Prompt: "Verbosity - a blessing or a curse?" AU. No Never Say Die. Alex stayed in America. Other POV's. No slash. Slight angst. T-rated just to be safe, but most twelve-year-olds probably read worse these days.

Due: 12/25

True Words

Written for Spyfest. Prompt: "Verbosity - a blessing or a curse?"

You could say a lot without saying anything, was Alex's first thought as he sat through his high school graduation and listened to the valedictorian blather on about school. Alex personally hadn't much cared for it but ended up getting passable marks. In the end, it was more figuring out how to just pick up his life and move on. He'd actually nearly made honor roll these last two years. Of course, he had kept himself off it by just one B. Alex was surprised when people just left him alone after Jack died. Sure, he'd told them to, but Alex wasn't sure whether he expected them to or not. "We were all together and we cooperated…"

Alex resisted a snort. Together, his ass, he'd taken down at least four school bullies. Off the school property and away from any responsible adults, of course. Alex knew his school had a 'zero-tolerance' policy with violence, even if it was self-defense. It was a pile of shit that removed any responsibility from the school administrators. Alex mentally huffed at the hypocrisy of the American school system. He could almost hear Ian railing against the tests. There was a faint pang at the thought of his uncle. Alex watched as the speech went on. Dear god, it was a high school graduation speech. He was pretty sure the presidential inauguration ceremony was shorter than this. The urge to get up and walk around was pretty strong, but Edward had asked him to go. Alex had wanted to forgo the ceremony entirely - he hated ceremonies – but, Edward had insisted that it was a rite of passage. After three days straight of 'not arguing', he'd caved. Alex just didn't feel strongly enough to risk a huge family drama over this. "…and we are going to go on to build a better future."

Alex resisted a cynical laugh at that. He honestly doubted any of them would have a real impact. Besides, he knew where the real power was. In the shadows. The shadows that had never crossed any of his classmates' lives. Alex wondered what Tulip was up to, vaguely. He didn't really care enough to check, but it was probably the same old garbage they'd been pulling a few years ago. The principal seemed to finally notice that half of the crowd was drifting off and interrupted at one of the particularly long, grandstanding pauses. "And that concludes our valedictorian speech! On with the ceremony."

Alex resisted the urge to snort at the newly-minted adult's expression. Edward insisted that the graduation was not to have its' solemnity interrupted by him, so Alex would keep his word. He waited until his name was called and walked numbly across the stage, shaking the principal's hand. Time for graduation dinner. In a suit. That he hated. Although, to be fair Alex didn't much like suits unless they were particularly nice-looking on him. Even then, they tended to be a pain in the ass and some of them were stitched in a manner that uncomfortably restricted his movements. Alex sighed as Edward walked up. Liz was sick and Sabina was at college. The professor had refused to let her make-up a test and the office of student hating - sorry, living - wouldn't give her a note to take the test early. They sat down to eat. "So, I know you wanted a gap year. What are you going to do? Where will you go?"

Alex sighed. "I'll figure it out, Edward."

Edward gave him a long look. There was such a thing as not saying enough. "What are you looking for?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll know when I find it."

Edward sighed. "When will you be back?"

Alex got up. "Goodbye, Edward."

Sabina and Liz had already said goodbye. Alex had a feeling they knew he wouldn't be back for a while. "Alex?"

Alex began to move soundlessly towards the door. "Goodbye, Edward. It will be a while."

He hated pulling an Ian, but they would live without him. Alex knew he needed to find something. "Goodbye, Alex."

Alex saw the man knew, even if he didn't understand. He walked into the night. It was as soundless as ever.

