Disclaimer: Oh, I am repeating myself yet again - I do not own Alex Rider nor NCIS nor anything you recognize.
To: Arry the Banana, J'aime lire, Pounce the Cat, ResistanceInMotion and anonymous95 - plus all of you great people that hit the fav/follow/review button!
This is the last 'holiday' chapter!
Chapter 3: Dinner reservations. (~2,600 words)
Alex and Sabina changed in the large bedroom. (Sab gave Alex well-meant advice.) She had decided on one of Alex's red formal dresses for herself, while the spy chose a green, less-formal one.
They were finished within twenty minutes.
A soft knock came from the door.
"We're decent, if I say so myself," Sabina called out.
Eagle stuck his head in, dramatically bowing in their direction. "I was going to offer my service to you, m'ladies."
Alex laughed and curtsied. "Thank you, kind sir."
Sabina giggled at their antics. "You are really cute together," she admitted. Then she sincerely said to Eagle: "Thanks for making her so happy."
They left the hotel room, continuing the conversation.
"Why thank me? It's purely selfish. If my girlfriend is happy, I am too. However, in the mornings and whenever she isn't, I strive to annoy her so much, she needs to choose between laughing or crying which usually turns out to be the former."
Sab smirked at her friend. "Yeah, he is a bit quirky but cute. I think, you needed someone exactly like this. Say, do you have siblings? Preferably male?"
"I do. Two brothers-in-law and two related by blood. One of them is married though."
"Oh darn," Sabina muttered. "Are you the youngest then?"
"I am the youngest son," he clarified, pressing the button for the elevator.
Alex smiled. She was happy that the two were getting along so well.
"How old are you exactly? Alex says you are six years older than her."
"I am 24, since two months ago."
"Well, that's alright then."
They left the elevator.
In the lobby, the rest of their group waited. Alex hugged Liz and Edward Pleasure. She had enjoyed living with them and had missed the trio much.
"You have grown since I saw you last," Edward observed.
"Well, that might be because of the heels... But you have a new cane! It looks Batman-like."
"We missed you, too, hon," Liz whispered in her ear.
"Stop the sappiness!" Sabina ordered but grinned like she enjoyed the moment as well.
Edward laughed and Ben led the way.
They were seated in a corner of the large restaurant, all dressed nicely. Even Lemming, the poor idiot.
"So, Edward, Liz, you have met Ben, this is Chris, Wolf, Lemming and Snake," Alex introduced again.
"Nice to meet you all," Edward replied politely.
Ben smiled. "The pleasure is ours. Alex talks so much about you."
"Not too much, I hope?" Sab teased.
Alex smirked. "No. I just tell them the embarrassing parts."
"No, you wouldn't! I have better blackmail material now, remember?"
Alex continued to smirk. "The pool guy?"
Sabina needed Alex's help for a little scheme of hers to attract the guy's attention, off-duty. If the spy was grounded, she couldn't help her surrogate sister.
Sabina sighed. "Ah, darn it. You win. Again."
"I know. I'm just that good."
The Pleasures laughed; they knew Alex was joking.
"How come you guys know each other?" Snake asked.
"Al and I were working at Wimbledon for the tennis tournament when we were fourteen. We clicked, even though you managed to get into trouble again. Then Alex came with us to Cornwall on vacation."
Sab turned to her friend. "Have you been surfing since?"
"Not in Cornwall," Alex muttered, shivering at the memory.
"Thought so. Anyway. It was fun - not counting this other accident - and so we invited Al to come to France with us. Somehow you thought it was funny to dress up as a matador."
"It wasn't my idea," Alex protested.
"I don't care. It looked funny."
"She was hurt. Don't tease Alex too much," Liz intervened.
Sab shrugged dramatically. "Yeah; what can I say? You have a knack for finding trouble."
"It usually finds me."
"Whatever. In Scotland we were almost killed in a car accident and you saved us. Again. So we invited Al to stay as a family member. She thought she was putting us at risk - which is pure idiocy, by the way - and returned to good old England after about a year. And here we are now."
Then a waiter interrupted shortly. They ordered their food.
"What in the world did you do in a matador-costume?" Snake wondered.
Ben and Eagle exchanged a desperate look.
"I think I know. Tell me that it's not what I think it is.", her boyfriend pleaded.
Alex forced a smile on her face. "Then I won't."
"Oh man. They don't know about that?" Sabina interrupted.
"Not all of them, no," the teen spy confirmed.
"That's sad. Anyhow, how was your last term?"
"Not too bad." Alex shrugged.
Eagle shook his head. "I thought it was. At least half the male student body was leering at you."
