A.N.: Okay, now I'm really salty because FF-net kills my word count. I swear this was 10k but they keep on telling me it's only 9k. Nuu, where did my words go? Or maybe it's my word doc app malfunctioning but that's just not nice! So I'm just going to write a bunch of b*llshit here and take up words. I know, I used an asterisk for the swear word yet I swear so much in my writing, but please, that's Alex and Wolf talking. It's just unreasonable for soldiers and teenagers to not swear. At least I don't make sexual innuendos... Anyways, I'm so sorry for not updating my chapter stories and instead of working on this really long piece of work (that will have a chapter two) under the claim that I was bored and had a short writer's block. Yes, I did, I did have a writer's block and writing H/C and platonic friendships have always been a fav. past time of mine, which is why this was born, unfortunately. So after like three hours of mindless writing, and tweaking, and not bothering to check my grammar, I present to you another one of my Alex + K-Unit(mainly Wolf) platonic friendship bonding. Don't worry, I did throw this into Grammarly-which trust me, isn't always useful. They bend your words, seriously, and make it really not what you mean. If I correct every single thing using Grammarly and accept their interpretation of it, this story will be more of a trainwreck (than it already is). Also, summer's in another month for me, like most schools, so I certainly hope to finish my other stories (ha, what a joke) before next year starts and I'll be buried under more paperwork and exams. I'm already pushing writing as late night and early morning activity and yet I'm forever procrastinating and, yes, forever being random and taking up unnecessary space with mindless rants like what I'm doing right now. But it certainly feels good.

I will stop now, even though I'm still 300 short but I suppose I should be editing my doc and add more words to the story instead of ranting. But it's too late, and my brain's dead, and I must really start on my essay.

Their relationship was, in one word, rocky. Wolf hadn't completely accepted Alex as an MI6 agent even after two years of partnership between the young man and K-Unit. Mrs. Jones seemed to have a soft spot for Alex, deeming K-Unit as the unit for rescue whenever Alex was in trouble-which usually turned out to be a false alarm and always ended up with them clapping Alex on the shoulder for another job well done in a pub with drinks on Eagle.

Truth be told, it wasn't that he had something against Alex personally. He just disliked him. Alex was everything that he wasn't, and that was a good thing because Wolf never had to feel roaring fires all around him in an attempt to rush back into a burning building, he never had to jump, unaided and without any harness, down tall buildings and almost, almost, missing the soft landing beneath, and he certainly never had to calmly disarm a mentally unstable man while having a gun pointed point-blank at his left eye.

But in the end, Alex was still a little brother than K-Unit never had. Too young and far too…selfless to be serving the country. God knew how many times Wolf had felt his hands curled into fists as he watched the dauntless jobs that the young agent scaled across as if it was nothing more than a stroll in a park. After a while, however, Wolf felt himself relaxed and joined in the amused smiles of the rest of his unit as they waited outside for Alex to come out, occasionally catching his nimble form free-falling from the roof to the balcony four stories below or the delighted but slightly out-of-breath yell to start up the engine from the young man as Alex sped toward them in a stolen motorcycle with gun fires and engines howling like storm behind him.

He would find himself occasionally watching Alex, unable to fathom nor understand how exactly he managed to do what he did and still end up being that cheerful bright ball of light he was, as Eagle put it. Wolf would rather die by Eagle's bad puns and jokes than to admit it, but to a certain degree, he was fond of the young man. Someday, he had certainly wondered about working with the young man closer and learning all about his seemingly infinite lives because heaven knew he could use more lives.

It had been a universal truth to them now. Whatever it was that Alex walked himself in, he would walk out of it unscathed. The worst damages he had were merely small graze wounds and tattered uniform that Alex seemed to like to bitch about despite his bandaged arm.

"You're awfully quiet," Alex nudged him, arching an eyebrow as Wolf snapped back to attention, "Something wrong?"

Alex still smelled heavily of hospital and antiseptics and Wolf wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Get your sprite breath out of my face."

Eagle heard it, unfortunately, and dropped his arm unceremoniously across Wolf's shoulder, "Whassup, Wolfie? I hope you're not hurting Cubby-kin again. Last time you nearly sent him tumbling down the stairs."

"That was his own fault," Wolf glared at the same time that Alex shot back, "Stop calling me that!"

Sometimes, Wolf forgot just how young Alex was. Barely seventeen, barely of age. There were times when he wished to storm into Mrs. Jones office, hold a gun to her head, and demand that Alex be released from service. He just didn't have the nerves.

"When are you getting shipped out again?" Fox came over to their table, victory flushed on his face from the poker game against the now-seething players a few tables down, "I swear to god, you seem to be the only active agents nowadays."

"Thought you loved the thrill," Alex grinned as he slid out of his seat and walked up to Fox, clapping him on the shoulder, "You know, jumping down to oil drills, all that fun, eh?"

"Not for me, mate," Fox returned the grin, ruffling Alex's hair in affection that nearly sent Alex tipping into the table and the offended young man jabbed Fox on the side rather aggressively.

Wolf watched them with exasperation as Fox chased Alex around the bar and Alex, with last minute evasion, narrowly missed the servant with his black tray high with glass bottles, empty and full. He noticed with slight dismay the limp in Alex's right leg. The crash hadn't left the elite agent completely unscathed. If truth be told, Alex seemed to be losing attention lately. Accidents were more frequent in his last few missions and he was rather aloof in the short recovery weeks after the missions.

"Cub," Wolf caught the agent's attention and the brilliant smile was turned his way as the agent smartly evaded Fox once again, "Have you fought about quitting 6?"

Alex shrugged as he joined Wolf at the table, Fox sliding into the seat next to him and ordered another round of beers but sprite for Alex, "No, not really."