Ash decided he hated the sound of his new boss' voice just as much as Rothman's. Winston Yu was not a pleasant man in general, but he tolerated him, without Rothman's outward dislike. Ash knew the man probably didn't like him either, but Rothman brought a whole new meaning to a hostile work environment. Yu liked talking and he was powerful enough to get away with playing with his food before he ate it. Personally, Ash doubted the man was an actual cannibal. If only because human organs were far too valuable to eat, you know. Although there were status dishes, he supposed. Ash wasn't exactly contributing much to the conversation, but he figured all his boss wanted was nodding and the occasional verbal agreement. Why the man insisted on bringing him to the stupid function was beyond him. Surprisingly, it wasn't Rothman throwing the party this time. Shocking, he knew. Ash had already taken his pain meds but didn't think they would help him with the pain of boredom. He had to stay reasonably sharp, too. This was a mixer and he wasn't exactly popular. Damn John, and the man's unnatural charm. He didn't think the board as a whole much liked him. He made his sharp inhale silently. Interrupting Yu without dropping medically unconscious five seconds later was basically suicide. He might even kill you if it was ten seconds instead of five if he was feeling trigger happy. Ash let out the sigh equally silently and then began clenching and unclenching his muscles. Yu continued on with his very long speech. Ash had taken a bit to get used to these things. Blunt usually didn't string more than two superfluous sentences on to the end of your briefing. Brooke was a little more…hands-on and Yu would make you sit an eight-course meal for something that should have taken about twenty-five minutes, just to make you squirm. Ash was starting to miss Blunt's generic end phrase and/or just going back to paperwork after dismissing you. At least it wasn't an agonizing three more courses and dessert where he sadistically asked after your health and toyed with you whether you picked the honest answer or not. Cough, Yu, cough. Ash mentally breathed a sigh of relief as the man finished up. He was about ready to go home, but he knew there were a few more hours of pretty-much-mandatory attendance of this thing to go. He rose to walk around after being dismissed with a wave of his boss' hand. Ash decided that he would hit the dessert table on the off chance there was something he could actually eat there. You never knew. Plus, a dessert made everything slightly better.

Jack Starbright was laughing breathlessly. Alex had just finished his explanation of why exactly he'd gone to school in one of her dresses and it was the funniest thing she'd heard in a very long time. Alex was staring at her wide-eyed. Jack just barely managed to catch her breath and quit laughing this time. "It's okay, Alex. I'm not mad. Now we just have to explain this to Ian."

The man, for once in his life, had actually picked up when the school called him this time around. Jack personally thought he couldn't have picked a worse call to answer if he tried. Alex gave her a mischievous look. "Do we have to?"

Jack snorted. "Yes, Alex, but don't worry. It should be fine."

Alex grinned. Jack wondered what devilish idea had entered his head at the moment. "Can I do it in the dress?"

Jack rolled her eyes. "Why not? It's already been altered on to you anyway."

Plus, it would be hilarious to see his face when Alex walked in dressed as Juliet. Apparently, he had tried to get out of playing the lead male role, so he'd been assigned the lead female role instead. Alex looked at her mirthfully. "How many pictures did you take?"

Jack gave him a conspiratorial look. "A lot. You were lead in the school play, you know."

Alex gave her a look that made the adult in her want to scream and run away. "Good, because this is getting burnt after we prank Ian."

Jack laughed again. As a responsible adult, she really shouldn't endorse the plan, but this was way too much fun for her to care. "Just don't blow up the stove dear."

Alex pouted. "It was once, Jack, once. I was fending off house robbers."

Jack rolled her eyes. "The normal approach is to call the police, dear."

Alex shrugged. "Oh, but how was innocent eight-year-old me supposed to know that?"

Jack mentally groaned. Eight years old was old enough for the call 999 concepts to have been taught. Maybe if Ian had actually been around- She stopped herself. No need to upset Alex. "I give up. Do you want help fixing your eyeliner before he gets here?"

Alex grinned. "I love you."

Jack laughed again. "If I didn't love you, Alex, I would not be here today. Now, how was the rest of your day?"

Alex began telling her the usual about his bickering with James and how this was all Tom's fault. She smiled. It had taken her ages to get Alex to speak more than three words. His talking was a good thing.

