CHAPTER 6- Spark of Humanity.

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Alex dropped his grin the moment he closed the door. He turned back to his room, staring at the balcony. He walked over and opened it.

"Enjoy the show?" he asked the assassin, moving aside so the man could come in. So much for not showing up tonight. He had become aware of the man's presence around the third time he'd taken Mutt. He could have gotten rid of Mutt then, he was determined not to let Yassen spoil his fun.

Yassen shook his head. "You play too many games at once, Alex. Was it really necessary to damage the boy so thoroughly?"

Alex shrugged as he sat on his bed, grinning. "Probably not, but it was more fun."

"It would have been simpler to kill them both," Yassen growled.

Alex snarled. "That's not very smart, Yassen. MI6 would have known something had changed. This way, they think I'm deep in my cover and Mutt will report back that I've found a way into the Summit."

"Why did it matter?"

Alex hopped off the bed and bent underneath it. He located the safety box and brought it out, putting on the bed. Entering the combination, he threw open the lid. There was easily almost a hundred thousand dollars in cash in it.

"This is why. I can't afford to MI6 to cut off my cash supply. I've flashed enough to keep my cover, but I've been stashing the rest," Alex explained.

Yassen arched an eyebrow, impressed, but curious about it, as he sat on the bed as well. "Alex, you are aware the odds of surviving your coup on MI6 are very low?"

He would barely admit to himself that the thought pained him. Everything about this did. Alex had grown into a man, despite his age, and that man was a killer. He'd told Alex about his father, but it hadn't fazed the boy in the least. He had set a course and was determined to see it through, no matter the cost.

Yassen recognized that in him. His father, John Rider, had been much the same in many things, but never quite as ruthless as Alex was obviously capable of being. John had done what was needed, but he had rarely taken any sort of pleasure from it.

He was sure that John would never have wanted this life for his son. He would have wanted the boy safely, in school, making friends and going through the normal trials of youth. But Yassen had unwittingly taken that chance away from the boy, and immersed him into a world Alex simply hadn't been prepared for.

But in the end, this was where all paths led. Alex's destiny had been written almost from the moment he was born. MI6 had tried to harness it, and had failed. Instead they had unleashed a force more deadly than they ever could have anticipated.

Alex nodded. "I know. If I don't survive, it's to go to her parents. You'll find them, I'm sure."

Yassen frowned at that. "I will find them?"

"You can't come with me, Yassen. I need you to train me, help me come up with a plan, but no, you can't come. As you said, the odds of succeeding are next to nil. I won't sacrifice you for my grand crusade," Alex explained softly.

He had decided that, too. He was nothing, a spec on the earth existing only for the moment when he would take his revenge. Nothing else existed for him, nothing else mattered. Except the man standing in front of him. His last spark of humanity was for this man, and he wouldn't sacrifice it in the name of revenge.

Yassen frowned. "Your crusade, as you call it, will mean a shifting of power to SCORPIA. They will not let you take it on alone."

Alex laughed. "They don't have much choice, do they? I hold all the cards, here, Yassen, and I will not sacrifice the last thing on this earth I give a damn about just to appease them."

Yassen sighed and closed his eyes. He shifted to get off the bed, but Alex's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Don't, Yassen. Don't deny you feel the same way. I see how you look at me, sometimes, as though you're trying to figure out if I'm a man or a child."

Yassen looked back at the eyes that had haunted his dreams since meeting him. Then, they had been innocent, though angry. Now, they were the eyes of a killer. But the change hadn't stopped him from wanting them.

The nights he'd spent with Alex had been a form of private torture. He couldn't deny his attraction to him. It was beneath him to do so. The boy was most definitely attractive, and held a power that Yassen couldn't begin to comprehend. He had watched him use that power to get what he wanted, and had vaguely wondered if Alex were capable of using it in any other way.

