His unconsciousness was still tumultuous. Although, it was now more restless than it was torturous.
It was a light, uneasy sleep, and his dreaming shifted depths.
Somewhere, some time, his eyes squinted open. Rex was still unsure of what had actually happened or where he was now, but all he knew was that everything was at least going to get better somehow.
Through his fuzzy vision, the world was tinted orange. His breathing thinly echoed inside his oxygen mask. The more he gained consciousness, the more he realized he was in an unfamiliar chamber.
His skin felt strange. It felt like metal and grit and erosion. He couldn't move out of weakness.
He breathed deep. His head lulled as he saw Holiday beyond the glass. Her back faced him as she spoke to the large image of White Knight on the wall. He yelled, although Rex was unsure of what he said.
Holiday yelled, too. She pounded on the panel and hunched over. Six moved beside her while Knight kept talking.
Just as he said another word, his eyes glanced at Rex, and he stopped.
What? What was happening, now? Rex's mind wandered and suddenly panicked. The look on Knight's face was a sudden and angry disquiet.
Holiday and Six turned their heads. Holiday started to rush towards him in his chamber. Rex's mind was soon racing- racing too fast for his head to handle. Pain started to ebb through as the shock started to course in his mind.
Rex closed his eyes. It hurt.
He heard Dr. Holiday's voice, "Rex! Rex!"
He breathed deeply.
Her voice was muffled through the glass, "Keep calm, Rex! Everything will be fine..."
The sound faded as Rex lost consciousness again.
What would happen this time?
Was Noah still all right?
A week passed, and Rex woke to a full consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he jolted upright; his body shocked itself awake, suddenly realizing it existed.
The room was normal. It was a perfectly ordinary infirmary room. Rex looked at his hands, his arms, his skin.
Nothing. Everything seemed absolutely fine.
He clutched his head in relief. What happened? What happened? What happened?
His memories were fuzzy and haphazard. He could remember he shut down, but he couldn't remember what switched him off.
His body ached. There were no bandages on him, but there were places on him that still stung.
What happened? That was all he could wonder. What happened?
He tried to remember. His head ached as he dug through to his memories. There was a short panic that he had been slated clean again, but- but that couldn't be. Because he knew he was him, where he was, and a vague idea of what happened. So... That couldn't have been it.
He just couldn't recall the past few days... Weeks? Just how long had it been?
Rex hung his head down. His head pounded. Just probably needed a lead to...
...Noah.
Rex gripped the sheets. He remembered.
He died...!
His chest heaved and-
No.
He didn't.
...Right?
Rex swung his legs over the side of his bed and pulled the machine attachments from his body. Monitors and computers beeped in panic, but Rex ignored them. He walked as he moved past his door. His pace sped as he turned the corner. As he went into another hall, he started running as fast as he could. His body was still in shock and weak from whatever happened, but Rex forced himself past surprised staff and down hallways. He ran, barefoot and cold in his medical dressings.
Noah was alive, right?
His blood pumped as he made a turn into a familiar hallway. The door was open. Did it mean that Noah was still there...?
What if he wasn't?
What if he just dreamed it?
Rex skidded to a stop in the doorway. His breath was heavy as he looked in.
"Oh, hey, Rex."
Noah spooned out another bite of pudding and smiled, "Nice dress."
He was fine.
Noah was fine. It wasn't a hallucination, right?
Noah was fine. Rex unconsciously gulped as the thought settled into his head.
Noah looked at him, and Rex slowly cracked an unsure smile back.
It was true. Noah was alive. And he was awake. And eating pudding. His stomach untwisted and his smile gradually evolved to a grin. Yeah. Noah was fine.
"Well, I was so jealous of yours that I had to find a way to get one too." He walked over to Noah's bed. Everything felt kind of unreal. He leaned against the low railing, "You okay?"
"I think I should be asking you that," Noah half-smiled. "Holiday told me you went total mega-EVO. Said that you were real close to being reset again."
Rex breathed, "Yeah. I was. I could feel it." He clenched his fist, "But... I can't remember what happened, but I can still remember everything else. I don't think I lost anything."
Noah smirked, "That's good. You only just completely destroyed the entire west med lab."
