Eh- yeah. Life of a Spy takes top priority. Updates for this one will be slow until my other main story finishes.

From now on, go to my profile for guest review replies; I'll PM the signed reviews (I thought it would be awkward to reply this late... so I didn't. But thanks!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.

O-o-O-o-O

("Hide-and-seek?" Ian raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

Seven-year-old Alex nodded vigorously/enthusiastically. "Please, Ian? I've played with some of the neighbors' kdis and it's really fun!"

Ian pursed his lips. It wasn't the worst game, and it did certainly have potential for teaching. "Alright, I suppose so."

Alex beamed. "Thanks, Ian! You're It first. I'll hide, and you try to find me!"

"I know the rules of hide-and-seek, Alex," Ian said dryly.

The boy deflated a bit, but then realized Ian had already closed his eyes and begun counting.

After a brief hesitation, he scurried/scampered away.

Ian sighed- he would need to teach his nephew the art of moving silently. From the painfully/painstakingly /and footsteps, Alex was-

Ian winced.

Jack's room- although she was out shopping, it still wasn't a wise choice.

Oh well. At least it would only take a few more rounds before Alex was an expert.

0-0-0-0-0

Alex frowned. "How do you keep finding me so easily?" His uncle hadn't been letting him be It until he learned to hide better. What had started as a fun game, had ended up a lecture.

Ian sighed. "You're too loud. You need to learn how to walk silently," he continued, annoyed when Alex opened his mouth to ask an idiotic question. "And I'm not giving you extra time, nor am I going to go easy on you- you'll learn how do this right, OK?"

The boy nodded, a bit wearisome. Hide-and-seek was supposed to be fun. Why wasn't he enjoying it as much as last time?

Then he realized- Ian hadn't been playing last time. He had a tendency to make things a lot less fun, and more like a 'teaching moment.'

He'd always try really hard, and he never won against Ian- with anything.

I'll show him, Alex thought determinedly. I'm smaller than him. I should win this more than he does. And then- when I'm It, I'll find him so fast- like that!

Even then, there was a small sliver of doubt in his mind.

He ignored it.

0-0-0-0-0

Cautiously, Alex opened his eyes. He hadn't heard Ian at all, but it wouldn't be hard to find him... right?

It had taken a few more frustrated turns, and he'd used up all of the great hiding places he had already set up, and Ian had found him really quickly! Part of him wondered if Ian was cheating- it wouldn't be unlike him to do that; after all, Ian always said it wasn't cheating if you could get away with it.

But finally, he had relented- and let him be It!

As Alex scoped each room carefully for any signs of him and found-

Nothing.

He had to double-check each room.

And then he went through them a third time- the bathrooms, his room, Jack's, and quick peek in Ian's room. Then it had been on to the basement, kitchen, closets... everywhere, except...

Ian's office.

Alex swallowed, staring wide-eyed at the forbidding door.

He wasn't allowed to go in there. Ian had made that clear.

And Ian got really angry when Alex disobeyed him- he never yelled, but he wouldn't play with him, or talk to him, or do anything! He would completely ignore him- no cooking, no meals, no help with anything. He would completely isolate him- not even going outside! Ian would mostly lock himself in his office- it didn't matter if Alex pleaded, begged, or apologized, over and over again- nothing had any affect.

But Alex didn't get lonely easily... but when Ian ignored him like that.

He didn't like it.

Alex yearned for that attention- or even, rarely- praise. But that didn't happen very often.

The seven-year-old glanced over his shoulder, like Ian was ready to swoop in and scold him and-

It was just a door. He didn't even have to go inside- but he could try opening it, and just calling inside! Yeah, he would be doing anything wrong if he just opened the door.

Alex's hand reached for the doorknob, just about to-

"What are you doing?" Ian's harsh voice reprimanded.

The boy whirled around, a guilty expression on his face, an excuse was almost ready-

Ian took the scene quickly. "You know you're not allowed in there, Alex."

"I couldn't find you!" Alex blurted out. "I looked everywhere, but you weren't there!"

"Quiet, Alex."

Alex quieted.

"We're done." With one more disgusted look, Ian turned back to the door, taking out a key-

"But- Ian!"

His words were already falling on deaf ears.

The door slammed shut.)

O-o-O-o-O

"I'm It!"

"No, it's my turn. You got to be It last time, remember?"

Eagle scowled at the older boy. "That's not fair!"

Arms crossed, Wolf glared back. "I'm the leader, which means I'm It."

Snake seemed to stifle a sigh, whereas Fox didn't bother, rolling his eyes.

"Quiet, you two," Alex intervened, breaking up the minuscule fight before it got larger. "I'll be It."

Wolf squinted, but accepted it as fair- causing the others to agree with him. "Fine. But let's get the rules straight, first."

Snake frowned. "It's hide-and-seek. How complex can it get?"

By the guilty expression on Fox's face, Alex guessed he had already been trying to find ways to 'legally cheat.'

"The boundaries are the same," the teen continued. "Count aloud- not fast." He sent them warning sign. It wasn't like would matter to him, playing hide-and-seek had taught Alex many things- and this was his home territory. He hardly had lost to other kids before playing with Ian... but after that, it became ridiculously easy.

"One minute," Wolf suggested- which, the teenager had to assume was the amount he would have already been set on- no room for compliance.

Once the other boys had agreed, Alex closed his eyes. "I'm counting," he murmured, which caused a mad rush of scrambling- not too difficult to distinguish between the boys, especially considering that he had already matched their walking patterns to their persons.

