Alex was dreaming of doppelgängers, an evil Si and a cruel and malicious Sabina intent on live vivisection, rather than the creepy facsimiles of teenage pupils. Alex woke abruptly and saw it was only 6:26 AM. Si was laying flat on his back snoring. Both men were still fully clothed having crashed after getting home at 2AM after a truly excellent shut-in at the pub. Alex lay in the morning light and blamed his nightmare on eating two more slices of cake. He got up and was not surprised when he queasy as he had eaten far too much last night.

After brushing his teeth, furry from the day before and rinsing his mouth with water, he decided to shower. He stank something awful.

He stood in the cascade of warm water and washed away the lingering smells of the party. It was proving to be the strangest gathering of friends in his entire life. Paul had paid for agency staff to cover Alex's job for the entire weekend, so he could continue to celebrate with his ex-classmates. He washed his hair to get out the smell of smoke as Si, Cass, Dieter, Edward and Paul had lit up huge Havana cigars after the cake had been demolished. Alex then wondered if Si had been a smoker in the past. His boyfriend had really savoured the hand rolled luxury tobacco. Apart from an occasional drag on a joint in San Francisco, Alex had never seen the lure of tobacco, not when hard earned cash was better spent elsewhere. As he towelled himself dry, his thoughts still lingering on his nightmare as the shadow of the clones still creeped him out. He re-entered the bedroom and smiled at the vision of his sleeping life-partner. He could not imagine life without Si now. The comfort of not being alone when he woke was usually all he needed to shake of the lingering horrors office past. That was the difference from old 'disfunctional' Alex to his present day self. Si and his house was his home. He had not really ever felt like he truly belonged anywhere before. During his childhood he had always been an outsider, never really fitting in as he'd been dragged around Europe with Ian and Jack, never having a family as Ian was never 'uncle' or 'dad'.

He took a deep breath, he could smell the acrid odour of stale tobacco coming off Sleeping Beauty, which put him off climbing back into bed. He silently made his way downstairs to the kitchen for tea and toast. Sustenance to prepare him for a day of sight seeing, rich food, fine wine and excess.

…

With the sounds of happy chatter in the garden, James Sprintz observed his first close friend from inside the kitchen. For the past six years he had often wondered whether he had missed warning signs and could have stopped Alex disappearing. Even after his friend had returned to London in 2004, he had assumed the witty and sarcastic emails meant the ex-spy had bounced back from the crushing grief and depression. The man in question now sported a bright smile and only had eyes for the man at his side. Through the open patio door to the garden, the dark haired twenty-five year old noticed the subtle touches and body language showing intimacy and closeness between the two men. He for one had never guessed Alex had been attracted to the same sex.

Sabina walked into the kitchen after a brief visit to powder her nose. "Doesn't he look happy… I never thought I'd live to see the day Alex was completely relaxed or even settled. He was so uptight in April. Now, he's planning his civil ceremony. Its so romantic and well, Si is just so there. Alex needs someone like that."

James decided to ask Alex's foster sister the million dollar question "Did you always know he was gay?"

The dark haired young journalist laughed "I guessed he was bi at school, not that he dated anyone. He had a serious crush on Tom Harris' brother. Mind you Jerry Harris is a total Adonis, you should check out his website. Alex has a thing for older partners as well."

"Right, well I can't talk. I've only started dating seriously in the last year. I think Stellenbosch and those clones seriously fucked all of us up at that school. Paul was the first of all of us to settle down. I give it two years max and he'll be a dad."

"Is that an official bet between you guys then?"

…

Alex knew there was a mountain of clearing up to do after Sabina said her goodbyes. All had left at a respectable hour as they either had work or flight plans for the morning. Si had already gone upstairs to have a long soak in the bath. As he went to start tidying, he noted James was still sat in the kitchen nursing a beer.

"Hey, Jamie. Didn't your dad leave two hours ago?"

"Yeah, I think all the partying got to him. Needed to go lie down. Hasn't it been brilliant to catch up with the guys?"

"Yeah it has." Alex could read that his one time close friend was obviously nervous.

"Lex, I feel like I let you down. Three days before you disappeared we had that long phone conversation and you had talked of going to France to track down where your Mum and Dad were planning to settle in Brittany. Then nothing, after you walked out of your bedsit. My dad and the Pleasures paid for Private Investigators, but you moved often. Then Si tell us, you met that March in Soho. Were you really just stealing?"

"Yeah, but I never hustled. I still have issues over my body image. Si was my first boyfriend. Not that I had dating anyone for three years. I let a good woman slip through my fingers and everyone I dated after her did not come close to Bea."

"Oh…Got your heart broken?"

"No, neither of us were ready for commitment at that point. It was beautiful and brief. I guess I'm a weird monogamous type of guy. I like flirting, but belonging and having a home beats anything I had before. You have nothing to blame yourself for, I needed my space to get better. Its been a journey, but its been one I had to travel to get my head together. I might have met Si in 2005, but I was nowhere near sane enough to date him then."

Silence settled over the pair as the guest finished his beer. Jamie looked at the plates, bottles, glasses and bowls littering the surfaces. "I'll help you clear up shall I, wifey?"

"Quit the comments about my role in this relationship. Si does his share. His speciality is breakfast in bed. He really spoils me."

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Look I get you're no girl. I think you're good together. Lucky bastards in fact. I still need to get the hang of the whole deal over commitment and cohabiting. Took me long enough just to move out. Dad still rings me three or four times a day and I only live twenty minutes down the road."

"One step at a time, Jamie. If you're like me, you give up on love and then it happens when you're not looking. Well, sort of anyway. I would never say anything to do with my life was perfect. Si has had a bumpy love life as well. His ex was a complete bitch with a capital B."