What was harder to admit, however, was that it went beyond merely a sexual attraction. He cared for Alex. Was, in fact, in love with him. He couldn't explain why. He couldn't say when it had happened. It simply had, and as with all things, Yassen had accepted it as a part of himself. He wasn't inhuman, nor did he pretend to be. He had emotions, needs and desires like any other. He was merely better at suppressing them than most.

But to be offered it on a plate? To be able to taste what he had denied himself? More curiously, was Alex capable of feeling anything anymore, or would Yassen simply be another means to an end?

"Have you decided?" Alex asked quietly.

"Decided what?"

"Whether I'm a man or a child."

Yassen cocked his head. "I think you're both, Alex. Moving from one to the other however it might suit your needs. I think MI6 has underestimated how dangerous you are, and I think that you have underestimated how vulnerable you are."

Alex licked his lips. "But do you want me?"

Yassen sighed, resigned to his fate. "Put away the cash box, Alex."

Alex nodded and complied. He should have known Yassen wouldn't. The man was a professional killer. They had a mission to complete, and it would be done. Even if he survived, Alex would probably never see the man again.

He stood up, almost afraid to turn around and face the assassin again. He was surprised when he felt gentle hands on his shoulders, fingers that moved up his neck to cup his face. He leaned back a little into the firm body behind him, closing his eyes. Yassen's height advantage on him meant he merely had to slightly turn his head to take those fingers into his mouth, sucking on the tips.

He shivered as he felt Yassen's breath ghosting his ear. "I want you for as long as I can have you," the assassin whispered, emotion coloring his voice.

Alex nodded. If they couldn't be human with each other, when the rest of the world demanded they be stone, then they were lost. Here, between them, it had to be Alex and Yassen, not Agent and Assassin. He was surprised not to feel that desperate need to control that had driven all of his other encounters. For the first time, he simply wanted to surrender.

Yassen smiled as the boy melted under his touch. This wouldn't be about power, this would be about feelings, something both thought they had long since become incapable of.

He slid the robe gently off of the boys shoulders, kissing across them and at the base of his neck. Alex turned his head away, exposing his throat, letting the movement beg for the attention it so desperately wanted.

Alex shivered as Yassen complied, ghosting his lips over the skin, raising goose bumps. Despite his earlier activities, Alex found himself hardening again. And with it came need. He moaned as Yassen bit him, hard, in the crook between his shoulder and his neck.

He turned in the man's arms, his fingers finding a foothold in the gaps between the buttons and he pulled. The shirt came apart and he pushed it off. He was already working on the jeans by the time it hit the floor.

Yassen continued to hold him, as if sensing that it was the only thing grounding Alex to the moment. His kissed, sucked and nipped at Alex's throat, and revelled in the feel of Alex's rapid pulse beneath his lips. He let his pants fall, and without breaking stride, kicked them off his ankles.

He pulled back for a moment. "Are you sure you want this? It won't be like the others."

Alex nodded. "I'm sure. Right now, it's the only thing I'm sure of."

Yassen kissed him, hard, some part of him wanting to make sure Alex was safe here, in his arms, if nowhere else. Alex responded in kind, taking anything Yassen was willing to offer him.

Alex broke away, gasping. He needed more! He guided them both to the bed, then laid his body lengthwise over top of Yassen's. He suckled the adams apple that tempted him with every swallow, then moved down to the nipples resting in a light smattering of hair. He nipped at one, then the other, enjoying the growls that came from the deadly man under him.

This was a new kind of pleasure. This was taking pleasure in giving it, and having it received. He felt a new surge of interest in realizing it could be this way, too. His hands moved down to take the proud shaft into his hand, and was mildly surprised at it's thickness. He raked his finger nails over the sensitive skin, swallowing Yassen's groan with his mouth as he kissed him.

Yassen felt the tongue over his lips, gently asking for permission to enter, and opened his mouth, entangling his own with it. The hesitancy of the tongue contrasted sharply with the sure, firm movement of the hands on him and combined to pull him far too close to the edge.