Eagle and Snake were having a rather heated argument about the cutting and slicing a deck of cards that Wolf tuned out, solely focusing on the agent in front of him, "Why not? You still have a long life ahead of you."

"I just never really considered it," Once again, the shrug. The drinks came and Alex took a sip of his soda, making a face as the carbon dioxide bubbling up interrupted the swallowing, "It's relaxing, in a way."

It made Wolf angry, "Throwing away your life is relaxing?"

"No," Alex wasn't getting his point, "I mean. It's my life now. Besides, I'm content with it."

"If you have the chance, will you walk away?"

"No."

"No?" Wolf's eyes flashed in anger, "Why not? Do you enjoy dying? Is this all a game to you? Some sort of sick dare for adrenaline? To show-off?"

"But where can I walk to?" Alex frowned, turning toward him. Ben had drifted off to Snake and Eagle, demanding that they stop cheating in their game, "It's not like I have anywhere to go."

"Foster Care," Wolf knew that the instant those words were out, they were wrong and he couldn't take it back anymore. Instead, he plowed on, "They will find someone, a good family, for you. You don't have to keep doing all these dirty government works anymore."

"Or I can keep doing what I do the best and not worry about shitty Foster Care systems," Alex snapped perhaps a little heatedly but he kept his tone down to not alarm the three other occupants of their table, "Listen, Wolf, I don't care what you think of me, I don't care if you hate me, I just want you to stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong."

"I have every right to know about K-Unit's partner-agent," Wolf growled, "You're reckless, Cub. You throw yourself down buildings, you run toward bullets, and you'd let yourself drift down Niagara Falls if it happens to be in your way. I'm half-tempted to throw you to see a shrink for suicidal thoughts."

Wolf didn't understand the involuntary shudder that ran through the agent's body and the clenching of his hands around the can, "I'm not suicidal."

"So all the stunts you did for your missions just happened to be the only way out?" Wolf snorted in disbelief, "You're telling me that hanging your life out on a cliff is the only thing you can do?"

"Yes," Exasperated, Alex glanced at him, "I get things done, don't I?"

"So do the other agents and yet they used more conventional methods. They walk down stairs. They run away from guns. They use fucking boats and they secure harnesses before scaling the Shard. They still complete their goddamn missions."

"But they die more often, don't they?" Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, "I'm alive, that's all that matters in the end."

"You're getting lucky," Wolf shot back, gripping his beer tightly and wanting to chug it all down in one gulp but found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Alex's, "You believe you have the rabbit's foot when all the time you're just lucking out."

"Then if I continue getting lucky, I'd be fine, wouldn't I?" Alex crossed his arms, "Besides, it's not luck. It's skill."

Alex just won't get it, Wolf shook his head in irritation. It wasn't about luck, or skills, or anything. It was all about himself in the end. Wolf didn't want to be waiting outside with his unit one day and Alex failing to show up. He didn't want to attend the agent's funeral and see the words 'his luck ran out' engraved on the pedestal. He didn't want to be there when the mission failed. He didn't want to watch Alex fall.

"You don't get it, Cub," Wolf gritted his teeth in annoyance, unable to keep his temper in check anymore as it flared up like a candle, "You're not some sort of undying mutant. If you don't stop what you're doing, you will die."

"I know you're worried-"

"I'm not."

"-but I can handle myself," Alex ignored him, "You just have to always be out there with your shiny car door open and gas tank completely filled."

And that was exactly what he found himself doing two months later, his fingers drumming the steering wheel in undisguised anxiety. Alex was late by ten minutes already. He wouldn't worry if it were anybody else but Alex was never late. And not for the first time, Wolf's thoughts turned toward the conversation two months ago back at the bar. What if Alex's luck did run out?

He didn't have time to perturb himself with that budding thought before the passenger side was wrenched open by the late agent, "Go go go!"

Wolf didn't need to be told twice before he floored the pedal, hearing the guns kicking up behind them like a hell-storm, much more furious than any missions before. Absently, he wondered if Alex managed to anger the King Godzilla of the den. The rear windshield cracked by the stream of bullets that had forced its way in and Fox yelled for them to duck from the backseat. Alex didn't move and Wolf gave the agent a quick glance before reaching over, pushing the agent down by a forceful press to his head toward the seat while ducking himself but keeping an eye on the road.

They lost them relatively quickly, even before reaching two miles though Wolf supposed the returning fire from his backseat passengers that had resulted in the flipping of two of the chasing cars did most of the jobs. Alex pulled himself upright with difficulties, blood dripping down from his face and his shirt was stained with dark red blood, some patches were dry but the others wet. This was the worse he had ever seen the agent in.

"You look like shit," Wolf commented as Snake immediately leaned forward from the backseat to assess Alex's state, giving a loud swear at the blood, "What the fuck happened?"

"I got shot," Alex replied stiffly as he applied pressure to the wound on his side, "While I was running to the car. Didn't see their patrol guards."

"How bad is it, Snake?" Wolf demanded as Snake handed Alex the pain reliever to suck on that the agent gingerly took, his hands slowed in an attempt to not aggravate the wound.

"The hospital's definitely a must," The soldier said as he pressed a wad of cloth over the wound and directed Alex's hand back over it. Blood began to slowly seep through but not at an alarming pace, "Other than that, I don't see any injuries. Is there anything else, Cub?"

"A few bruises," A loud sigh escaped with the wince of pain as the agent shifted, staining the black seat a shiner red that could only be seen through the reflecting light, "I think that's all."

"So where did it go wrong?" Wolf asked, giving Cub a quick glance before focusing back down the highway, glancing at the mirror every now and then to make sure that they weren't followed. Eagle and Fox were still tensed, their guns ready for anything, but they were slowly relaxing as the chase fell behind in a wide berth.

