Ghost of Christmas Eve

"After I had thought you had died, I listened to your advice and went and looked for SCORPIA. They told me that my dad had been an assassin that had worked for them. I believed them and trained with them, learning all the things I needed to be a successful assassin."

Alex got a faraway look on his face as he recalled his time with SCORPIA; he remembered how he had been treated as an adult by them and how they seemed to respect him for his skills more than MI6 ever did. Alex did not miss his time with SCORPIA but he had always hated how MI6 treated him like a child even though they sent him to do missions that even adults can't successfully complete.

"They sent me on a mission not long before I started training, Rothman sent me to kill Mrs Jones. She showed me a tape of how my dad had died, how Jones had given the command for someone to shoot him. I believed her and went to do the job, but I failed."

"Everyone makes a mistake at some time or rather Alex; it is nothing to be ashamed of."

He gave the assassin a small smile because although it was nice of the man to tell him that, he knew that in the world they lived in, one mistake could mean his life gone.

"It is not the mistake that I am upset about, it was the truth I found out afterwards. Blunt and Jones told me how my dad had been a double agent for MI6. They told me of the truth about his death, MI6 didn't kill him, they faked his death. Dad had wanted to quit and he organised a fake killing so that he could start anew with me and mum. We were meant to fly to France when I got an ear infection and had to stay back. Mum and dad were going to go first and I was to go later but their plane got blown up by my godfather, Ash."

At the mention of Ash, Alex thought of his Snakehead mission. He remembered how Ash had told him that Yassen had stabbed him in Malta and said absent-mindedly, "I think you stabbed him in the stomach once in Malta."

"Malta," Yassen muttered, "was one of my largest failures."

"Because Ash got away?"

Yassen looked surprised at this and replied with, "No, because your father had been captured and I had not been able to help him."

Alex opened his mouth to reply but didn't know what to say, so he closed it again and looked at the assassin in front of him. He cocked his head to the side and studied the Russian, he tried to imagine the assassin as a young boy but he could not do it. It was impossible for him to imagine Yassen as anything other than what he was, a cold blooded killer.

God, he was in a hotel with a cold blooded killer and he had willingly told the assassin something that just might make him kill Alex. Alex decided that he probably needed his brain to be checked, he was sure something was wrong in that skull of his.

But then he looked at the assassin, really looked at him. He seemed to be taking the news of John's betrayal quite well; he wasn't reaching for his gun or striding towards Alex with a knife. Hell, he didn't even look like he wanted to punch Alex.

Perhaps the assassin had missed the part about John being a traitor to SCORPIA, he did look really tired after all.

"Dad was killed by Ash but it had been Rothman who had given the order for his plane to be blown up. Rothman had loved my dad but she hated that he had not only betrayed SCORPIA, but he had betrayed her too."

Alex watched for Yassen's reactions to all this, he tried to understand what the assassin was feeling right now. It couldn't be easy; finding out that the one man you had looked up to had been lying to you the whole time you had known him.

Yassen was staring at the ground and when he finally looked up at Alex; his eyes were watery although he did not let the tears escape. His voice was coarse as he said something at last.

"I knew that John was MI6."

Alex gaped at Yassen and new questions formed in his mind, 'If you knew then why send me to SCORPIA? Why did you tell me that SCORPIA was my destiny when you knew all along that dad was MI6? Did you want me to die?'

The assassin didn't wait for Alex to voice his questions, he simply continued on.

"At first I had no idea that John was anything but SCORPIA, but the more missions I went on with him, the better I knew him. John had a sense of moral, he killed for money but he never tortured people. He didn't kill children and he always made the kills quick. The first time I suspected something was wrong, was on a mission in China."

He got a faraway look in his eyes and Alex knew that he was remembering the mission even though it must have been years ago. He knew that some things you just didn't forget.

"We had a hotel, one that had two bedrooms. It had been raining that day and I had gone out to buy food to make dinner. We had just finished our mission which had been tough and I thought that a home-cooked meal to celebrate would be a good idea. When I got back, John was on the phone. I don't think he knew I had come back, the rain had been pounding on the windows and I had already learnt to be silent with my actions at that time."

He paused and focused his gaze on Alex. Alex didn't know what he was looking for in him but he gave Yassen a small, tentative smile, encouraging him to carry on.

"I was curious as to who John was talking to as we had already called in to report on our mission. I was a curious boy and so I leaned against the door and listened in on John's conversation. At first I didn't get who he was talking to, why he was describing our most recent missions. Then he mentioned the word MI6 and it solved all the questions I had about his conversation. I remember standing up, feeling wobbly, like I was drunk. I had sat for a while on my bed in my room before walking out and starting to cook dinner, I don't remember exactly what happened after. I didn't tell John and we simply had dinner, making conversation about things that are unclear to me now."