Rex shrugged, "Bet Knight's gonna lose his bleach and cookies next time he sees me."
"It's a possibility."
Noah paused to shoot his empty pudding cup into the corner trash bin of the room. He aimed and launched it. Although his throw was weak, it tumbled in easily. "Yes!" Noah laughed, "Been out of the game, but I still got it."
He turned and looked at Rex, still smirking that stupid smirk.
Rex focused on him. That smirk.
It was that one, that Noah one, that Rex became so accustomed to. It was that stupid, teasing, inside-joke smirk he loved. It was like he only saw him like this yesterday. Rex reached out to him.
He slid his hands through Noah's hair and ruffled it, "Heh. So, when are you gonna get a haircut? You look like a hippie again!"
"Well," Noah ducked his head down with a chuckle, "Yeah, guess I've pretty much been a pacifist lately."
They laughed as Rex jostled Noah's long hair. He looked younger again. He looked like Noah again.
Rex's laughter soon quieted, and his smile lessened. His hands slipped gently through Noah's hair and past his ears. He leaned his forehead down against Noah's as his hands settled behind his neck. As they closed their eyes, Rex could hear Noah's quiet, steady breathing. He gradually felt Noah's hands come to rest over his arms.
There was a soft, tranquil silence for a moment. Rex swallowed a lump in his throat and took a deep breath.
Noah. Here was Noah.
He wasn't gone. He was here. Right here.
Rex slid his arms over Noah's shoulders as he leaned in. He felt Noah's hands shift and settle on his back. Rex bent down, and Noah leaned his head against his neck. Rex breathed again.
He wanted to crush him into himself. He wanted to make sure he couldn't be pulled from his grip. He wanted to never feel useless to Noah ever again.
Noah held onto him tighter. He could feel Rex's shaking breath against his chest. He clutched him as strongly as his strength allowed.
For a moment, they said nothing. It was silent as the same thoughts kept running through their heads over and over again.
That could have been it.
But it wasn't.
It wasn't.
It's fine. It's fine. It's fine.
Everything is okay.
Rex tilted his head against Noah's neck. His grip on him softly tightened. He gravely whispered, disbelieving.
"Noah. You were dead."
Noah flinched and clutched him closer.
"Yeah," Noah murmured, "I was. Five minutes, Holiday said."
"What was it like?"
"...Can't really say. I think I knew I was dead, though."
"Good you didn't let it stay that way," Rex mumbled.
"Yeah," Noah chuckled, "I knew you'd kill me if I died from some dumb explosion."
Rex laughed against Noah. He remembered his same thought. It was uncanny.
He loosened his hold and leaned down against Noah's shoulder. Relief. He let it soak in as he smiled. There was pure, undiluted relief. This was what was real now, and nothing else mattered.
Noah was here. He was okay. He was fine!
Rex couldn't stop smiling. His grasp happily tightened around Noah's shoulders...
"Ah-hm," A soft cough came from the corner.
Rex and Noah turned their heads to Dr. Holiday in the doorway.
"Rex, I would appreciate it if you alerted the staff before climbing out of bed and wandering off." She gave him a dry smile, "Especially after the ordeal you went through. Those machines were recording some very precise data on you until you ripped them off."
Rex's face turned a little red as he reluctantly pulled from Noah, "Sorry, Doc." He glanced away for a moment, embarrassed. He suddenly realized Noah's hand hung onto his. He squeezed it. "It's just that-"
"Rex," She interrupted, "Really. I understand. But, we're going to need to test you further very soon. You were in a very unstable, very violent state, and we don't know if it'll resurface again for whatever reason."
He nodded, "Yeah... Yeah." He looked at her and gulped, but she smiled gently.
"So... Doc," Rex was kind of hesitant to know. "You think you could tell me what happened? How long was I out for?"
"Well, you were unconscious for about a week," Holiday nodded as she walked over. "And, it seemed that the stress your mind and body have been taking for the past few months accumulated and broke during Noah's last surgery..." She took Noah's file from the end of his bed and looked through, "Then your nanites became highly unstable and mutated you into an EVO form similar to the one Six first found you as."
Holiday crossed her arms with another dry smile, "And then you destroyed the west medical labs."