"Probably when I used the stairs instead of jumping straight down," Alex snorted, his body trembling and Wolf wasn't sure if it was from the rumbling of the engine beneath or from the exertion but the paling and the brief grimace of pain shown through the shutting of his eyes told him that it wasn't good, "Didn't realize stupid building has guards on every stair."

"Still," As Snake sat back momentarily to shift through his kit, Fox took over, clapping Alex briefly on the shoulder, "It was a success, I take it."

Alex tensed, his bleary eyes opening for a moment but he didn't say anything. Fox frowned in worry, "Al?"

"I failed," The muttered words were soft but they heard it all. For a moment, the car was silent and the rumbling of the car against the sand and uneven road grew louder. Then, although pained, Alex split into a grin, "To be awesome."

With his right hand, he gingerly reached into his pocket and retrieved the USB and a few folded sheets of paper, flapping them around triumphantly in his weakened grip but nonetheless the highly amused expression stole away the dark clouds from moments ago, "Ha! Gotcha."

"I'm so going to strangle you," Fox ruffled Alex's hair with more force than necessary, causing the agent to lean forward, the prominent grin still on his face but barely suppressed pain flickered over.

"Ow, ow, ow," Alex complained softly as he laughed softly, "Patient here. Patient here. Be gentle."

They got Alex to the hospital in record time even though none of them said anything, they were afraid that the injury was worse than Snake had diagnosed. Alex, after all, wasn't someone who preferred the cuddly caring sentiments and he would only speak of the worst when necessary.

Alex was ordered bed rest for a week by the doctor and a week past, he was on his feet as if nothing happened, still running around without consequences and indulging himself in all the reckless behaviors as before. But, with strange relief, he had toned it down a notch and Wolf took note of the occasional hand that flew to the agent's side at strenuous activities. It wasn't completely healed. Though that didn't stop Alex from joining the rest of K-Unit occasionally in the training range, running exercises and betting against Wolf's shooting abilities-which Wolf realized he often tied against the young agent, sometimes Alex did surpass him, winning him a grand tour of Eagle running around cheering with Alex on his back laughing his head off.

Sometimes, when K-Unit were called off to different assignments and upon return, there was always the slim chance of Alex on break, back from another mission and nursing a whole bowl of ice-cream in his home. Eagle had made a copy of Alex's house key without Alex's consent but it never stopped the bone-tired and fatigued soldiers from trudging into Alex's house late in the afternoon, dumping their bags unceremoniously on the smooth wooden floor before Fox pushing Alex out of his sofa and then they would crash there for the week. Alex never really minded and none of the soldiers mind not spending time at their empty home either. With no steady girlfriends (Snake claimed he had a long-distance relationship going), Alex's home was now their home, in a sense. And strangely and perhaps tad bit awkwardly, it was always Alex who found the distressed members of K-Unit late at night, nursing a cup of coffee and trying hard to forget their mission.

Alex was never the caring type, he never offered to make anyone coffee, he never cooked for anyone and he certainly wasn't the counseling type. Yet whenever Alex was with them, there was a sense of security and righteousness. Which was why Wolf hated the missions that Alex was thrown into. He hated sitting in the young agent's house without the agent. But on top of everything, he hated it when they sent the team in for retrieval because he was never sure if Alex really needed help or not.

Which is why he made sure he was always early in the scheduled location, quietly scanning their surroundings as they adjusted their gears in preparations. In a weird sense, Wolf knew that Alex would always show up, wounded or not. He had never missed any of their rendezvous. They all thought Alex was suicidal: throwing himself into countless mission after Jack's death, risking his life to run into burning buildings, but in the end, he ended up saving people nonetheless. Alex always had a plan, for everything, and sometimes Wolf wondered if Alex simply knew what was going to happen because Wolf certainly did not notice the tent beneath them when they went over the railing.

"You knew!" Wolf accused the young agent whom he had wrapped in a tight grip, hoping that even if he died, the agent would survive the drop, "You fucking knew this was here!"

Alex rolled out of his grip with a nonchalant grin, dropping lightly off the edge of the sinking trampoline-like tent and dusting off his uniform. Yells sounded out from above and Wolf was quick to jump and duck for cover as gunfire ripped through the thin materials where they were only momentarily ago.

"Like I said," Alex arched an eyebrow in silent laughter as they ran under the cover of the trees and bushes, "I know what I'm doing. Besides, what are you doing here?"

They ducked behind the durasteels of the metal barrels and bullets rocketed off the surface in loud pings, "You were late. We were supposed to meet an hour ago."

Alex paused, "Oh," He checked his watch, "I thought it was five, not two."

Bristling, Wolf reached over and, with more force than necessary, pushed Alex's head toward the ground sharply but not too sharp that the agent's thick skull would connect with the hard concrete, "Bloody hell! That's all you've got to say?"

"Sorry, sorry," Alex winced then peeked over the edge. A loose stream nearly found their mark if Wolf hadn't pulled him immediately back down, "Let's get out of here."

"That's the most sensible thing you've said in three months," Wolf grunted as he pulled himself to a short crouch, peering through the small crack between the containers to make sure that they were as clear as possible.

Alex protested as he followed suit, "I haven't seen you in three months."

"Exactly."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair," Wolf, grinning, grabbed Alex by his arm and lugged him backward. Then they began running again, "C'mon."

While Alex did not have the physique of a soldier, he had the mental endurance of one. Something in the young man seemed to be screaming at him to never give up and give everything his very best, or die trying. Although Wolf sometimes appreciated the notion, he disliked the latter half. Alex should learn when he should quit instead of 'die trying'. Not everything was meant to be accomplished, not every mission was meant to be a success. Not that that had ever stopped Alex before. That kid could be one hell of a kamikaze.

