Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING in the story that you recognize. Thank you for your reading of this disclaimer.
Warning: This story contains very slight Rex/Noah. There is nothing in here except for their gifts to each other and holding hands. Nevertheless, you were warned.
The Perfect Gift
Six hated Christmas; Six really hated Christmas. He hated the clashing colors and all of the noise. He hated the crowds. Six even hated the colorful packages all wrapped in their shiny paper and bows. When the 'wonderful' Holiday was always at its fever pitch during Christmas Eve, there were always huge outbreaks of Evos. Today was no exception. Brought on by the stress of finding the 'perfect' gift, or any gifts at all in some cases, the chances of becoming out of control rose through the roof. The crowds of people everywhere further irritated this possibility. It wasn't easy to keep your emotions in check when you were fighting twenty thousand other people for the last unclaimed Cabbage Patch doll in the state.
The chances of surviving in a crowded mall during an Evo attack on Christmas were positively terrible. However, no one seemed to stay away because of that. Oh no, that would be way too easy on Six, and every other agent in Providence. Fighting Evos in these conditions and trying to protect civilians from their own stupidity was hard enough; add the constant cheerful Christmas music; and Six was downright bitchy when Christmas came around. As far as he was concerned, the whole thing could be totally avoided with no ill effects. Quite the opposite actually. He was sure that without Christmas, the whole winter season would be less hellish.
Holiday was obsessed with her namesake. She loved every single one equally. Except for this one. Holiday particularly loved Christmas. Her desk was a practical shrine to the holiday. It had not only a small tree with presents, but it had reef hung on the side of it, a garland strung around the top in big loopy sags, and a Santa and Mrs. Clause doll set. Along with these were a teddy bear that skated on a 'frozen' mirror lake, a Frosty the Snowman that sang three different carols, and a net of Christmas lights outlining the whole thing.
She loved the excitement and the happiness that seemed to infect everything. She loved the bight, cheerful colors. Holiday even loved the music: those classic songs reminded her of happier, more innocent times. She smiled wryly; Christmas was one of the few things even the Explosion couldn't mess with. Holiday thrived on the immortality of the traditions that had been around before her, and would be along after her. It took the pressure off.
She turned and smiled at the small pile of presents stacked neatly on her desk.
She was sure that she had found the absolute perfect present for every single person on her list. A small frown crossed her face. Well, everyone except Six. What was she supposed to get him, anyway? A new set of shades? A knife sharpener? Err… Socks? She shook her head, annoyed. It had never taken her this long to find the right gift for anyone. Admittedly, this was the first year that she had had to buy for Mr. Emotionless himself. Holiday sighed, knowing that it would be her last chance; she grabbed her purse and exited the stark white Providence base. It was time to hit the ultimate gift place, the mall.
Rex carefully shaved off the last piece of wood. After he was sure it was totally level, he stood back triumphantly looking down at four humble little presents. There was one present for each of his family members, well, those people whom he considered his family anyway. He was particularly proud of Six's gift though. It had taken him forever to think of what to make him. But, it was finished! Finally, and with no time to spare at all, he didn't have to rush through everything in order to devote his time to finishing these special gifts. He left the last one to dry completely as he gently wrapped the rest of them and their boxes in the comic section of the newspaper. As he sat back and grinned at the wall, the only thing going through his head was, 'I can't wait till tomorrow.'
Six had been lying back against the wall in his room. He wasn't willing to get too comfortable, knowing that all hell would break loose as soon as he did. He breathed the chill of the air in the room, and he felt refreshed. The almost sticky warmness of the rest of the base was annoying to say the least. It was winter; he should be at least a little cool, not so warm that he wanted to take off his jacket. That of course could never happen. One drunken night and well-placed tattoo parlor had ruined the idea of ever wearing a short sleeved shirt again, even if he wanted to. Six looked at the blank white wall in front of him, knowing he was ignoring the large chocolate ice cream hot fudge covered elephant in the room.
He wanted to get Holiday something for Christmas. This was particularly weird, since he didn't get ANYONE Christmas presents. For any reason. He really did despise the holiday. However, she loved it so much, and he really liked to see her happy, instead of the methodical doctor she usually was, even if he would never admit it. Therefore, he would get her a gift. He actually already had one in mind. He hadn't actually seen it, but he had a good idea of exactly what she wanted. The problem came in when he realized that he could not just get her a present and be done with it. He had to get something for Rex as well or risk having to deal with speculation from all concerned.
However, he was totally clueless about what a fifteen year old boy like Rex would want for Christmas. Well, other than a subscription to Playboy magazine, anyway. He was just considering the appropriateness of giving Rex exactly that, when the alarm bell went off, signaling a mass Evo attack nearby. Saved by the bell. He let a quick smirk pass over his features before he wiped it clean. He placed his earpiece back in his ear, and calmly walked out of the room. He had a job to do.
Holiday looked out of the window of the small jet she had 'borrowed' from Providence's hanger. She was only about an hour away from the Mall of America, and if they didn't have the perfect gift for Six, then the perfect gift did not exist. Simple as that.