Alan Blunt had always privately hated these things. Sitting through his own graduation at Cambridge was agonizing. This was somehow even worse. For some reason, he had allowed his friend to talk him into attending one as an alum. Very little had changed at Cambridge since his graduation. It was interesting, in a way. He was pretty sure most of the professors from his time there had retired, but these were the same type of people. The same uniforms, the same ideas in the speeches, the same song. He didn't hate most things in the world, but so many wasted pointless words always frustrated him. Words could be so much more than just hot oxygen. They could make or break people. They could be wielded like knives or hammers. The gift of speech was utterly wasted on some. This speech wasn't even vaguely entertaining. Perhaps he could introduce a mandatory speech class requirement? Somehow, he figured it would be wasted on most students anyway. You're mad. Alan Blunt felt his lips twitch involuntarily at the mental reminder of one of his best agents of all time. Perhaps he was. Perhaps he had been. Most people didn't really want to work in intelligence, let alone become the head of an intelligence agency. And they definitely did not have the idea to recruit people outside the usual age range. But it had worked. He had watched every single debriefing. Alex had a few great jokes slid in there with a deadpan that was good enough to provide reasonable doubt if the child was ever questioned about death jokes. Well, I'd have been disappointed, too. Blunt had managed to turn that snort into a cough when Tulip had shown him the recording. It would have been impolitic to laugh at the fourteen-year-old's off-color jokes. He knew Alex was the reason he'd been fired. But it worked. He had known it would. Alan also knew he would be crucified if the public ever found out what he had done. Then again, Alex I-killed-a-guy-with-a-helicopter Rider was not exactly your average child. At least, not anymore. They had lost sight of him about six weeks after his graduation. Supposedly, he was taking a gap year. Blunt wasn't sure it would be only one year, but who was he to argue? After the speech finally ended, a nudge from his friend brought him back to the present with his wife. "Good speech, wasn't it?"

Alan mentally snorted and gave the socially acceptable answer. He was willing to bet a certain someone could make a better one. "Indeed."

He let his friend do most of the talking afterward. This was how it usually worked. Spies were all the quiet type in the end, after all.

Tom Harris was the master of bullshit, when Alex wasn't around, that was. He had become that way for Alex, so when his friend walked back into his life one day, he was prepared. "Hello, Tom."

Tom stared. His friend was pale, and under the streetlight, looked almost like a ghost. "Alex?"

Alex stepped closer. "Yup."

Tom felt his mouth want to fall open again. "Alex."

Alex stepped closer. "Do you want to talk?"

Tom sighed. Yes, he wanted to talk forever. Alex was one of the few people who didn't walk off on him until he finished talking. "Not here."

Alex fell into step beside him. Tom headed toward his apartment. It was a tense sort of silence. Tom had moved to Germany as soon as he could get away from home. His apartment wasn't much, but it was home and his parents weren't there. "You've been gone for ten years, Alex."

They were both twenty-five now. "Jack died. She died because she was too close to me. I left you to protect you."

Tom let his mouth drop open. Any residual anger pretty much vanished. "You stupid noble idiot."

Alex gave him a tired sort of grin that was so old Alex that Tom felt like cheering. "Sorry, Tom, it's a character flaw."

Tom rolled his eyes. "You have no idea what I'm getting at, do you?"

Alex shrugged. "Not in the slightest."

Tom shrugged. Alex probably would never get it. "Do you want cake and hot chocolate for dinner?"

Alex laughed in a way that was so Ian. "How old are you, Tom?"

Tom flushed. Screw that. "I am an adult. I have earned the right to eat whatever the fuck I want."

Alex snorted. "Alright then. Just this once won't hurt."

Tom got them both cake and set the hot chocolate to boil. "You know, that weird lady sent goons to ask me where you went. I told them to fuck off and that if you ran away on something important, they deserved it."

Alex gave him a soft warm smile. "You should report this visit anyway, just to be safe."

Tom reacted almost violently. "Fuck no."

Alex took a bite of the awful, store-bought cake and almost gagged. "I'm baking you a real cake."