"Well, seeing that I'm the only daughter of this Russian mobster and fairly decent looking - what did you expect?"
Sabina giggled. "Didn't they know about you two?"
"They did - but rumors were that Chris was simply my bodyguard posing as my boyfriend."
"They wouldn't be too far off then, would they?" Ben commented dryly.
Alex grinned. "Yes, so?"
Sabina was in hysterics. "Oh gosh. I haven't laughed like that in a while. C'mon. A bodyguard? Someone has a bit too much fantasy."
"I know. But my reputation kept the others at bay."
"Doesn't it always?"
"Hell no! Tom was too happy to 'soothe' legendary Alex Rider's now ex-fanclub after he left the school."
"And those boys were what?" Ben wondered.
Both girls stared at him, as if he was an idiot.
"Obviously interested."
"Nothing," they said at the same time.
Eagle laughed. (You can guess why.)
The rest of the dinner went much in the same way.
The Pleasures immediately took a liking to Eagle and included him in their invitation to spend Alex's next holiday in California with them. (Ben belonged to her family anyway.)
When it was time to say goodbye, plans were made for tomorrow to go shopping (the forecast mentioned rain the following day) and maybe swimming in two days.
Sabina hugged Alex and reminded her 'to lock the door'.
Nobody but the teen spy knew what she had in mind, even if they overheard the comment.
The soldiers and spies squeezed into the spacious elevator.
Ben smiled at Alex. "They are very kind."
"Yes. However, I feel guilty. My uncle almost killed Edward in France. That's why he uses the cane. And Scotland... Let's just say, it's always more of an adventure-themed holiday than you previously booked if you invite me."
"Your uncle?" Lemming stammered.
"Yes," Alex confirmed, exasperated. "The Sergeant should have named you Parrot."
Eagle grinned and squeezed her hand slightly. Ben and Wolf bit on their lips.
Lemming didn't notice. "Your uncle is an assassin?"
"Yes. He trained me a bit in self-defense. But now he is retired."
"Lemming, I believe you have met him. It's Taipan," Eagle added, biting back a full-out laugh flash. A few chuckles escaped his mouth nonetheless and he was shaking slightly.
For twenty-two seconds Lemming shut up.
It felt like a day at the spa to Alex.
They had reached the soldier's suite. Lemming's, Ben's, Wolf's and Snake's rooms were located there. (They shared.)
"So the Russian mobster isn't too far off, huh?" Lemming muttered.
Alex rolled her eyes. "It is. Good night."
Eagle walked her to her room, like the true gentleman he is underneath all of the cheerful craziness. Alex had slung her arm around his waist and his was holding hers.
"You know, you should consider moving in with me. Not in the unit flat, which would be highly awkward, but we could find someplace nice. That way we'd see more of each other in-between training and missions," he suggested.
Chris seemed to have thought a lot about their predicament.
Alex smiled. "I would love that."
They stopped outside of her room.
Eagle drew her in closer to kiss her. "Me too," he whispered.
Alex pulled his head down for better access. With one hand she unlocked the door and the other clung to her boyfriend.
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he was 'assaulted' with another, deeper kiss. Somehow, he ended up in her room, unsure where exactly this was going.
"Just making sure. Why am I in your room?"
"Because you, birdbrain, are the best nail polisher I know?" she retorted sarcastically. "Why did you think I didn't let you go?"
"I was just making sure I got this right."
"Shut up and kiss me, birdbrain."
"At your service, Princess."
That night Alex slept (when she finally did sleep) peacefully til her alarm woke her.
Alex opened her eyes to see the muscled chest of her boyfriend up close. She was lying half on top of him, secured in place by his arms.
Chris kissed her gently. "Good morning, Princess."
"Good morning, birdbrain."
Neither wanted to move from their current position. Even if they were risking to be found out.
"How did you sleep?"
"The best in a while. No nightmares."
His grin grew smug then.
She slapped his abs lightly. "No need to be so smug! I...just...felt safe, I guess."
Chris pulled her closer to himself, muttering: "So I did something right."
"It is...not that. I can't explain very well. I feel you around me. I hear your heart beat. And..."
Eagle kissed her. "I understand."
Alex returned the kiss. She rolled on her stomach, starting a new make-out session.
Two hours later, a worried Ben pounded on her door.
"Alex?"
"Ben."
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I just overslept."
The teen had to suppress a giggle at her own lie. It didn't help that her boyfriend was currently tickling her.
"Alright. Sabina is here."
"I'll be out in a sec." Ben went away, presumably to tell Sabina she was still in bed.
