Very big thank you going out to Crazimani, for pointing out that Alex's eyes are not blue, they are, in fact, hazel. And a thank you to everyone else for humoring me. Well, now that my reputation as an author has been tarnished, let's continiue :)

"Hello, stranger," Hera said almost under her breath for she found not many words could come to her. He left her breathless as a strange fire began to burn through her veins when he looked at her with such quiet determination that he would not be the first to crumble. He was just as wonderful as when they last met; he made her heart ache with that feeling of want and need. He had undone the first few buttons of his crisp, white shirt and Hera's eyes followed the buttons and looked away as her mouth became drier and she had to swallow hard. His beautiful blue eyes looked her up and down slowly and he began to feel that familiar sense of danger when she was around and he had forgotten, or perhaps never appreciated, it's seductive quality. Many men could understand this emotion that was taking Alex over; for when Hera looked at you with those sharp, diamond-blue eyes and her soft, full lips opened slightly to take a breath, it broke all bonds to common sense that you had.

"Hera," was all he could say and she took a step off the stairs. She was only a meter away from him and he wanted, so badly, to hold her again. But he knew he couldn't. He had to remind himself of what she was, what she had become. There were a few more moments of agonizing silence, which were so painful that they both noticed, but did not point out, the tears that came to them. Suddenly, Hera took a step beside him and looked around the room.

"I remember this room." She said and Alex noticed the quaver in her voice. She took another step forwards so she had her back to him. He turned to her and wiped his eyes on his sleeve hurriedly. She blinked away tears furiously and pointed to a black leather couch, "I slept there once." She said nonchalantly. "And there," she pointed to his desk, "you cleaned my wounds." Hera said and tried so desperately not to let her voice tremble any longer. She put her arm down and bowed her head, focusing completely on not thinking about him, of how much she wanted him.

"Hera," Alex said again and just watched her back, willing her with all his might for her to turn around. "You're here to protect me?" He asked and she turned to him.

"Yes." She fiddled for a moment with a silver bracelet on her arm, "Scorpia have risen from the dead." Hera muttered, "they want you, but you know too much about MI6." She ran a hand through her long, chocolate coloured hair. Alex did not look at her but nodded.

"Why you?" He asked and looked directly at her. She jumped slightly when he spoke so harshly.

"I'm on vacation." She said simply. They looked at each other, Alex looked uncomprehending for a second, before they smiled bashfully.

"Some vacation." He commented and she laughed. "The biker?" She nodded, "and the waiter?" She nodded again with a smile and put a hand to her mouth. Alex wished she wouldn't do that, he loved seeing her smile, it made him grin too. "How did you…?" He tapped his head and she put a hand to her forehead to feel the damage.

"I ruined someone's lunch." Was all she said and Alex ran a hand through his blonde locks and slowly, as the silence carried on, their smiles faded. Hera pointed up the stairs.

"Sabina…lives here?" Alex missed the hope in her voice that she was wrong but he nodded. "Oh," she forced a smile, she was good at this; pretending she was fine when she wasn't. "I like her." She said as though consenting to his living arrangements. They stood awkwardly again and Hera fiddled with her bracelet some more.

"Do you…have anyone?" Alex asked but Hera shook her head with a smile. Alex cracked his knuckles, a gesture Hera was familiar with; he did this when angry or nervous and in return she bit her lip. Alex watched her do this and took a deep, shuddering breath, he had always loved her lips.

"You know," Hera began and there was something, almost angry, in her voice that made Alex look at her in surprise. "When you screamed at me, all those years ago," she closed her eyes and when she opened them they were glazed over with tears. "And I ran away from you?" Alex was speechless with the sudden change in atmosphere that he nodded, "I waited, for years, years, for you to follow me." Her brow furrowed as she remembered this pain she had to endure. "But you didn't. You didn't even try!" She shouted at him, "and slowly, I tried to forget you." Hera wiped her eyes and looked at him. "Why, Alex?" She prompted him but was scared when he looked at her with angered eyes. Alex moved forwards and grabbed her shoulders.

"You think you were the one who was hurting?" He snarled at her and her bottom lip trembled as his hands dug into her arms. "You think I could forget you so easily?" Alex snapped and shook her violently, "Hera!" He shouted to get her attention and when she opened her eyes both were caught off guard of how close they were. Their faces were mere inches away and their bodies were pushed up against each other as Alex forced her to him. "Not a single night goes by where I don't think about you." His harsh voice lowered to a whisper. Where I don't want you." His eyes skimmed her terrified face, "where I don't need you." He let go of her and took a step back as Hera winced and massaged her arms. "And then I remember…what you are." He shook his head and with a sick smile, looked to those blue eyes, "a murderer." He was surprised when she laughed.

"And what were you?" She snapped and her eyes narrowed on him. "Redeem yourself Alex!" She shouted when he said nothing, "tell me, how innocent you were compared to me?" When he remained silent, she laughed again. "How can you call me a murderer? I was saving lives-"

"But after a while you never felt anything!" Alex yelled, "at first you cared, you repented! And then you just," he searched for a good way to put it, "became such a cold killer. You didn't care who died-"

"Get over it." Was all Hera could say, "I was doing my job. I was serving this country." She held out her hands to him, "half the blood that is on these hands, you share it." She murmured. "You can't escape your past Alex." The tension between them died out as she said this. The suspense and anger that was in each of them, seemed to fizzle away.

