I could not get this chapter to cooperate with me so I've split it into two, so this is short, but at least it's something. Hopefully, the story will now work with me and it won't take too long to get the next chapter up.

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Fox huffed, flopping into Alex's abandoned chair. "Well that went well," he snarked.

Snake sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Perhaps that wasn't the best way to go about things." He shrugged at the looks on his teammate's faces, all of which said 'What gave you that idea?'. "To be honest, I had forgotten that he's still only fourteen. He certainly doesn't act it."

"No, he doesn't," Wolf grumbled, crossing his arms. "And I don't like that. I don't like what that means." He huffed. "If this is a Cub from a different world or whatever, what the hell are we doing? We know he knows us, but he's convinced I, the other me, whatever, hate him. And obviously he doesn't have that close of a relationship with any of you either." He fixed a glare on the floor by his feet.

Eagle hopped onto the counter, keeping half an eye on the tree Alex was in. "I'd say to ask him, but I don't think he'd answer." Nods were the only response he received as he glanced at the food and grimaced. "Dunno 'bout you guys, but I kind of lost my appetite."

Fox snorted. "Will wonders never cease?" he teased, though it sounded dull and his heart wasn't really in it. He twitched a couple fingers toward the fridge and caught the blood Wolf tossed him. "Unfortunately, not all of us can afford to miss regular meals," was added as he stole Snake's coffee mug, tore the top off the bag with his teeth, and dumped the blood into the coffee. He grinned at the look of disgust that Snake gave him.

"You have your own mug. Why do you always do that with mine?"

"Because you always have the same reaction and it's always funny?"

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Speaking of breakfast, Cub didn't eat. What do we do about that?"

Eagle looked at him. "You're actually asking?"

Wolf narrowed his eyes at the brunet. "I doubt that me growling at this Cub to eat is going to work."

"No, probably not," Snake agreed, looking away from his glare at Fox. "Maybe I should take him something as a peace offering?"

Eagle nodded. "Give you a chance to explain to him without us in the way."

The older blond nodded, pushing to his feet and switching places with the team's leader to dig around in the fridge. "Do you think he likes the same things our Cub does?"

The others shrugged. Fox tossed an apple to Eagle as Snake straightened.

"Not that he can really eat much of it if he's up a tree. Take him a sandwich," Wolf commented, tossing a butter knife and a loaf of bread on the counter.

"Think he still likes peanut butter, pickles, and salami?" Eagle asked, laughter in his voice. "I don't think I've seen him eat one in a while."

"Maybe he finally outgrew that?" that was Snake, turning with a jar in one hand and a canteen in the other.

"Like you 'outgrew' needing to make sure everything on your plate was separate and had to be eaten in a certain order?" Wolf retorted, eyebrow raised in amusement.

Snake shrugged, slathering peanut butter and jelly on bread before wrapping it. "By the way, that is water, right?" He nodded at the canteen.

"Yeah. I tossed it in there yesterday." Eagle sighed softly, crossing his arms. "Feels like it's been longer what with what's going on with Cub."

His teammates nodded soberly, watching Snake finish and head outside in silence.

As he approached the tree, the mage focused on Alex, seated nearly halfway up as the teen was. It certainly wasn't something the boy he had taken care of would have done. While he may have enjoyed being in the air, it was something he refused to do without one of the unit nearby.

"Cub?"

Alex looked down, brown eyes inscrutable. After a little, he sighed and started to make his way down. He stopped, settling just over the soldier's head instead of the height he had been at earlier.

"Yeah?" And didn't he sound petulant, even to himself?

Snake forced a weak smile. "You didn't eat. I brought you something." He held up the foil covered sandwich, canteen, and an apple. "Do you want me to pass them up or...?"

Alex sighed again and looked away. "I'm not hungry."

"Be that as it may Cub, you shouldn't skip eating. You've collapsed of it before," Snake responded, tone stern.

Alex's lips twisted. "...How does he put up with it? It was just lies, excuses, and now I really am sick, weak. How can he stand it?"

Snake blinked then turned and set the food by the tree. "He's always been like that. He's never had the chance to be any different," he responded, voice soft, as he looked up at the displaced spy. "I can't begin to imagine how you feel, C– Alex. But I do know that I will do what I can to help you. So will the others. If you're willing to give us the opportunity."

"It's not that easy."

"Why isn't it? What happened that you feel you can't trust us?"

"I can't trust a lot of people," Alex snapped, dropping from the tree in preparation to stalk off.

"Why?" the older blond pressed, debating catching the teen's arm to hold him back. He decided not to as it certainly wouldn't help foster any trust.

