his and Crux's 'temporary' care. As a wealthy, recently widowed, businessman with an attractive young secretary, he looked excellent on paper. Despicable. Brendan was just going to ignore the fact that his criminal empire created plenty of orphaned children daily. This was different. Mostly because Alex had saved his life but that was beside the point. As a former father, the pictures of Alex cooking dinner by himself in a chair had been particularly heartbreaking. Brendan rose from his chair. "Oh my god, your boyfriend is the idiot blonde from the beach?!"
Crux sounded far too amused when she corrected Alex. Bad employee! "He's my employer and his name is Brendan."
Alex crossed his arms and looked Crux up and down. Crux seemed to be biting back laughter. "Is that what adults are calling it these days?"
Brendan huffed. The suspicion. The accusations. "Alex!"
Alex gently patted Crux's arm and completely ignored Brendan. The brat looked genuinely mournful as he continued patting Crux. "And your clothes are so tasteful. You can do better than him."
Crux shook slightly. Alex was giving Brendan very skeptical looks. "Excuse me, Brendan."
Brendan heard peals of laughter behind the shut door. He was going to passive-aggressively get revenge for that. "Hello! I'm your new foster father."
Alex folded his arms. This meeting was not going as smoothly as Brendan hoped. "Okay, why?"
Brendan sighed. He'd had twenty-year-old operatives who were less suspicious. "You saved my life and your guardian is just dreadful. I would know, I was a father myself. Anyway, I place a very high value on my continued ability to breathe, so you're getting adopted."
The kid blinked. And was quiet for a bit. "You make no sense but okay. Isn't there some sort of court thingy?"
Brendan wondered why Alex was so familiar with the foster care system. Maybe there had been multiple attempts? "Yes. There's a hearing coming up."
Alex looked at him. Brendan looked right back. "We'll see. I still think you're dumb."
Brendan laughed. Look, it was hilarious from a kid. "I'm sure. Why don't you go with Crux to your new temporary room?"
Alex nodded. The kid still looked suspicious. Brendan had some files from social services in other countries to go over. If he was right, dear old Ian was going to lose custody so hard it wasn't even funny. He opened up his computer and began typing. Crux came in a little bit later. "He's cute."
Brendan rolled his eyes. Kids were cute. "Mhm."
Crux glared at him. Brendan paused. "Is something the matter?"
Crux continued looking at him. "You had better have hidden depths as an excellent parent."
Brendan grinned at her. He'd never gotten any complaints. "Don't worry, Crux. It'll be fine."
Crux looked exasperated.
Written for Prompt #306 by Zyzyax. This is the 55th 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 :) Want to discuss? Leave a comment beneath, or join the discord (Link on AO3 Fics or just PM me, lol).Want to take part in our Alex Rider anniversary celebrations in September? Join the WoC discord to take part in a fanfic event!