"... Um- Oh." Rex stared. That seemed to make sense with what he could remember.
"Wait, how is Six? He was trying..." Rex looked down, "He was fighting me, wasn't he? Is he okay?"
Doctor Holiday was quiet for a moment, "He sustained some injuries, but he's fine, now."
Rex cringed. At least he was okay. Noah gently gripped his hand and cracked a smile.
"Heh. So you finally landed one on Six. It just took an EVO mutation to do it."
He had to suppress a smirk, but smiled when Holiday chuckled. Six really must have been okay. Yeah, it was a relief.
He turned back to Holiday and smiled to her too, but she hadn't seen. She was looking through Noah's file again. As she flipped a page, Rex suddenly looked at her. He noticed her. She looked a little different, now.
Rex couldn't really remember the last time he just talked to her. Whenever they met, it had always been in fleeting moments as she was swept out the door by colleagues or in flickering moments of consciousness. Now, he saw. Time showed change. Something was different.
"Uh... Hey Doc," He carefully looked at her, "Did you gain weight?"
Okay, that may not been the most tactful way to notice change in a woman.
There was a pause. Holiday raised her eyebrows in amused surprise. Rex instantly regretted that.
The silence was awkward.
"...Okay, really?" Noah broke it, "All right, Rex, I know you're kinda out of practice talking to women, but isn't it pretty much common sense not to say that?"
Yes. Yes, it was.
"Er. Doc! Sorry, I didn't mean to say that!" Rex started to apologize, "I meant that you looked rounder than I last- You seem plumper than usual- I mean there's something that-"
"Rex!" Holiday chuckled again, "No. This time, it's fine. Rex, you're right. It's because I'm pregnant."
His jaw dropped. Noah looked at her in shock. Her unusual absences finally made sense.
"I- Whoa- How?" They were the only words Rex could get out.
"...Well," Noah started without missing a beat, "When a man and a woman love each other very much-"
"Noah, you're lucky you're already in a hospital bed because I seriously-"
Holiday giggled. They paused at her girlish expression. "Hormones," She smiled, radiated, and glowed, "I'm pleasant now, but Six unfortunately got the rougher end of that this morning."
Rex couldn't suppress an ecstatic smile, "Doc. I- This is... This is great. How long?"
"I won't be due for about six more months," Holiday blushed, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Rex. I didn't want you to have to feel happy for me when I know how rough things have been."
"Uh, no, no," Rex shook his head, "It's- ...It-" Rex couldn't put his words together. He didn't even know what he wanted to say. "You're awesome, Doc."
Noah laughed and Holiday just smiled.
She glanced at a clock, "Well, I need to get going. Rex, make sure you return to your room later. We still need to run those tests on you."
"Sure, Doc."
"Noah, I'll be coming by for another checkup later this evening. We need to further discuss restorative procedures on your inner injuries."
Noah nodded as she took his charts. She cheerfully waved before she shut the door behind her. Rex turned to Noah.
"Inner injuries?"
"…Yeah. Just- you know," Noah uncomfortably shrugged, "Sometimes when I fight and pieces get, uh, stuck… They don't always come unstuck."
Was that really the reason he almost died? "What? Noah-!"
"It's fine now. Don't worry about it." It was so stupid.
Rex steadily looked at him. He wanted to press further about it, but he figured he'd leave it alone for now. He was really just happy Noah was fine…
"Heh," Rex smirked and softly squeezed Noah's hand again, "You know, you were right. I'd have killed you the second time around."
Rex was shortly discharged after a few initial days of scanning and testing. His health was perfectly fine. A few days later, Noah was deemed well enough to work on missions, although he was restricted to commanding from the far sidelines by radio until he fully recovered. Both he and Rex still had to be monitored by Holiday.
It seemed that time started to run normally again. Noah received several medals for his efforts, along with the accompanying rise in the ranks. That day, he became the youngest colonel Providence had seen.
Rex shortly returned to battle after being released, although his participation was somewhat limited as well. White's trust in Rex as a person shriveled since that day, but thankfully Holiday was able to bargain him a little more freedom while he was undergoing his testing period.