Alex groaned and got up. She slipped into a dress robe, handing Eagle another one. "Trust me she is worse than Ben. And she'll want to know all of the details."
"I'll see you later then. Be careful, okay?"
"I will be."
They stood in front of his secret door by then, still not quite able to let go. He kissed her again until she whispered: "You need to let me go, birdbrain."
Reluctantly he did.
Alex opened all of the windows, hurried to her closet, in the shower, out, dressed and was blow drying her hair when Sabina knocked.
Alex closed the windows and opened the door.
Ben stood behind Sabina, examining her. "You look cheerful," he finally commented.
"I haven't had a nightmare. The first night in two months and I actually slept!"
Ben decided to trust her and smiled. "That's good. I left some extra-money on your credit card, alright?"
"Thanks, Dad."
"Have fun!"
"We will. See you later."
She closed the door and sighed relieved, leaning against the wood for a second.
"Thank God for the benefit of the doubt," Alex muttered.
Sabina laughed. "So you slept, huh?"
"Yes, actually I did. Sometime around midnight."
"Midnight?" Sabina repeated, eyes widening. They had left at around nine pm.
Alex grinned, nodded and didn't elaborate.
"C'mon. A few more details?" Sabina begged.
Alex thought about it for a second, before deciding to have mercy. Also, she needed someone to talk about it. "He asked me to move in with him."
"Oh. And you said...?!"
"Let's go. I'll tell you on the way."
Their shopping spree ended in the late afternoon. Alex, Liz and Sabina sat in a cozy diner around the corner of the hotel, having a girl's night out.
"Mum, Chris asked Al to move in. I think she should. They hardly see each other otherwise."
"He is good for you. Four years ago I thought, you'd never be this happy again," Liz agreed.
"I know...", Alex was lost in memories of the last night, before focusing again. "He's crazy, but I think I love him."
"And your three overprotective brothers as well," Sabina added.
"Yes... Now, I need a way to tell Ben if we actually go through with this and make it seem like it was his idea..."
Sabina grinned slyly.
That was the Alex she knew and adored.
When they said their goodbyes, Eagle came to pick her up. He proceeded to carry her bags to Liz' and Sabina's amusement.
The couple walked down the street, holding hands and occasionally stopping to kiss.
Eagle smiled. "I missed you."
"I missed you too. It was fun but..."
"Not as crazy and annoying?" he supplied cheerfully.
They walked into the lobby.
"No. It wasn't," Alex was genuinely happy. "How was your day?"
"Well, mostly the same. Luke (Wolf) exploded during breakfast, Ben sent weird looks my way and the others declared me 'clinically not sane.'"
"So you had fun?" Alex replied, laughing.
By now, they waited for the elevator.
"Yes. I think he suspects something is up, but he doesn't know what which is driving him up the wall."
"Well, he is a spy. We are by default too curious for our own good."
Eagle laughed. "True. So swimming tomorrow?"
The doors dinged and they entered the elevator.
"Sabina. She has a crush on this lifeguard. Apparently even you pale in contrast."
Eagle stared at her, pretending to be extremely shocked. "What?"
"Yes... I know. I, too, thought it an impossible feat," Alex agreed, mock-serious, with a sad expression on her face.
"We should stay here," Chris muttered.
Alex sent him a flirtatious look through half-lidded eyes. "How would you convince me to change my mind?"
Eagle bend down to her. They kissed, until he whispered: "Hmm... A few things come to mind."
"What might they be?"
He laughed and kissed her again. "You, Princess, are a temptress."
The elevator dinged again.
Standing in the hallway were three astonished SAS soldiers and a spy.
Alex grinned. "Hi. How was your day?"
"As good as it gets with that annoying boyfriend of yours," Wolf growled.
"Please take him to the playpen or something. Honestly, he was even more insane than usual," Snake complained.
"If I wouldn't have been there, I wouldn't have thought it possible. But yes, I agree," Ben added gravely.
Eagle sighed. "Well, I had to endure hearing all about the latest fashion and lifeguards for twenty minutes, so consider the tally as even."
Ben crooked an eye brow. "Lifeguards?"
"Don't ask," Eagle advised.
The others shuddered. If it meant Eagle didn't want to talk about it...
"Well, I'm tired. Running around all day looking for clothes..." Alex yawned, adding the dramatic touch.
"Go to bed," Snake smiled. "Judging by the amount of bags, you earned your rest."
"And you stay in your room. No childish tantrums," Wolf ordered in Chris's direction.
Eagle saluted and the group parted.
They should have listened to the forecast.
Sunny with a chance of rain.
That it would be raining dead bodies was not specifically mentioned - but who cares about these technicalities?