Tom batted his eyes at Alex and spoke in a falsetto. "Oh, darling, if you wanted to move in, all you had to do was say so."

Alex was torn between a grin and a grimace. His face ended up on a Cheshire grin. "Oh, Tom, I'm so sorry you've been carrying a flame for me all these years. I thought you knew I liked mine with different equipment."

Tom mock-pouted. "Aww. I'm heartbroken."

Alex laughed. Tom took that as a positive sign. "In all seriousness, Tom, you really should-"

Tom cut him off. No way was the creepy grey lady finding out about this. "Hell, no."

Alex hugged him. It was nice to have your friends on your side. "I missed you."

Tom grinned. Alex had rarely expressed any kind of physical or emotional affection, even before MI6. "Good. Now, never stay away from me this long ever again."

Alex held him tightly. Tom could feel the muscles under the fabric. "I won't, then."

It was the first conversation that they had both enjoyed in a long time. Sometimes the speaker makes all difference.

Tulip Jones was the undisputed head of MI6. She still was ambiguous about how she felt about that. It was a life full of silence. She occasionally wondered whether the grey walls would reach out and swallow her one day. A turn of a page could be a death sentence for her people. A signature on an operation that could ruin Britain's reputation should it ever get out to the public. Tulip was frustrated. She opened the drawer she kept a single file in. Alex Rider. Turned eighteen, graduated high school, swore he'd be back home one day and vanished off the face of the earth. Edward Pleasure had called her one day. The trail was cold and dead and sadly, Alex could evade them if he so chose. Tulip wondered where he went and what he was doing. What had gone wrong? He had been on the path to a normal if troubled, life. Alex Rider. Vanished like fog once the sun rose. She could only hope nothing amiss happened. Until one day. The whispers began. Whispers of a British man who hunted down SCORPIA remnants until every last one was gone. Whispers that he was a ghost, a spirit, an angel of death. Tulip knew there was only one man with the skills and the will to do it. It had been seven years. Every single last SCORPIA member that they hadn't caught or that had gotten immunity deals had been hunted and killed. They were never tortured. It was just a single gunshot to the head, no witnesses. Tulip was simultaneously frustrated and impressed. She needed to find Alex. Tulip needed to convince him to stand down, to work with them. Tom Harris, of all people, had gotten a visit from the man. Tulip had almost expected him to visit her or Smithers. For God's sake, why Harris? They are friends, Tulip. Tulip wondered if it was a bad sign that Alan Blunt's voice still occasionally gave her answers. Probably. Then again, she had known him for most of her adult life. She could probably predict his words in a conversation without him even being there. Alex had just stepped from the shadows. They had, of course, brought Harris in. If they couldn't get Alex, Harris was probably the next best thing. "Now, when exactly did Alex come back into your life?"

Harris' face tightened. "Fuck you, bitch. You're the one who ruined his life."

Tulip sighed. It really was a pity he wasn't feeling cooperative. A single gunshot killed her before she even registered the sound. There had been no warning, no alarm sounded.

The trip to Tom's apartment was made in almost complete silence. Tom thought it was pretty nerve-wracking, to be honest. He preferred actually talking to his friends, but hadn't dared argue with Alex. "So, you killed her."

Alex shrugged. "She kidnapped the only family I have left."

Tom wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "So, can I come with you?"

Alex shrugged. "I suppose you'll have to, now."

Tom was not exactly displeased at that. "Do you want me around?"

Alex looked at him like he was crazy. "Always. I just wouldn't have picked this sort of life for you, you know."

Tom laughed, almost on the edge of hysteria. Like he was leaving anything important behind. "You really are a noble idiot, aren't you?"

Alex shrugged. "Not really. I've killed a lot of people. It wasn't always a fair fight."

Tom shrugged. "I meant with your friends."

Alex looked at him with those sad, sad brown eyes that always made Tom want to cry. "I've only got one, now."

Tom sidled up to him. "C'mon. It won't be that bad. We can always invite in random drunk people off the street."