Things seemed shaky in regards to their positions in Providence while their bodies recovered, but they trained and fought together every day to reach their own standards once again. And although their road to full recovery was a long one, they worked through it steadily and without complaint.
Meanwhile, Holiday slowly became rounder and Six, in his own stealthy and inconspicuous way, doted on her. She often oversaw Rex's scans and Noah's physical progress, however often hardly moving from a chair as Six did the manual work. While Dr. Holiday often seemed outwardly chipper (barring her sudden and extreme mood swings), Six oddly seemed joyous too. Although, it was hard to tell sometimes. Most of the time. It was always hard to tell. But he was undoubtedly happy.
As the results from Rex's monitoring and scannings accumulated, it was happily concluded that although there was still a chance Rex could revert to his unstable EVO state, it would no longer signal a loss of memory. It seemed that his mutation had been a sort of shock therapy on his mind where he was pushed to the edge, but he wasn't pushed over. The stress and the physical change had shifted something in his neurological physiology for the better and he no longer had to worry about major memory loss.
The uncertain edge that Rex walked on had suddenly vanished. He stood on solid, stable ground without worry for his memories. His lost past wouldn't return with any less difficulty, but at least he no longer had to worry about losing what he recovered.
For the first time in years, Rex finally felt that his life was safe inside his head. While White was dissatisfied with the results (it was positive for Rex but meant nothing to calm White's fears about his EVO form), cautionary protocol for Rex's mutation reluctantly went back to normal levels.
Things were going fine. It was getting better. Life slowly became stable again.
And it was like it was just easier to breathe now.
Tomorrow would be the first day Noah returned to the battlefield. It had been months, and he was aching to get his hands in on the action again. Rex was equally excited, since he severely missed being able to flawlessly coordinate fights as he did with Noah. In fact, he was so excited that he fell asleep. He wanted to make sure he could wake up in time for whatever mission would be assigned to.
He dozed over Noah's sheets as the door slid open. The corridor lights briefly flooded the room and went out as the door shut behind Noah.
Rex shifted as he drifted out of his half-sleep and cracked an eye open. The shower started to run and Rex stretched out and resettled into his pillow. He kind of didn't want to be awake right now, but if it was because of Noah, it was okay. He was going back to sleep soon anyway.
He yawned as he shifted and turned over. The shower stopped and Rex turned himself to sit up just as Noah walked towards his dresser.
Noah in a towel. That was nice to wake up to.
"So," Rex yawned again, "What am I doing tomorrow?"
"Oh, Rex," Noah pulled some clothes from drawer, "Well, I'm gonna be going on a routine patrol route. Didn't hear where you're going to."
Rex leaned his head against his hand, "Well, I guess I'm going on your patrol route, too."
Noah chuckled. He slid his shorts on, "Yeah, you might want to check with Six on that."
"Pretty sure Six isn't really caring all that much lately."
"Hey, never know. Holiday might've kicked him out again."
Noah stretched his arms overhead as he pulled on his tank. Rex smiled and stared at his back.
It was marvelous, just like everything else of him was. But, his back...
He recognized those little, familiar scars. He recognized the slightly bigger ones, too. He knew them well. But, he still wasn't used to the new one. It was still pretty red while it healed. It also nearly covered half his back.
It was going to be left on him forever. It was a memento, Rex thought, a reminder of how Noah treaded that line, and of how fragile his own psyche could be. It was keepsake Noah carried for Rex. It showed what Noah meant to him.
Noah sat down on his bed and tossed his towel over to a chair. As he hunched over, Rex's hand gently crept up his back. Noah looked back at him and smirked.
Rex smiled, genuinely and reverently. It wasn't a smirk back. His hand slipped under the fabric of Noah's tank, and rested on the damaged skin of his back.
Noah looked down and let out a long, slow sigh.
"Hard to believe one injury could do so much, huh?" Noah murmured.
"Yeah," Rex nodded, "Sometimes I forget about infection and stuff like that." His hand ran the course of his scar. It was huge.
"Does it still hurt?"
"No, not really."
"I mean- everything else, the scars you have inside, too. I heard-" Rex swallowed, "I heard you probably were in pain a lot of the time, probably ever since that EVO spike got stuck in you a couple years ago..."