He expertly flipped them over, careful to move most of his weight onto the bed, and not be too heavy on him. He broke off the tango he had been dancing, gasping, and looked down at the wonder beneath him. Sweat lightly coated their bodies, both were panting from the exertions of being slow. Brown eyes almost black with lust looked back up at him, trusting, wanting, needing. "Alex-".

"Please," Alex begged breathlessly. He didn't understand what he was begging for, but he knew he needed, and that Yassen could provide it.

Yassen nodded. He reached under the pillow where he knew the lube remained from earlier tonight. He knew he should turn Alex over, make it easier, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He needed to see the boy's face.

His fingers lube, he reached down and found his goal. Before he could touch it, Alex surged up to grab a hold of his lips again, at the same time, pushing his ass onto the waiting finger. Yassen moaned in the kiss. He pushed a second digit in, scissoring to open the tight ring of muscle.

Alex broke away from the kiss, arching his neck backward as he hissed in pleasure. Yassen was transfixed by the sight of it. He'd had a lot of lovers in his past, but none had been as beautiful in their responsiveness as Alex. He had to close his eyes to keep from coming then and there.

"Now," Alex whispered pleadingly. Yassen opened his mouth to protest, but Alex stole the words by lightly nipping his bottom lip. "Don't care. Now," he demanded again, using his hips to fuck himself harder on the fingers in his ass.

Yassen removed his fingers, knowing Alex wasn't ready yet, but not being able to deny him, or himself, for much longer. He pushed Alex gently onto his back, and lined himself up. He pushed past the ring. He stopped when Alex gasped, whimpering, his muscles clamping tightly around the crown. He was shaking with the effort of going slow, but was determined not to hurt him.

Alex started to move his hips again, working himself farther onto Yassen's prick, making the older man moan. Finally unable to remain still Yassen pushed himself deeply into the welcoming channel, groaning as Alex arched his back, wrapping his legs around his waist.

Yassen continued to stroke into the willing body, then changed his angle. He was rewarded when Alex cried out in surprise, his entire body tensing at the onslaught of pleasure as Yassen hit his prostate with each stroke.

Alex used his heels as leverage to push Yassen into him faster. He had completely abandoned himself to what was happening. That desperate need had faded the moment he'd felt the assassins fullness inside him, replaced with a gentle urging for more.

He cried out again as Yassen took his leaking erection into his hand, stroking firmly in time with his own ministrations. It was more than Alex could take. He arched and came harder than he ever had, shouting out, his climax bringing about Yassen's own.

They lay gasping together, riding out the last waves of their orgasms, as the sun crawled slowly up the sky. Had it only been a bare two hours since the man had been hiding outside on his balcony?

Alex stretched, enjoying the delicious sensations still coursing through him. He felt whole, and a peace settled over him that he hadn't known since before his Uncle died. Yassen beckoned him over, surprising Alex, but he went willingly. He laid his head in the crook of Yassen's arm and moved his hand over the man's chest. Yassen's arm immediately cupped his shoulder, bringing him closer. Alex slipped his leg between Yassen's and settled, content, comfortable and drowsy.

"What were you thinking about, just now?" Yassen asked, having seen the flash of something darker cross Alex's face as he moved.

"My Uncle," Alex answered. He felt Yassen tense, but shook his head. "Don't. Life is what it is, and there's no point in wishing it would change."

"And where do we go from here?"

"From here we take out MI6. Until then, we enjoy the ride," Alex explained, pushing himself up and out of the warm and welcoming arms. He wanted to stay there forever, but he hadn't lost his focus.

He showered and dressed quickly, moving to make some toast while Yassen did the same.

Yassen stood watching. Finally he cleared his throat. "If you have any images or ideas of me, you should get rid of them. Here, with you, I am only a man."

Alex nodded. "I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes, I do. But I still need you to train me," Alex stated. "And I can't afford to want something worth living for." He turned to Yassen. "Neither of us can."

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