Especially after his caretaker Jack's death. From what he had gathered, rather limited, to be honest, Jack Starbright's death had ripped the young agent apart inside out. A few months later was when Mrs. Jones decided to send the young man out for a quick easy mission, adrenaline to take things off his mind and presumably for his mind relax for the first time in a long while. What she didn't take into account for was that while Alex could restrain himself, barely, from seeking revenge, the young agent simply could not rest his mind. Even a simple mission turned disastrous when Alex accidentally fell down a slope. It would have been funny if only the kid wasn't barely alive at the bottom, hanging by whatever miracle when K-Unit finally found him upon orders from Mrs. Jones.

As the unspoken partnership between K-Unit and Alex grew over the years, they began to understand Alex better. If there was one thing they learned above everything, it was to never distract Alex when he was doing something important. Heaven knew the state of their latest Thanksgiving turkey disaster. The whole house smelled like burnt turkey for a whole entire week and Eagle swore, tentatively, to never ever engage Alex in troubling conversations such as his family again.

Everything in the end, however, came back to Alex's inattention lately. First, it was rather subtle, the young agent tripping over a large boulder on a training exercise that was the source of Eagle's laughter for the whole entire week. Then when it happened again, Alex nearly falling off the ropes on his way up the cliff, Wolf was beginning to have doubts. Luckily, the harnesses, although rather loose as a result of Alex's inattention while attaching, stopped the drop before the young agent could become another casualty.

"...because Wolf is the stupidest person in the world," The use of his code name pulled him out of his thoughts, glaring with irritation at the highly amused Eagle who had undoubtedly been sprouting old training camp stories about him.

"Use your brain for something more useful," Wolf grunted as he turned, taking notice of the young agent heading to their table for having to step out momentarily ago to take a call.

Alex's face looked troubled as he neared, a frown twisting his bright features and his mind was clearly anywhere but here. Which was not surprising as he walked right into one of the passing servants. Bottles and glass flew everywhere upon the crash and the soldiers were on their feet, alarmed.

"Watch where the fuck you're walking, kid," The servant pulled himself up and grabbed Alex by his collar harshly, "What are you, two?"

"I'm sorry, man," Alex opened his mouth, a pained apologetic expression evident on his face in embarrassment to his inattention, "I…I'll pay you back. I'll pay for the losses."

"Oh you think you're such a rich brat," The servant sneered, leaning uncomfortably close and Wolf found himself moving a step forward before Alex's eyes flashed in warning at him. Alex had never been a fan of letting someone else fight his battles, "You kids just love waving your money around as if you can buy everything. Guess what? Money ain't buying everything."

"What can I do?" Alex said quietly and the earnest in his voice made Wolf want to punch the fucking stupid servant guy who clearly did not deserve Alex's apology.

The man finally released his hold on Alex and his hands dropped to his side, "Well you see, kid. I've had a really rough day, and I just want someone to talk to. Why don't we take this outside?"

"We're friends," The man turned to the four soldiers, not realizing that Alex was with them, "Just between friends, sorry for the commotions, you guys." Appearing to be friendly, the man looped an arm around Alex's shoulder, pulling the slightly distressed agent closer.

"You better get your fucking hand off him," Wolf growled, stepping forward and felt immense pleasure in seeing the budding fear on the man's face that he could barely suppress.

The servant backed up a little but in his action, pulling Alex with him, "Look, dude, we're seriously friends, alright? Just mind your own business, okay man?"

"Don't call him that," Fox joined him, crossing his arms with a light attitude, "Wolf here doesn't like being called dude, and he certainly likes it less when you take our friend and threatens to beat him up. And when Wolf gets angry…Well, you don't want that."

"Hey," Alex spoke up softly to the man, trying to save the situation, "Why don't we just part here? I will pay for all broken things and plus extra for wasting your time, deal?"

"Like I said," The man turned to Alex, relinquishing his hold slightly so that they were face to face, "I don't want you son of a bitch's money!" The punch was unexpected and Alex was sent backward, his face jerking to one-side from the impact and it was already reddening madly.

That was all Wolf could comprehend before he swung his own punch, sending the man crushing against the stools lining the countertop. The man toppled backward against the chairs like dominoes before finally coming to a rest near the wall. The other patrons were slowly leaving, not wanting to get tangled up in the mess.

Ignoring the groaning man, Wolf made his way to Alex who was leaning against the other counter, nursing his jaw with a raised eyebrow. A quick glance told him that there would definitely be an ugly bruise but otherwise, Alex was fine.

"What?" Wolf grunted, crossing his arms at the amused look on Alex's face.

"You didn't have to do that," The young agent rolled his eyes, "I had it under control."

Skeptical, but unable to keep the relief from his voice, Wolf replied, "Yeah, you sure did."

The cops came, of course, and a quick explanation was all that was necessary before they were escorting Alex back home. The bartender was kind enough to offer them free drinks, which Alex declined due to his insufferable gentle nature, something about it was all his fault after all. Complete bullshit. Sometimes Wolf did wonder how the fuck did the kid even became an agent because Alex looked like he would be crying over the death of a fly.

However, Alex did accept the offer of a large bag of ice which was now just water lying in a bag beside his bedside, a wet spot undoubtedly beneath the plastic. Wolf could make out the young agent's sleeping form, his head turned toward the wall and his form rising slowly before falling back down with equal softness. He gently closed the door before nodding at the inquiring gazes of the other soldiers. They returned the nod before heading off to their own guest bedrooms, knowing that in a few hours Fox would take over.