Yassen's gaze returned to the ground and Alex felt like he should do something. He didn't know what to do but for some reason he found himself walking towards Yassen. When he reached the assassin, he squeezed his shoulder and sat on a chair beside the one Yassen was sitting on. He turned to face the assassin and it felt a little awkward since the chairs were next to each other instead of facing each other.

It was the assassin who twitched his lips at him this time, an expression of thanks for his silent encouragement.

"After that, I listened to John's conversations at every chance I got. I was in denial at first, but slowly everything started to make sense and I couldn't ignore the fact that John was a spy anymore. I never told him that I knew what he was, that I knew he was a traitor to SCORPIA. My love for John had outweighed my love for SCORPIA by millions and it was an easy decision to keep my mouth shut about what I knew."

He rested his elbow on the armrests and put his head in his hand. Alex felt sorry for Yassen as he listened to him recount his past. When Yassen spoke again, his voice was quiet almost too quiet for Alex to hear what he said.

"When Albert Bridge happened, I thought MI6 had double crossed him. I was so angry that MI6 had killed John, their agent who risked his life for them, and I didn't think. I was young and stupid; I didn't stop and think about what happened, I never even questioned why MI6 would just decide to kill him like that. I should have thought that it was a trick, but I was so angry at the time, I didn't think."

Alex wasn't sure but he thought that maybe Yassen was crying behind his hands, he wanted to comfort the assassin but he didn't know how. He may be a successful spy with many talents, but no one ever taught him how to comfort an assassin.

The idea of Yassen crying is a little absurd but Alex knew that although Yassen was an assassin, he was still a man. A man that could cry and laugh like any other, a man that could feel pain just like any being. If it were Sabina that was sad, he'd give her a hug. Somehow he didn't think the assassin would enjoy the hug like she did.

"I didn't think," His voice cracked a little and Alex watched his back heave, "and now I've messed everything up."

Screw this, Alex stood and promptly pulled Yassen out of his seat and gave him a nice, big hug. He felt the assassin stiffen and for a second he thought that the man might just kill him for touching him without permission. Then he felt the man slowly relax and Alex gave a sigh of relief. No spilling his blood for now.

"You couldn't have known, MI6 is great at covering things up and you weren't the only one fooled."

Alex didn't know if his words were comforting or simply making things worse but he threw caution out the window when he decided to hug the man so he figured he might as well be brave and try consulting the assassin.

I'd make a terrible psychiatrist.

The body in his arms shook and a quite laugh emerged from the assassin's lips.

"I'm glad you realise that."

He hadn't known he'd spoken out loud but he was glad, he had made Yassen laugh and he doubt that Yassen laughed often or easily. His arms were still around the assassin and he didn't know if he should release the man or keep on holding him. The position was a bit awkward and he wished that he'd thought about how to finish the hug before he'd given it.

It was Yassen who pulled back first but their eyes met before they could fully pull apart and they froze, staring into each other's eyes. Alex felt even more awkward and remembered a scene like this in one of Sabina's favourite films. He really needed to think before he gave out hugs in the future.

His eyes flickered to Yassen's lips as he remembered the passionate kissing scene that had occurred after the awkward eye staring scene.

He watched the lips get closer and thought of how he had seen those lips mutter about his destiny on Air Force One, he had a second to think, 'They look exactly the same as the last time I saw them, does this mean that he's going to die in my arms again?' before their lips touched and they pulled each other close once again.

The kiss was gentle and sweet, something Alex hadn't expected, well the kiss overall was something he hadn't expected. They didn't kiss for very long and it felt like they just started before Yassen pulled away again.

His eyes locked on ice blue eyes and he silently questioned the man on what he wanted. Alex wasn't sure what he wanted but a question popped into his mind and he voiced it without thinking of how inappropriate it was at a time like this.

"If you wouldn't kill me because of my relation to John then why kill Ian? He was my father's brother, they're closer in blood than me and Dad."

He froze just as he finished and realised that he really, really needed to get that brain of his checked out. He was absolutely sure something was wrong with it.

He was surprised that the man in his arms hadn't frozen or pulled away, if Yassen had just asked him a question like that after kissing him he'd be… well he didn't know how he'd react. However the laugh he received from Yassen was definitely not what he'd expected, the man's laugh shook his frame and Alex looked at the man with confusion written all over his face.

"Alex, if you were thinking about Ian while we were kissing then I was doing something wrong or you need to seek professional help."