"I'm sorry." Alex said quickly, "for hurting your arms," Hera, who had become hopeful that he was coming back to her, rolled her eyes as she realized there was no hope. "But I don't regret leaving you." Alex said with more confidence, "I love Sabina now." The sentence hung in the air.

"I didn't ask for anything from you." Hera said bitterly. "I live opposite you now and, like it or not, I'm going to protect you." Alex nodded. "So you may see a lot more of me."

"Stay here for the night," Hera was shocked that Alex proposed this, "you're head is probably still sore-"

"I don't need you to take care of me Alex," and for once, Alex could tell, she was being completely sincere when she smiled. "I'm going to go home now." She walked up to him and when she came to his side she stopped. "I don't know what's happening here. Between you and I." She looked away from him as he turned his head to her. "But, for Sabina's sake…and since you won't become entangled with a murderess…I suggest we keep this professional."

"I could think of no better way." Alex agreed with disdain.

"Goodbye, Alex."

"Goodbye, Hera." And with that the girl walked away from him. Alex turned to see her ascend the stairs and as she did a strange sense of his stomach sinking, came to him. Why had he said those things to her? Why had he let things get so out of control? He ran a hand through his hair and tugged at it roughly. Why couldn't he just put his feeling aside? It was her fault; she made him feel so-

"Alex?" Sabina called from the hallway and Alex ran up the stairs. He saw her in the corridor and followed her eye as she looked out of the front door. They watched Hera walk across the street and enter her house. "That was Mrs Rum on the phone," Sabina said quietly, "she's having a party to welcome Hera to the street." Alex did not find this strange like Sabina did for Sabina had seen the cold, deadly, real Hera but around others Hera was an angel. "It's tomorrow at seven." Alex nodded and Sabina leant against his chest, he took her in his arms and kissed her head. Trying to persuade himself that this is where he should be.

-Three years ago-Veince-2.05 AM

Hera stood, dripping wet, in the hotel bathroom. She was shivering and as tears mingled with the raindrops on her skin, she held up her hands to see the fresh, oozing blood of another man, drip and slide its way across her slender fingertips. It was the night of her first assassination. She hadn't meant to do it but she couldn't let the man live or else such terrible things would happen. But that did not stop her feeling dirty, feeling used and as though a part of her was being shred to pieces. She coughed and it came out more of a sob as she looked to her feet and saw a small pink puddle was forming around her feet. Slowly, the more she thought about it, the quicker her breaths became, the faster the tears flowed and the louder of her sobbing became. But she still stood, in the same spot, in the same pose, like a small child would. Just letting the tears wash it all away.

"Hera!?" She heard his voice shout from her room. She wrapped her arms around herself and began to shiver. "Hera?!" The voice came again and the bathroom door swung open. Alex, still in his suit, looked her up and down before standing to his full height and walking confidently to her. He had spent half an hour drying himself but didn't care as he took her in his arms and put his forehead against hers. As she felt his warmth around her, her sobbing calmed down, her breaths still shuddered but lessened and the tears continued to flow silently. She put her fingers to her lips and bit her nails as though she were a little girl that had done something wrong and Alex looked down to her as she put her head against his chest. "We have to clean you up." He said quietly and Hera nodded. Alex slowly, for he did not want to frighten her, removed his jacket and then undid the zip of her dress. It fell to the floor and she stood, not looking at him but at some pace in the distance. Alex did not mind seeing her like this, he just wanted her to be dry and safe.

And so began one of the longest nights of their lives as it seemed to take an eternity for Alex to wash the blood from every place it had seeped to. He put her in dry clothes, dried her hair and walked her to the bedroom. Alex had never seen a reaction like this. Never in all his time, even his first killing, which only gave him restless nights, had not been so severe. But Hera's first killing was very different. It was not planned, it was not orchestrated and it was not meant to happen. Hera had killed her father.

Alex lead her to the bed and she sat down. She looked up at him and he knew, from the way her big blue eyes shimmered from tears as he was about to walk away, that she needed him now, more than ever. Hera moved back into the bed and lay down, Alex followed her and when he lay down next to her she turned away from him. Alex followed her position by lying on his side. Neither said anything for nothing needed to be said. This night marked the beginning of many things for the two teenage spies; firstly, there were no longer any distances between them. It was also the start of how they would always sleep; side by side, every mission, every time they were together and in that time, they never touched each other, never held each other. It was also the beginning of their insomnia.

Present day-London-2.05 AM

Hera was stood at her bedroom window, looking out onto her new street. Looking over at his house, wondering what he was doing, if he still suffered from insomnia like she did. Hera looked down to the bottle of pills in her hands and remembered that night he had helped her get through the most awful pain she had ever felt. She had never really thanked him properly. Hera put the pills on her dressing table and went to her bed. As she felt the soft, silken sheets she remembered that she had never needed to take pills when Alex was with her. So she lay down and closed her eyes and felt him lying next to her.

Across the street, that very same boy looked down to those very same pills as he stood at his kitchen sink. Alex sighed; what was the point in loving someone so much that it hurt? He didn't love her anymore anyway. She was lost to him, wasn't she? He unscrewed the lid of the bottle of pills and poured the pills down the sink. He didn't need them anymore. Now that she was here with him.

Reviews are my friends. So are the people who write them.

So let's all just pretend that they're blue, OK? It's actually because I was thinking of Alex from the Alpha Force books. Whoops :-S