Alex had nightmares, they all knew. The first time Eagle suggested for the team to stay at Alex's, the young agent was rather reluctant, complaining about rat problems, rotten pizza, creaking stairs, and basically anything and everything that he could think of in a snap. All of them were dismissed by the eager Eagle who had no problems with anything except watching ghost movies at night. The real reason for Alex's clear hesitance was evident a week or so later when they woke up to a loud pained yell from the agent's room. Fox was the first and when the rest arrived, they could see the older ex-agent holding the younger tightly, desperately trying to calm the panicking Alex. Alex refused to see shrinks, saying that he was fine. Craploads of bullshit, but Wolf understood the reluctance. They had long ago resigned to the job of shaking Alex awake from his nightmares, insistent even though the young agent had blatantly refused it, even locking his door shut once. Fox had to break the door down that time when he tried to calm the agent through the door to no avail.

After that, Alex tried pills without telling any of them. Snake had thought Alex was getting better until that damn fucking stupid young man nearly overdosed and if it weren't for Eagle's mindless wandering of the hallways past midnight in search for food, they probably wouldn't have noticed it till morning.

Wolf didn't like it when people he knew, and begrudgingly cared about, die. A few weeks ago, T-Unit came back one member less. Later he was told that Leopard was shot and killed when they were heading back. The cars chasing them got close enough to get off one clean shot. So close to home yet suddenly so far away and forever gone. Lion wasn't handling well. Selfishly, Wolf prayed that it wouldn't happen to his team. That included Alex as well, whether he liked it or not. The stubborn son of a bitch was family no matter what and he sure as hell was not going to let some bastards shoot at the young agent.

But he couldn't help Alex if that damn young man wouldn't open up to him about what the bloody hell was occupying his mind. Wolf might not be the most observant person, but anyone who had been with the agent for two years could see the definite change in him. Alex knew better than to be distracted during missions, on top of that, the young man had certainly been the sharpest and keenest of them all. Something must have happened but every subtle attempt the team made were immediately shut down with a curt glance.

"We should go to the park today or something," Snake offered, "Spend some time off and we can perhaps run a little. Sergeant's been pestering a little about returning to training for a refresher course."

"Ha, no thanks," Eagle was quick to respond even with the bread in his mouth, "I'd take the park any day over Sergeant Williams."

"Anyone saw Alex?" Fox asked after rolling his eyes at the childish antics of Eagle, "Is he up?"

"I'll go check," Wolf nodded as he eased himself out of the chair and went upstairs.

Knocking softly, he called the young man's name. As expected, there was no response so he pushed his way in. Sunlight was streaming through the window and the thin material Alex called the new trendy curtain did nothing to block it. Conveniently, Alex was directly beneath the window and with the window at least a meter above him, the sunlight had no way of touching him. Wolf felt his lips tugging upward at the comical sight of the young agent hugging his pillow, his body naturally curling toward the soft object with his face buried in it as if the pillow was his everything. He quickly squashed down the smile and called out, this time a little louder.

"Alex, get up. Don't make me."

The agent groaned and shifted so that he now faced the ceiling instead of the wall. Though otherwise, he remained half-asleep. Wolf shook his head with a sigh and walked closer, forcefully pulling the pitiful pillow from his clutch. Alex groaned louder at the empty space, his hands momentarily flapping like a helpless dolphin but he was almost completely awake. Wolf decided to give him time and chose instead to lean against the desk to watch the agent embarrass himself. His gaze fell on the tri-fold letter, partially open to reveal the last few lines, the name and the date. It was from someone named Edward Pleasure. He had never heard of that before and Alex certainly had never mentioned him before. The letter was dated back almost six months ago, not that it was too surprising. Alex had been in missions for a good chunk of the six months, letters really weren't luxuries he could afford.

"Whatime 'sit?" The words were slurred and almost incoherent as the agent finally pulled himself out of bed, his feet flat on the ground and slumped with his hands supporting himself on the edge of the bed.

"Almost seven," Wolf replied, "It's late."

"You know kids need a good healthy nine hours of sleep, right?" Alex accused, masking a large yawn behind his hands as he stretched, hearing his bones crack.

Wolf snorted, "As if that actually happens. C'mon, Snake wants to talk about heading to the park."

They did end up in the park later that day. Eagle had insisted on staying in the house till noon because the weather wasn't too his taste, though all of them (besides Alex) knew that the soldier was trying to help Alex who probably was still nursing a massive headache from the stinging punch. Eagle could be quiet…selfless sometimes.

Though out of all of them, Alex had the strongest bond with Fox. Probably because of the whole ex-spy relationship thing that Fox and Alex could rant and complain about the whole day: bad food, bad identities, bad names, bad people, bad mission, and bad everything in general. While Wolf could still talk to Alex about the things K-Unit experienced, it was never the same as Fox and Alex. He supposed, though, it made sense. Empathy brought people closer than sympathy. Wolf had always felt like an asshole after their first few months worth of partnership and them getting to know Alex better. With a shrug, Alex had told them that his uncle had died around the same time they first met at Brecon Beacons, the source of his guilt for a few hours until Alex told him to stop moping and dripping around and 'get the fuck to work'.

"So Cubby-kin," Eagle's sly tone bode no good news, "Got any girlfriends?"

Alex rolled his eyes with a snort while spooning ice-cream into his mouth, "Nope."

"Boyfriends?"

"Oh shut up, Eagle," The rude dismissal was accompanied by his good nature grin.

Eagle shifted on the opposite end of the sofa as he watched the youngest of them all enjoying the afternoon off. The television was playing something incoherent due to the absolute minimal volume Eagle had turned it to, "Seriously, Cubby-kin, you've gotta have some sort of lovey-dovey relationship. You're handsome, charming, badass-" Fox snickered, "-and totally OP. Suitors' gotta be lining up, 'm I right?"

