Okay, first the standard disclaimer that is relatively pointless considering the site this is being posted on: I don't own Alex Rider, his fellow characters, any organizations therein, yadda yadda yadda. Therefore, suing will be pointless.
Just so everyone knows, this is a whim, meant more for my own amusement than anything else (and maybe as an aid for my writer's block). There probably won't be much by way of plot, but feel free to make suggestions (same with the title – a new one wouldn't hurt).
I'm not aware of this having been done yet.
Also, this is a bit of a nod to amitai for her names of K-unit (except Fox – he gets his official name). They should be in eventually (depending on how far I get).And I apologize now for any Americanisms.
01
He sighed in irritation, running a hand through brown hair just long enough to be messy. "I hate crowds," was a muttered mantra punctuated with hisses as he was jostled, getting elbows to his side or having people step on his feet.
Typical of a Saturday afternoon, there were plenty of bodies packed in the station and on the trains.
"I really need to start taking Ben up on those rides," he muttered, squeezing past a large woman onto the car. He blinked and turned incredulous eyes back when her neon pink, fur… thing registered.
Shuddering, the brunet pushed his way further into the car, stumbling over someone's foot. He caught himself on one of the poles and grumbled that this was harder than any form of SAS training. He sighed and glanced around, pausing when his eyes fell on a girl with hair just a little lighter than his own, standing with one hand wrapped loosely around the next post.
He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about her that caught his interest. It might have been that she had a rather fit body, or it might have been that she looked bored and unaffected by the people around her, but he was pretty sure that it was because she didn't look to be trying to catch anyone's attention.
He didn't realize that he had just been watching her until someone jostled him ten minutes or so later. He figured that she was in her late teens – sixteen at the youngest – and he guessed that she participated in some type of sport; maybe gymnastics or track considering how slender her body was.
Choosing to forget that he was supposed to be meeting his teammates, he began moving toward her. Just as he got within arm's reach, the entire car jolted, making him, and everyone else in the car, stumble yet again. As he caught himself on the pole the girl held, his free arm went around her waist and he pulled her back against him in reaction to her weight.
What he wasn't expecting was for her elbow to drive into his gut. "Oh shit!" He quickly stepped back, raising his hands, as she turned, looking more annoyed than anything else.
"Sorry! Just trying to make sure neither of us fell, not… grope you or anything!" he stammered, not fully noticing the taken aback expression that crossed her face or the wary flicker in her eyes.
She raised an eyebrow and cocked her hips in a way that drew his eyes to the sway of her skirt. She was half-smiling when he jerked his eyes up a second later.
"Sorry again," he muttered, flushing a dull red.
"Always so articulate?" she asked, her voice soft and a nicely feminine bass tone.
He blushed again. "Well, my friends say that I normally sound like an idiot," he blurted then winced. He silenced her soft laughter when he continued speaking. "I only get like this around cute women."
Her smile slowly faded and she just stared at him, long enough for him to wonder if he had said something wrong.
" 'Cute women'?" she echoed, looking and sounding dubious. "Just who are you looking at? I'm rather plain if you haven't noticed."
He frowned softly then shook his head. "No. I'd say you have an 'aura of mystery' that is eye catching to one who is properly attuned… And you hit pretty hard."
"That was reflexive to being grabbed… And I think I understand what your friends mean," she responded, lips quirking. "Besides, don't you think I'm a little young for you?"
"Only if I was going to proposition you. As it stands, I was planning on asking you if you'd like to get some coffee," he answered, waving a hand flippantly. "Besides, you're, what, seventeen? I'm technically twenty three."
She raised an eyebrow again. "I'm sixteen and what do you mean by 'technically'?"
He shrugged. "My birthday's in a month. So, what do you say about that coffee?"
She sighed, looking aside before meeting his eyes again. "I think I'm going to have to tu—" she began, only to be cut off by the car jerking again, throwing her off balance.
He smiled down at her, his arm around her waist again. "I think the train wants us to go out for coffee."
She blinked a couple times before chuckling wryly. "Okay. Just, don't get any ideas."
He grinned. "And have you bruise my poor abused body more? I think that won't be a problem."
She rolled her eyes, stepping out of the circle of his arms. "Are you planning to introduce yourself?"
He smiled and offered his hand. "I'm Neal Smith."
Her brown eyes studied his hand before she smiled in return and accepted his hand. "Alex. Alex Rider."
To Be Continued
Yes. I have stepped into gender-bending. Please share what you think.
On an unrelated note, I have realized that if Jack and Ben were to marry, her new name would be Jack Daniels.