"N-no. It didn't hurt. I mean, I couldn't really tell. I don't really know-"
"How can you not know?"
Rex's voice quieted. Noah's past battles, the ones that left the scars over him- that damage that had lingered and almost cost him his life...!
The thought of it scared him. They hardly ever talked about it. Rex didn't want to.
Noah faced him. He held his face and stared hard. "Rex," he said, "I'm okay. It's fine."
He leaned in, "The stuff Providence labs has me on is working. There is no pain. Whatever that was wrong before is being taken care of."
Rex glanced away, "Sorry, Noah. I'm-" "I know."
He slipped his hand into Rex's. Their fingers enclosed each other. Rex lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Touch. Noah's touch. Everything was okay.
Slowly, Rex felt lips touch his. They pressed against him gently and with the utmost sincerity. His eyes opened, and he saw only the vague form of Noah, leaning up to him as he kissed him. As Rex replied, their arms rose and pulled them into each other, and the only idea they could process was that there was only them, right now.
Noah, Rex thought.
So much had happened.
All he wanted was to keep Noah here. With him.
Noah's hand laid against Rex's cheek as he pulled away. He tilted his head into Noah's palm. He was warm.
"Rex," Noah whispered, "I love you."
Assurance. It was as if Rex could live only on those words, on that singular idea. It was like that was the only thing he really needed at all.
"Now," Noah softly said and leaned closer, "Get out of my room. I have to wake up early tomorrow morning."
Rex blinked, then squinted his eyes with a grin. He should have expected that.
"Nah, I don't think so," he gently tightened his grip around Noah, "Think I'm gonna spend the night again. We're heading out to the same place at the same time, anyway."
"Come on," Noah smirked and struggled a little, "We've spent almost every other minute around each other for weeks. Why don't you ever want to sleep in your own room? It's way bigger than mine."
"Yeah, but," Rex enveloped him close, "There's a major problem: it doesn't have you in it."
Noah paused. He looked hard at Rex, completely unimpressed.
"...Wow. What have they been doing to you during scans? Pumping you full of estrogen?"
"...Yeah. They've been pumping me with estrogen and in between missions I sneak off to wear a dress. I'm never going to say anything nice to you again."
"Good. Because you were freaking me out there for a second."
Rex laughed and Noah couldn't suppress a dumb grin. Rex leaned over and kissed him, toppling both of them over with another laugh. He arched himself over Noah as he kissed him again, running a hand down his side.
It was times like this that he was sure... That Noah was what he needed. He was his balance, his tether, and most importantly- he was his friend.
Their cheeks brushed. Noah let out a breath, "Hey, Rex. Seriously..." He was flustered, "We shouldn't do anything... W-we still got that thing tomorrow morning."
It was past midnight. It would be this morning, now.
Rex nodded, tucking his face into the curve of Noah's neck, "Yeah, yeah." He smiled as his lips touched where Noah's pulse beat. "I just-" He breathed," I'm just making sure you're not going anywhere."
The earnestness in Rex absorbed him. In simple words, in small actions, Rex betrayed everything of himself again and again to Noah. The vulnerabilities Noah understood and caused in Rex overwhelmed him sometimes.
He slowly raised his arms and settled them over Rex's shoulders. "I'm not," He quietly said.
Rex left a soft, solemn kiss against his neck. "I just wanted to double check..."
Noah smiled as his hand trailed through Rex's hair. Rex shifted, and as they settled themselves next to each other, they clasped their hands together. Noah closed his eyes, happy that the last thing he saw before he fell asleep was the smug, arrogant, and unabashedly smiling face of his best friend.
Rex crept closer to Noah. He pressed his hands against his lips, and kissed the scars on Noah's hands. He soon fell asleep, happy that person he trusted most in the world, his best friend, was there and real, sleeping soundly beside him.
Fleeting thoughts passed in their dreams. Tomorrow could yield new dangers, new disasters. Everything could happen all over again.
But that was tomorrow.
This was the life they had, the life they chose. All they could do was cherish today, and to cherish it enough for whatever could happen tomorrow.
They slept through the night, deeply and happily together. Rex later ended up hogging the blanket again, but it was okay. He later woke up on the floor.
End.