Alex snorted. "You really need to quit listening to Hale about those party ideas."

Tom rolled his eyes. "No other choice. My only other bro vanished for ten years."

Alex gave him another sad, sappy look. "I'm sorry."

Tom shrugged. "I forgive you, Jesus. Those eyes, Al."

Alex smirked. "Are you sure you aren't carrying that flame?"

Tom threw a couch cushion at him. Alex caught it, of course. "Screw you."

Alex smirked and jokingly adopted a ridiculously provocative pose. "I do believe it would be the other way around."

Tom threw another cushion at him. Alex caught that one as well. The inside of the couch was predictably gross. "If you give me a dollar, I'll eat that fuzzy cheeto."

Alex had forgotten just how talkative Tom was. It was a nice change from the dead, stony, awkward silence. He promptly swatted said cheeto out of Tom's hand. "Don't even think about it."

Tom grinned. "I'll have you know…"

Alex knew then that this packing was going to take more than two hours. Strangely, he didn't mind. He felt his lips twitch as Tom's justifications for eating couch gross couch food got more and more ludicrous.

John Crawley shut Alex Rider's file. It was a lost cause and they all knew it. They still weren't even sure how he'd gotten in and out. The cameras that supposedly covered the entire place had been utterly useless. Tom Harris and, more importantly, Alex Rider was gone. Vanished into the wind. Tulip Jones was dead for the crime of kidnapping the closest thing Rider had to family these days, especially now that Starbright was dead. Crawley wondered what he would do now. The last remnants of SCORPIA were gone. John couldn't honestly say he blamed the man for what he'd done. Rider had lost everything. What on Earth did leadership expect him to do? It wasn't like he was losing any sleep over the deaths of the criminal scumbags and Crawley was ninety percent sure that Rider wasn't either. He was of the opinion that Rider had the right idea, but politicians had gone way down the soft and self-interested side. Yeah, sure, there was no possible way any SCORPIA operatives could have bought immunity, none at all. With a sigh, he decided on a codename for Alex anyway. The higher-ups demanded it. There was a good chance the man was done with killing, but they had chosen to believe some fancy psychiatrist over an experienced agent. Tsk. Tsk. Crawley shook his head. Oh, well. Alex "The Shadow" Rider would live on in the files of MI6 infamy. If it was up to him, the man would get a medal and a pension for his years of unofficial, unsanctioned, and totally unsupervised service. Crawley wondered if John would have been proud of his son. It didn't matter, he supposed. The man had been dead for over two decades. They were all dead, except for Alex. Helen. John. Ian. Ash. Tulip. Alan. Only one of natural causes, too. Crawley felt the all too familiar pang at the thought. He missed the rest of them. Sure Ash had turned and Blunt had recruited a fourteen-year-old, but there was something that had them all sticking together. He wasn't sure how he felt about taking Tulip's place, but her second-in-command had been killed as well. Talk about a bum day in the headquarters. Crawley was sure some SCORPIA people would have laughed their asses off at the news if they hadn't all been murdered by a certain someone. It was right up their humor alley. They might have even sent flowers, the little shits. Oh, well. He had more paperwork to get to.

Smithers was greatly surprised when Alex and Tom visited his shop one day. Their disguises hadn't fooled him for a second. The last he heard, they were on the run from MI6, who had unofficially stopped hunting them. "How can I help you?"

A certain pair of brown eyes he knew far too well sparkled with humor. "Well, your shop has D&D on the front and Thomas here is quite the dork."

The other man retorted. "Says the one playing the female healing elf, Alexander. You want the Dungeons and dragons memorabilia as much as I do."

Smithers choked back a laugh. Alexander and Thomas, the D&D nerds, indeed. "Well, I have a few interesting pieces in the back. You could take a look. I love to see devoted such devoted fans."

Well, he knew Alex liked his work, at least. He had never actually met "Thomas". They stepped into the back of his shop. Smithers couldn't resist anymore. "So, Alex, m'boy, what can I do for you?"