Holiday had been going through the stores with the hardheaded determination that only marathon shoppers and raging bulls could ever hope to achieve. She had gotten in a few fistfights over the merchandise in a sale, but she had come out if it unharmed and with a nice dress to boot.
She had covered two floors head to toe. There was nothing. She had considered getting him a soft green scarf that was on sale. It was thick and luxurious, and probably the softest, nicest bit of clothing that Holiday had ever encountered. She was almost to the front of the checkout line (meaning that she had been standing in it for about an hour) when she looked down at it and knew that it wasn't the right gift. She stepped out of line and set the scarf down on a rack that was nearby. She had no sooner taken her fingers off the fabric when a large woman in a mink coat pounced on it. Well, there was no getting it back now, she sighed. She had better have been right about putting it down.
She stepped out of the store slightly overwhelmed and a little angry with herself; then she looked up and saw it. The perfect present.
Rex was glad he had finished all of his presents earlier in the day; at least he had less to worry about as he fought and cured his third Evo of the night. He stood up and looked at Six who was in a serious discussion with someone on his earpiece. Rex rubbed his hands together and stepped next to Six. "Are we almost done for the night? I'm freezing to death."
Six just looked at him with that flat look on his face. "We have our orders; and it is nowhere near as cold as it was at Paradise Base." Rex really hated Six's total inability to answer a question with an actual answer. He looked down and sighed.
"Can I have a translator for Christmas? Understanding you would be a great present." Six didn't reply. Not that Rex really expected him to. Six was just… Sixish like that. No other way to describe it really. Rex turned and looked out at the horizon, waiting for something to happen.
Six rolled his eyes, though Rex could not see him. Actually, let me correct that, it was because Rex could not see him that Six allowed himself the gesture. It was a Christmas present to himself. He could feel the smirk trying to escape, and he clamped down on his muscles. He had already allowed himself something. Now was not the time to be lax with his self-discipline.
Trying to distract his mind, Six wondered if Rex was serious about a translator being a good gift. He considered it, but eventually tossed it, because Rex was a smartass and it was something he would say just because he was smartass. Six wanted to, at least, get something that Rex would half like; and he wasn't about to show it, he was just as eager as Rex to finish with their duty shift. He needed to find a store that had Holiday's Christmas present. He needed to figure out what in the hell to get Rex. He needed to sleep at least a little tonight. He exhaled slowly and watched the steam drift from his mouth. It was going to be a very, very, long night.
Holiday walked into the cheerful little shop, and totally ignoring the few other customers and merchandise. She walked over to the window display and scooped up the little package she had spotted from the shop across the walkway. "Six is going to absolutely love you." She cooed down to the fluffy bundle in her arms.
She walked to the checkout line, which was, thankfully, empty due to the quickly approaching closing time and the lack of demand for the store. Within ten minutes, she was out of the mall and on the way back to Providence, along with her very special package.
Rex couldn't express how happy he was when midnight came and he was off constant duty. He was still on constant call of course, but they would only call him for the important stuff. Even better, he had heating. Rex never realized how grateful he was for central air and heat until the round of hell that was the special Christmas time duty was behind him, and he could enjoy it to the fullest. He fell asleep quickly as he enjoyed the wonderful sensation of being warm.
Six glided along the busy streets, a large green ghost. He looked in each window for only a moment before moving on. They didn't have what he needed there. He was paying attention to everything around him, which is how he noticed three or four people turning down an alleyway up ahead. When he got to the point where they turned, he stopped, and looked at the ally curiously. It looked like a normal alley- tall buildings on each side, ending in a dead end. It smelled like a normal alley; that mix of fresh garbage and rotten garbage. However, it was very empty. Not one of the people who had turned down the alley was there now. Not a single one.
Six was unable to help himself as he walked into the ally. He was doing a duty, he told himself. It was his job to make sure there were no Evos down here hurting civilians. That was his story and he was sticking to it. The fact that he was so curious it was physically hurting had nothing to do with it at all. Nope. Not even a little. Right.
He walked into the alley and looked around, but he still couldn't see anything weird. He wondered where the people had gotten to, but there were no signs anyone had been here. He felt a ripple in the air behind him and instinctively flipping out his katanas, Six fell into an attack position as he turned. There was nothing behind him. Actually, maybe I should say there was nothing living behind him. Because, where moments before, there was the mouth of the alley, there now stood a large, old-fashioned shop. 'The Perfect Gift' declared rather faded sign on the front door.
The front window brimmed with all different types of interesting and unusual objects. There were carousel horses on miniature carousels spinning round and round changing colors. There were statues that shifted positions whenever you weren't paying attention. There were bubbles that changed colors and bounced against the glass without popping. There were things that clicked and chimed, and did things that Six didn't even have names for. With everything in motion, it was quite an impressive sight. Six didn't care about this. Six wanted to know where in the hell this store had come from. More importantly, how did he get out?
He hadn't thought long before he came up with the only possible solution for what had happened. Breech had opened this portal and had sent part of her 'doll house' to visit him. He was not sure why, but he was going to find out. He was embarrassed of how he had been acting, and now it was time to put the bullshit behind him and get down to business. This involved going into the store. Great.