Alex sighed and relented, sensing the undying passion the soldier had in pursuing this topic, "There was a girl."

"Was? C'mon, call her up, and I'll make sure it becomes 'there is a girl'," Eagle grinned encouragingly, gesturing toward the phone sitting on the coffee table, "Come on, Cubby-kin."

The young agent stabbed his ice-cream with the spoon, "Nah, she's moving on."

"Hold up," Fox intervened, his eyes widening in realization, "Al, is it Sabina? The Sabina Pleasure?"

Pleasure. Wolf was sure he had seen or heard the name somewhere. The last name was rather uncommon, in the wide varieties he had heard but he couldn't place where and when. Something flickered in the young man's eyes at the mention of the name and the only other show of reluctance was the short downcast of his eyes.

"Yeah," Alex grinned and Wolf frowned at the physical display, "Well, we broke up like two years ago."

What happened two years ago? Wolf tried to piece Alex's broken life together in an attempt to understand the enigma that was the agent. Two years ago, Alex had come into their life, shattered, dejected, and nothing like the bright young man they had come to know over the years. Wolf had never heard the mention of a Sabina Pleasure from Alex, then it must have happened a little while before then. Or the broke-up could have been mixed in the whole Alex's-bad-month when that kid was moody as hell.

"So what?" Fox got up from beside Snake on the other sofa and plopped himself down between Alex and Eagle, shoving the other soldier to the side and looped an arm around the agent, "Love knows no boundaries. You love her very much, I know, and I know she does too. If you're still like this, I'm pretty sure Sabina's not moving on that well."

"That was two years ago," Alex shook his head, "I'd rather not go back."

"Why did you two break up?" Fox frowned at the dismissal, clearly knowing that he missed something important between the mystery girl and Alex, "I know that her father was-"

Abruptly, the young agent stood up and curtly placed the half-eaten ice-cream on the table, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Hey, where you going?" Fox grabbed Alex forcefully by his wrist, his eyes sharpened in alarm, "Okay, we're not going to talk about it. Sit back down."

"Let go, Ben."

Fox did.

The young agent took his keys and left the house. They heard his car starting and Fox leaped to his feet, threw the door open and yelled at Alex to stop, "Al, c'mon Al! We don't have to talk about this, alright? Al!"

The car still pulled away and Fox stomped back inside, a dark frown on his face and threw himself back down on the sofa. Wolf eyed him, "What was that?"

"Alex has issues with things he doesn't want to talk about," Fox sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose in distress, "He gets preoccupied," He paused, "I'm going to go after him."

"Give him a moment, alright?" Wolf shook his head, "He'll come back."

Fox glared at him, "I know, but in what state? You know how he gets when he's preoccupied. I would be less concerned if he were walking, but he's driving! I can think of seventeen different types of car accidents right from the top of my head."

"Calm down," Snake ordered, "Give him a call, perhaps?"

Fox nodded.

Alex, being Alex, did not respond, which in return resulted in a very agitated Fox. When the young agent finally returned with a white plastic take-out bag early evening, Fox was the first to fly downstairs, grabbing the young man in a bone-crushing hug who, to all their surprises, returned it. Neither Fox nor Alex bothered explaining and they left it at that. When Wolf later asked, finally unable to bottle his curiosity anymore, Fox had vaguely told him that Alex had been in a near-fatal accident last time the young man had abruptly left with his mind heavily preoccupied and frustrated. He didn't ask for more detail though this time it certainly was an improvement.

Wolf had the weirdest urge to ask Alex more about Sabina Pleasure, yet he knew better. While they practically live with each other, their platonic friendship was rather on-and-off. Wolf had lost count of the times he and Alex had gotten into a fight, but despite that, there were brilliant times when both of them would agree in unison that they would have been 'best buds' in past lives.

Alex could be the most annoying bloody fool sometimes, everything about him rubbed him the wrong way, but Wolf would be damned if he let anyone get away with insulting the young agent. True, Wolf confessed that he could complain about that bastard a whole entire day yet in the end, it all felt like a lie. For every 'bad' trait Alex had, the young man had something a billion times better to cover it up.

Which is certainly why he wasn't going to give up on that damn bastard and let him have the last words.

"C'mon, Cub," Wolf muttered, his fingers flying in search of a pulse. He found one as he pinched the motionless wrist, feeling the soft throb beneath his fingers, "Got him!"

Snake was a flurry of activities in an instance, carefully ripping open Alex's thin shirt that had been part of his disguise as a teacher-in-training. The knife wound was deep but thank the lord it hadn't been deep enough to be fatal. Alex was pale and remained still with his head on Wolf's legs, and his legs on the seats. Snake was crouched on the floor of the car with the two middle seats compressed and pressed to the side while Fox focused on driving, occasionally looking back in concerned frowns.

"It's just the knife wound?" Snake asked as he slapped quick bandage onto the open wound and applied pressure before directing Eagle to take over the pressure.

"No," Wolf clenched his hands tighter in a fist, "He was shot on the other side."

"Fox, call 6, we need a chopper."

Fox complied without a word, already dialing through his ear radio as he kept half an eye on the road. Wolf settled a hand on Alex's shoulder, wanting to shatter the illusion that was not real. Because Alex wasn't fucking bleeding to death in the back of the car, unable even to be conscious or offer any consolation words.

Snake snapped his fingers before his face, "Wolf, focus. I need you to hold this over that."