Alex gave him a smirk. "Well, we really did just want those D&D things, but since you do custom orders, I may as well."

Tom interrupted. "Alex, who is this?"

Alex gestured at him. "Smithers, Tom. Tom, Smithers."

Tom held out his hand and Smithers took it. "Wait, Smithers-Smithers?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yes, Tom."

Tom was almost bouncing with excitement. "It's awesome! Alex told me all about your devices! They're awesome!"

Smithers was rather flattered. He normally got quite a few complaints. The explosives aren't explosive enough. Yes, Agent Brown. I do believe I'm the one with the engineering and computer science degree. What you want is literally impossible according to the laws of physics. The poison isn't poisoning fast enough. What, three milliseconds not fast enough? Screw you, Agent Mills. We both know you just look down upon non-field agents. Smithers grinned. "Always good to hear."

Tom grinned. "Do you still do Gameboys?"

They had gone out of fashion some years ago, but Smithers knew he could replicate the design. "I believe it can be made."

Tom nearly squealed. "Yes."

Alex rolled his eyes, but, then, it had been one of his favorite devices. "Alright boys, what did you want? On the official and unofficial side of things."

Alex gave a list with quite a few interruptions from Tom. Smithers did like creative challenges. Alex didn't seem to mind. This was going to be a long few days, but these devices were, oh, so much fun to make.

When Alex finished teaching Tom how to live his life running, he asked him a question. "Do you still want to come with me?"

Tom stared at him. "What kind of a dumb question is that?"

Alex's lips' twitched. "Is that a yes, then?"

Tom whacked him. "Always."

Alex grinned. "Even when you lose every single girlfriend when they find out we live together and think we are a gay couple?"

Tom laughed. "Even then. Besides, their reaction is always pretty good to relive. Remember Alison's face when you brought us both a quiche for breakfast?"

Alex rolled his eyes. This was what Tom got for not being upfront about having a housemate. That, and his friend seemed to have horrible taste in women. Alex didn't really care until they started either screaming at him every night or destroying property. Bloody hell, was he trying to emulate his parent's marriage or something? Alex hoped not. Tom's parents had been distinctly unhappy people. Alex didn't really date. He just knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life on the run with just him and Tom. It was nice having a friend. "Yes, she only threw a perfectly good quiche at the wall. I was just trying to help. I mean, cooking live-in roommate is usually a bonus, right?"

Tom snorted. "She was trying to get me to move in. As if I'd ever leave you behind. Plus, your cooking is better than any woman I've met, so far. I mean, who else will cook me fancy breakfast every morning after waking up at the crack of dawn. You're stuck with me, Al."

Alex did an inner happy dance. "Yes, a true tragedy. Living with my best friend. The absolute horror."

Tom grinned. "Oh, but we make such a good couple."

Alex snorted with laughter. "Tom, you say the most ridiculous things."

Tom batted his eyes at Alex. "But, Alex, I love you."

Alex whacked him with a couch pillow. "Be serious. What I'm trying to say is that if you want to move in with your girlfriend or kick me out, you can."

Tom shook his head. "Nope. Not happening. I want you in my life forever."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Al. This may not be what most people imagine growing up, but I think it works."

Alex shrugged. "I don't want it to change."

Tom shrugged. "Then don't let it. We'll just be together until we die. It'll be fun, I promise."

Alex embraced his friend. "Try to pick a quieter one next time. Their voices usually get sorer faster if they start shrieking."

Tom returned the hug. "I'll try. Besides, you know what they say."

Alex rolled his eyes. Tom seemed to have gotten the societal obsession with sex that he personally didn't get. "Yes, Tom, and if I didn't already, I'm sure you'll repeat it at some point."

Alex stated while smiling into his friend's collarbone. All was well in this little piece of the world.

Fin.

Note: I feel like the order of these snippets is not confusing, but if it is someone let me know (a few are out of chronological order). I can do a note explaining the order.