The man grinned at him and he couldn't help smiling back, he liked this new Yassen and he felt honoured that the man trusted him enough to show him what he felt. Alex had never thought that he'd love an assassin no matter what, but it seemed that he was wrong. He still didn't know if he loved the man like a lover or a friend but he knew that Yassen was one of the last people left in this world that he cared about.

He did not expect Yassen to actually answer his question but he's learnt that he shouldn't try to predict what the assassin would or would not do.

"I had killed Ian because I thought that he had betrayed John, I was angry at him for working for MI6 when it was clear that they were the ones to kill John. It was my job and I thought that although John would not be happy I killed his brother, I had a good reason to do it. I never wanted to kill you because you never knew about what happened to your father, I thought that I was helping you by sending you to SCORPIA, it seems that I was wrong once again."

Alex heard the guilt in Yassen's words and he felt pained that he couldn't do anything to help the assassin. He gave the man another kiss and then they both parted with a silent mutual agreement: there was to be no sex tonight.

Alex still wasn't sure what he wanted even after all the kissing they'd done, he was definitely attracted to the man but he didn't know if he wanted to become an assassin's lover. He was glad that Yassen wasn't pushing the matter and they both walked towards the counter to grab a drink.

There were still millions of things they needed to talk about but Alex remembered how tired the man had been and so he locked up his questions for another day and suggested to the man for him to sleep.

"If I sleep, what will you do?"

Alex checked his watch and realised that if he headed to the Pleasures' house, they would still be awake.

"I've got to go check in with my family, I'll come wake you up at 2:30 so that you can do your job."

"You do not have to come back, I can set an alarm."

Alex looked the man in the eyes and said, "I want to."

Those three words contained so much more meaning and it was those three words that started their complicated relationship.

When he arrived back at the hotel at 2:27am on Christmas day, he woke the assassin up and gave him another kiss.

Then he grabbed his coat and left, not looking back. He knew he'll see the assassin again.

Epilogue

After that first night, Alex and Yassen often met up to talk. Alex asked all the questions that he could think of and Yassen answered with patience, never getting annoyed at the amount of questions Alex had. Sometimes they'd meet up before one of their missions, sometimes after. It wasn't often for them to meet while both on a mission but they were professionals and acted like the enemies they were supposed to be if they did meet.

The first time they slept together was on Alex's 21st birthday. They had been meeting each other for over three years by then and Alex had finally decided what he wanted from Yassen. After three years of silent messages Yassen had understood exactly what he wanted when he started unbuttoning the man's shirt. Yassen had silently questioned him if he was sure and he simply said, "I want to."

Alex finished his degree in business when he was 23, three months after graduating; he signed a contract with the CIA, stating him as a full time agent. When Yassen found out, he was not very pleased, but before he could utter a single word Alex said, "I want to."

Yassen retired way before he did; the former assassin became an accountant for three weeks before he admitted defeat and bought Alex a brand new car. He had finally learnt to never bet with Alex Rider.

Yassen became an engineer after that and worked to fix cars, planes, trains, boats and everything that could need fixing. He had started his own business and in two years he became the best of the best. However Yassen was still Yassen and he only worked for people who could pay his price and he charged more than any other engineer so people did not often call him to fix their washing machine.

Alex retired from active spy work when he became thirty-five and instead became the new head of CIA covert operations department. Yassen was twenty-one years older than him and he had been fifty-eight when Alex, as the head of covert ops, asked him to become a flight teacher for the trainees.

Yassen had a passion for flying and he owned both a helicopter and a plane, he flied often and when Alex had asked, he only pretended to think about it before saying yes. However Yassen was not born to teach and few students liked him as a teacher. He made it almost impossible to pass his class and out of five of his trainees, only one or two would receive a pass from him. Although he wasn't the most cheerful teacher, the students he passed were always the ones that succeeded in missions and never froze at the sign of danger.

At the age of seventy Yassen was forced to retire and he absolutely did not sulk around their home for a month before Alex decided to retire with the assassin. Yassen had been against it from the very beginning when he heard about it and no matter how Alex said, "I want to." Yassen refused to let him do it.

Yassen never like Alex working for the CIA yet he could not deny that his partner loved his job, he would not be the one to cause Alex to retire at the age of forty-nine and he was very stubborn. Yassen won his first fight with Alex when he was seventy and he was proud, even if it did take thirty-one years for him do it.

Alex Rider and Yassen Gregorovich were not always perfect for each other but they managed to live together with minimal damage.

Well, almost minimal damage.

Tell me what you think! I hope you liked that :) Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!