Alex's eyes flickered open.

It took a grand total of thirty seconds before he found Eagle- sure, hiding behind the couch had been pretty typical as hiding places went- but it wasn't very an original, as they went, and he was so... loud.

The boy frowned. "You cheated."

Alex rolled his eyes. "You're too loud- and that's an obvious hiding spot."

Eagle narrowed his eyes, but his expression smoothed out. "At least I can help you look for the others!"

"No," Alex said flatly. "That won't be necessary." His eyes flickered to the couch. "Stay here- and please don't break anything."

Without waiting for an answer, the teen stalked out of the room. Fox had gone upstairs, along with Snake- and Wolf... he frowned, concentrating. Was he in the bathroom?

It was on the same floor- more efficient if he started with it.

Inside the bathroom, Wolf seemed to have been attempting to squeeze himself in the bathroom cabinets- hence the half-empty cabinet and the cleaning supplies that were scattered on the floor. He mentally sighed- more things to clean up afterward. Maybe hide-and-seek wasn't the best game after all.

And Wolf- where was he? Ah, he had heard him coming and was right behind-

"Found you." Alex pulled the shower curtain aside, and a scowling boy pushed himself through.

"Whatever. It wasn't fair, anyway- you didn't give me enough time."

The teen ignored the comment. "Go to the living room!" He called over his shoulder, already leaving the bathroom. "Keep Eagle out of trouble."

He heard both Fox and Snake go upstairs- and there were two rooms that weren't locked: the bathroom and spare guest room.

O-o-O-o-O

Once upstairs, Alex stopped, standing still.

The only logical choice would be one of the guest bedrooms, or perhaps, the other bathroom.

Still... his room was locked, as well as Ian's bedroom and office.

The teenager silently opened the door to the guest bedroom; he briefly scoped the room.

"Come on Snake," Alex muttered. "You can do better than that. Out from under the bed."

There was a small scuffle, and Snake emerged from under the bed. "I ran out of time," the boy huffed.

Alex was ignoring him, and checking the rest of the room.

He stiffened. "Snake- where's Fox?" He wouldn't have hidden in the bathroom- Alex would have heard the door opening. And, unsurprisingly, Fox had cheated, or, as he might have put it 'bent the rules.'

Snake narrowed his eyes. "I'm not telling you- that would cheating!" Yet, even then, his eyes went out the open door to-

The teen pursed his lips.

Great. Just great.

Ian would be thrilled.

Alex sighed, leaving the room to the-

He swallowed.

He wasn't allowed to go in there.

Ian would be very angry when he found out that his nephew had gone into his office for a game of hide-and-seek.

And, Alex grimaced, surveying the damaged, he had picked the lock.

He grit his teeth. What idiot thought that giving lockpicks to a seven-year-old, was a good idea?!

He didn't realize how many of his own babysitters had thought the exact same thing.

The teen knocked softly on the door, painfully aware that Wolf and Eagle had gotten bored while waiting for them and were coming up the stairs. Snake had sulked out of the guestroom, unwilling to miss all the 'excitement.'

Alex frowned- no answer.

That was a bad sign.

Hesitantly, he grasped the doorknob, turning it gently, and-

The door swung open effortlessly.

"Stay here," Alex murmured to the others, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Eyes swept over the room- a wooden desk, wooden floor, a few bookshelves, and-

Nothing.

No where to hide.

And no one hiding.

Then... had he been wrong?

But- his eyes narrowed at the open window. No, he hadn't been wrong.

O-o-O-o-O

Ben Daniels smirked, the branches of the tree gently bobbing/swaying under the small weight.

He always won hide-and-seek- especially against babysitters.

Fox frowned. Unless Snake had snitched- but, his expression smoothed over, Snake wouldn't do that- he had promised- pinky-swear and everything!

And, technically, he wasn't even doing anything wrong.

He was hiding in a tree, not any of the restricted spots that Alex had so willingly (and temptingly, he added) listed off. The office had been merely a-a passageway. Yeah. Nothing wrong at all.

Plus, it would take forever for Alex to find him.

Babysitters never even guessed that he had a set of lockpicks, either. And it was such a good advantage.

Ben knew that Alex would've heard him if he had tried going outside the 'regular' way, so, he had improvised! It was a genius idea, too, and-

It could be said that Fox was very surprised when a certain teenager popped out of the window and joined him in the tree.

Ben gaped. "It's been, like, five minutes! There's no way you could've found me that fast!" he burst out.

Alex raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.. "I know what you mean," he said dryly. "Longest game of hide-and-seek I've had in a while."

Fox glared icily at him (and a bit suspiciously, too). "Did Snake snitch on me?"

"No, he didn't," the teen said smoothly. "And I should have known that you would try something like this." He gave a wry smile. "Who gave you the lockpicks?"

Ben told himself that he wouldn't been surprised- but he still was, anyway. "My mom."

Alex glanced warily back at the window- and the office, Fox guessed. "You're not allowed in there, either?:

The teenager winced. "No, and Ian isn't going to be happy."

Well, that was an understatement.

O-o-O-o-O

Fact: The internet usage in the entire continent of Africa is equal to the amount of New York... city.

Question: I've been trying to improve my humor-writing (Life of a Spy was to improve my angst writing)- please, if there's anything you found funny in it, tell me- and I know it's definitely lacking. So, tell me what you think! PM, reviews, it doesn't matter.

Oh! Another thing- are there any games you want them to do? Or any ideas of X thing happening?