The rest of the trip was a haze to him. They stopped somewhere and medics pulled Alex onto a stretcher gently before they flew him out, the helicopter leaning slightly to the side at take-off before it drifted easily and steadily toward the distance, toward Wales, toward home. Away from this god-forsaken place. When they rushed to the hospital, Alex was still in surgery and Wolf quickly gave Mrs. Jones a debrief before he was released. They waited. Then they told them Alex was going to be okay.

Alex was unconscious when they first visited but the next day, the young agent rolled his eyes at their anxious faces and called them the biggest worry-warts. None of them left at the insult and Eagle settled them down for a bedtime story even though it was ten in the morning. Alex fell asleep to it.

Mrs. Jones dragged him aside a few hours later, asking him what happened because Alex had never been wounded so badly in two years, not since his last run-in with Scorpia. Wolf told her Alex was having trouble focusing mentally, that he was drifting even in missions. They didn't know what was bothering the young agent but Wolf was determined to find out because Alex had said as soon as he was well-rested, he wanted another mission. Mrs. Jones then blatantly ordered him a month of rest and taking-things-easy. Alex frowned but agreed. Wolf wasn't going to let Alex throw himself in another mission without the young agent at least knowing his priorities.

Two weeks before the end of the month, Alex received a phone call. It was rather early in the morning when they were having breakfast. He went into his room and didn't come out for half an hour. They swore they heard a rather heated conversation. Hurt, that was what Alex sounded. When he came out, they saw he had been crying. Alex never cried.

"Who was it?" Wolf asked, tensing at the sight.

Alex shook his head and continued his breakfast, "An acquaintance."

Bullshit. 'Acquaintances' could not make someone who never showed any weakness cry. Rather guiltily later that day, when Alex was out with Fox on a quick grocery run, Wolf stole upstairs and checked Alex's phone. It was locked but the front screen displayed three missing calls from the same person without an ID and a message.

Please, the message read.

Wolf jotted down the number and placed Alex's phone back where it was just as the ex-spy and spy entered the house, an air of amusement lighting around them. Excusing himself from the living room so he could escape to the yard outside, Wolf called the number using his own phone. It was picked up in two and a half rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Wolf lightened his tone, "My friend's not really in the mood right now, so can you please stop calling him."

"Who are you?" Uncertainty was evident.

"I'm Alex's friend," Just first name, if the person knew who he was talking about, the last name wouldn't be necessary. Alex's tone had been rather personal when he was talking with whoever this was, "Who are you?"

"I…I'm Edward Pleasure," The man replied, "I'm Alex's guardian. I'm sorry, but can you please tell him to call me back?"

Edward Pleasure. Hadn't he hear that name before? Of course. The letter back then sitting innocently on Alex's desk as sunlight streamed beautifully into the quiet room where the young agent slept without disturbance.

"What do you want with him?"

"I know Al's angry with me," Edward said hastily, "I want to talk with him, face to face."

The nickname infuriated Wolf even further. This man, Edward Pleasure, definitely knew Alex on more than a simple acquaintance level and the only person Wolf had ever heard calling Alex 'Al' was Fox. No one else. No one besides Fox was close enough to the young agent to call him Al comfortably.

"And he didn't agree?"

"No, but you know how stubborn Al gets," Sighing wearily, the man pleaded, "Please, convince him, will you? Tell him I'll meet him on Saturday at three o'clock in the afternoon at the cafe."

"What cafe?"

"He'll know."

"And if he doesn't want to come?"

"He will."

The call ended just as Alex called out through the door, "Wolfie Wolf, Eagle wants to watch some stupid movie at the cinema-"

"Star Wars is not stupid, I swear Cubby-kin, one more word, and I'll-"

Alex yelled back into the house, "All they do is chopping off Jedi's right arm! I call that stupid," He turned back to Wolf, "Wanna join us?"

All of them ended up going. Alex insisted on going in a two and three group so that they wouldn't look like gangsters. Snake snorted but complied. Eagle, good naturally, refused to be grouped with Alex because the young agent had insulted his favorite movie series and Fox was more than happy to go with Alex, something about watching another Jedi getting his or her arm chopped off and enjoying the moment together with the young man. Wolf got bunched together with Eagle and Snake. He didn't like it, but Eagle's stupid whispered commentaries pulled his conversation with Edward Pleasure to an alcove in his mind.

When they exited the theater, Wolf checked the time and his eyes fell on the day. It was Wednesday.

"Cub, can I have a word?" Wolf asked softly.

Alex arched an eyebrow, "Was the movie too brutal for you, Wolf?"

"Oh shut up," Wolf grunted, "Do you know someone named Edward Pleasure?"

The humor and amusement that radiated from Alex disappeared in an instant, leaving Wolf cold and vulnerable at the frost that had settled in the dark brown depths. It was more than frost. There was also undeniably pain.

"Why?"

"I…talked with him."

Alex glanced at him for a moment, something spinning and clicking in his mind, "You looked at my phone."

"Yes, but-"

The young agent shook his head, "It's fine, you didn't know my password. You checked the missed call logs, didn't you?"

"Yes," Wolf exhaled without realizing he had been holding his breath in apprehension for the anger he thought Alex would display for breaching his privacy.

"What did he want?"

"He wants to meet with you."

"No," Alex glared, "Absolutely not."

"Um," Remembering the location, Wolf added, "He mentioned he will be meeting with you on Saturday three PM at the cafe."

"What cafe?"

"He said you'd know," Wolf paused, "Do you?"

A slightly longer pause, "I do."

"Are you going?"

"Yes."

Wolf was taken aback, "I thought you absolutely not."

Alex motioned for him to catch up with the rest of the group who was glancing at them curiously, wondering the nature of the hold-up, "He's coming all the way from San Francisco."