Alex spun toward the man. "Because I get it thrown in my face or they die or it turns out that I was lied to or I'm blackmailed or I'm hated just for existing! I just can't be bothered to try anymore!"

Snake's expression fell. "You can't actually believe all of that," he said, vaguely questioning. "You're too young to have given up."

Alex looked away again. "Yeah, I do believe it. I've lived it. I'm blackmailed into working as a spy. I have to lie to my friends and classmates that I've been sick, not out saving the world and nearly dying in the process. It turned out that my godfather was a double agent and is the one who killed my parents. At one point, I didn't have any choice but to go to my enemies if I wanted any actual answers about my own damn life or family. And that ended with me getting shot! And when I fist met all of you, I was forced into the same special forces training that fully grown and trained soldiers had trouble with and got treated like I was a waste of space, an inconvenience, and that if I so much as breathed in any of your directions, I'd get beaten into a pulp! So tell me again how I can't believe it, how I can't give up!" he half-yelled, getting himself worked up again. And since none of this is real or will impact my life in any way, it doesn't matter that I've said all of that. Nothing is going to change.

"We– Our other selves hit you?"

He sighed softly. "No, not really. Shoved me around, insulted me, a couple of swings that missed on purpose, that was it. You... They were pretty gentle, all things considered. But the way they acted toward me, how you treated me, it was horrible for a scared, grieving barely fourteen kid who didn't even want to be there. You were all terrifying, so you'll have to excuse me for not trusting you."

Put like that, Snake found that he couldn't blame Alex for thinking what he did, not in the least. He wished it weren't the case though. "I can somewhat see your viewpoint, but surely you can see that we're not the same men you know. Not exactly at any rate."

"And that's part of the problem. I can't let myself get close to you because you aren't them. I can't... let myself hope just to have it taken away."

Snake moved to hug Alex but stopped himself. Considering what he had seen of the boy so far and what he had been told, the mage knew it wouldn't be well received. Not now anyway. "But, if you don't allow some sort of hope, then the life you're living is going to be somewhat empty. Think of us as different people if you prefer, but you shouldn't shut us out for however long you'll be with us."

Alex closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want to hurt anymore and that will."

Snake frowned. Talking to him was like dancing around landmines at times. "Not much of a life without some pain. You can't really appreciate the good things if there aren't any bad."

Alex snorted. "It seems like all I've been dealing with recently has been bad. If that's true, then where's the good?"

"Maybe it's right in front of you." Snake rubbed a hand over his short hair. "It's obvious that you need a break, maybe this is it."

"Or maybe this is just one huge hallucination," Alex muttered.

"Perhaps," Snake replied, shrugging. "But whose?" He smiled slightly. "Why don't you come inside and talk with us?" He held out an arm in invitation.

Alex didn't answer, staring instead at the man's arm, remembering the blood that had been on it earlier. He knew that if it wasn't for that so-called magic, Snake most likely would have bled out, the wound had been that deep and at just the right angle to cut into the tendons and large veins. And now he was acting as if it hadn't happened, as if he hadn't nearly crippled or killed himself. It was just like how they all had just about completely ignored Alex nearly hitting one of them with the knife earlier. Just what were these guys used to?

"Cub? Is something wrong?" Snake had noticed the smaller blond's fixation, but didn't think anything of it. He was used to healing and magic and having the ability to save someone from some mortal wounds so he couldn't really grasp how someone who had to rely on traditional medicine and doctors would find it difficult to accept so easily.

"I'm just so sick of people getting hurt because of me!" Alex burst out, his eyes snapping up to glare at the other blond. And there was so much more to that than just the obvious, but he couldn't bring himself to expand on it, tired from this conversation and his body telling him that something was wrong and he really didn't want to think on it, couldn't deal with it now.

"I did it to myself. You didn't make me," Snake countered. "And I really doubt that you're to blame for anyone else you think you may have gotten hurt."

The look Alex shot him was so purely Wolf that the blond soldier was taken aback somewhat. "What would you know? You weren't there. Hell, I've killed people so don't tell me I'm not to blame." He ran a hand through his own hair in agitation. "Besides, why did you do it, huh? Because of me. Because you were trying to show me something or prove a point or whatever. In the end, it was my fault. Whether you could heal it or not."

Brown eyes dropped down and to the side, but before they were fully turned away, Snake was able to see just how tired and worried and angry and, frankly, afraid this Cub was, and it broke his heart to see that in his pseudo-son. He reached out and gently tugged the teen against his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around the boy as if that could protect him from every ill in the world. He wasn't thinking about how the younger might take the action, he just knew it was needed.

And Alex let him, hesitating before lifting his arms to return the hug, squeezing his eyes shut to pretend that this was real, that he deserved this. That this was where he belonged.

One could certainly wish.