"That's a long way," Wolf gave a low whistle, "But that doesn't matter. You can just not show up."

"Don't you see, Wolf?" Alex said exasperatedly, "It's exactly because he came all the way out here. Just for me. I can't just…leave him there alone to wait for someone who will never show up."

The man was using Alex's kind nature for his own benefits. Wolf's eyes narrowed. That bloody bastard. He promised he'd give that man a greeting he'd never forget.

"Whatever you're thinking," Alex gently poked his arm, "Don't. Just leave it."

They then left the topic altogether when they joined the other three. Fox was quick to tell Alex about all the flaws he found in the movie which Eagle counter with venom. Snake just looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Later that night, Wolf suddenly remembered he had forgotten to ask Alex about the relationship between the young agent and the man. The real relationship. Edward Pleasure had mentioned his position as Alex's guardian but when Alex told them it was an acquaintance, something in the young man's tone told Wolf that he had wished the man was not even an acquaintance.

It was Friday.

Wolf still couldn't convince Alex to not go and he had resorted to convincing Alex that he should tag along. Alex asked him if he knew what they were going to talk about and Wolf said no, which apparently was the exact answer Alex had been looking for. The young man told him it was rather personal and he wished Wolf to not be present to hear it. The other three soldiers had begun to pick up the underlying trouble and Fox was first to ask Alex. Alex refused to answer and his narrowed eyes throughout the whole tell-me-please conversation told the other two to back off. They turned to Wolf and Fox wouldn't take no for an answer. Wolf told them it was something personal, to which Alex smiled faintly in gratitude but Fox just looked even more irritated.

It was Saturday.

Wolf had been tensed the whole morning while Alex looked like it was any other Saturday. The young agent finished breakfast and promptly sat down, scrolling through the TV channels mindlessly. He landed on some news broadcasting channel that Wolf hated. Eighty percent of it were ads, repetitive ads, and only twenty percent was real news. He did wonder how it managed to survive and why in the world would anyone want to waste money to put ads on a channel that probably no one would watch.

No one besides Alex apparently. The intensive gaze trained on the screen would make everyone believe the level of passion the young agent had toward the ads. Eagle decided something odd was going on as he plopped down beside the agent. Alex jerked his head toward the soldier comically.

"So you like detergents," Eagle commented dryly, eyeing the rerun of the same ad the fifth time.

"Yes, I do," Alex nodded, refused to explicitly acknowledge that he wasn't paying the slightest attention to anything, "It's very nice."

"They mentioned apple-scented detergent," The blatant lie wasn't lost on the other soldiers but Alex, too engulfed in keeping his lie, nodded.

"I like apples."

"Okay, Cubby-kin," Eagle reached over and shut off the television much to Alex's visible dismay, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," The immediate response was perhaps a tad bit too immediate, "I really do like apples."

"First of all," Eagle slung an arm over the back of the sofa, turning sideways to face the young agent, "They didn't mention apple-scented detergent. In fact, the word 'apple' was never even mentioned."

"Bastard."

"Second of all," A smug grin lit up Eagle's face at the insult, "You've been staring at the ads for twenty minutes and I've never seen you do that."

"People change," Alex shrugged as he reached forward for the remote again, "Now, if you'd excuse me…"

"Eagle's right, for once," Fox joined Eagle on the other side of Alex, crossing his arms and the way the two of them positioned themselves it was clear they were having this conversation no matter what and they weren't allowing Alex to leave before it was finished.

By Alex's chagrin grimace, it did not escape unnoticed.

"What's been bothering you?" The ex-spy was genuinely concerned, "You're inattentive, you get wounded in missions, and for heaven's sake you manage to trip over even your own feet."

"It's just something personal, alright?" He massaged the bridge of his nose in clear distress. Wolf almost thought Fox, who probably believed he was some sort of big brother to the young man, would let it slide but the ex-spy pressed on.

"What is it? Is it 6 related?"

"No."

"Wounds?"

"No."

"Jack."

A glare, "No."

"...Us?"

"No."

Fox visibly relaxed but went back immediately to the one-sided questioning, "Missions?"

"No."

"...The Pleasures."

Wolf's eyes sharpened and he watched Alex. If he had thought Alex would be able to hide it, he was wrong. The young agent tensed and it wasn't lost on anyone. It had the biggest impact, however, on Fox.

"You talked with them," To Wolf's amazement, Fox didn't need any more input from Alex to draw out the conclusion, "They want to talk to you."

"...Yeah," Alex sighed and slumped back like a deflated balloon pinned down and unable to escape, "He did."

"Tell him no," Fox reached forward and gripped Alex's shoulders tightly, "There's a reason why you left them, Al."

"They gave me a place to call home, Ben…" Wolf hated the dejection in the boy's voice. He hated the way he said the word 'home' as if it was the best place in the world even though his whole body screamed something different.

Fox's grip tightened, "Are you sure, Al? Are you sure? Because you're the one who told me you don't want to be chained up like some sort of beast and institutionalized for something you did not do," He paused, trying to let it sink it for Alex at the same time a new possible realization struck him, "What did he want with you, Al?"

"He just wants to talk," Alex bowed his head as a tremor shuddered through his body, "Please, Ben."

"It's more than that, isn't it?" Fox pulled the unresisting boy closer and gently ran a finger through the dirty blond hair, "Tell me, Al. Tell me."

The room collectively held their breath as the boy began to break down, his shoulders shaking with emotions and he buried his fast in Fox's jacket. As his hands started to lose their hold, Fox grabbed it and pulled him closer in reassurance, "It's alright. Tell me."

Alex stubbornly clung on.

"Tell me."

The boy drew a shuddering breath and softly, ever so softly, breathed, "Sabina's dying."