Chapter 10

When they took off, the sun was hours away from setting. On semi-long rides like this, Noah would placidly watch the scenery go by while rocking out to music, and for a while, he did, waiting for his hand to stop shaking as his phone vibrated with all the notifications that popped up while it had been turned off.

When he started to feel overwhelmed by how long it was taking he craned his head down to his phone, reading through all the messages. As he thought, most of them were from Bash asking after Rex and checking in to see if he was okay. He chuckled as a new text alert came in warning that if he didn't respond soon he was going to call in the military. Noah knew Sebastian didn't know how to do that, but the sentiment behind the gesture was appreciated.

He unlocked his phone but instead of responding to Bash's barrage of incoming texts and sent his father one telling him that he was presently on the way home. His father's reply of "See you soon, son" came moments later. It was then that Noah finally opened Bash's chat and typed out a quick reply, stating that he was okay, and promised to call him. A second after he sent that he followed up with permission to eat the last breakfast burritos in the freezer as a thank you for being such a good friend.

That's the basics of being a decent person.

I hope you know that. I need you to know that.

And I'll only eat half.

Maybe.

Don't forget to call.

Noah replied with promises that he would before he set down his phone on his lap and closed his eyes. Rubbing them with the pads of his fingers, one after the other, he sighed deeply, suddenly feeling tired. It had been a taxing day and he was looking forward to decompressing at home.

"Hello, Noah?" Beverly asked at his side. Her smile was kind and patient when he looked at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, were you talking to me?" He couldn't recall hearing Beverly's voice, even though she was sitting right next to him.

"Yes, but it's not important."

"Bev." Came Shawn's stern voice from the front.

"It's not," Beverly countered, but there was something in the way she said it, Noah couldn't quite believe her.

"I'm sorry," Noah said, truly meaning it.

She shook her head and waved away his concern. "You're tired, it's fine."

He shifted to face her, well, as much as the seatbelt allowed him to turn. "No, if you, uh, you don't mind repeating what you said I'll listen."

Beverly pressed her lips together as she thought about it. There was something in the gesture that made her seem upset…

"Oh. Am I in trouble?"

"Depends."

"On?"

Beverly looked at him with a 'You know what' look, and Noah sighed again.

"Why did you leave Six's room earlier? Tell me everything."

"Well, your sister came in-"

"I know that part. You went to find Rex. What happened?" The inflection on the last word made it clear that she was asking about what went down once Noah and Rex found each other.

"Oh, uh," he chuckled nervously. "I was going to use the comm to contact you. I swear I was, but then I got a phone call from a friend-"

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"From school?"

"Yes."

"Is he cute?"

"Why?"

"Hey, I'm just painting a mental picture."

"Uh, yeah, he is." It was no big confession that Sebastian was attractive but that didn't stop Noah from feeling like it was. "So I answered it and Rex found me laughing at a joke he'd said-"

"What was the joke? Was it funny?"

"It doesn't matter. Will you let me get this out?"

"Fine."

"And he was, well...I think he was..."

"Why are you having trouble telling the story after I've stopped asking questions?"

"Will you stop?."

"So, Rex was jealous," she succinctly summarized, "then what happened?"

"Well, he might not have been jealous, just curious about who it was-" Noah worried his lower lip, lightly biting down on it as he decided how to proceed. "He took my phone and talked to my buddy, Sebastian."

"Oh, my god, he was so totally jealous."

"Why'd you say that?"

"He took your phone and kept it until just now. And it was turned off!"

"Unless it's dead," Shawn pointed out, making the turn onto the main highway. They were halfway through their journey to his parent's house.

Noah hadn't realized Shawn was listening. He looked at Beverly expectedly.

"What? So, I told him a little bit about what was going on. But only a little."

"Uh-huh."

"It's helped put things into perspective," Shawn added helpfully. He looked Noah over in a way that made Noah blush. Oh. That's why he and Beverly were a non-starter.

"Fine, whatever." It wasn't like Shawn could somehow unknow whatever Beverly told him. "He turned it off," he confirmed cautiously.

"So Rex overheard you enjoying a phone call from an insanely hot boy that you're close to, got jealous, took your phone, and then shut it down so you couldn't talk to Hot Boy anymore."

"His name's Sebastian," Noah said again, but he was pretty sure Bash would respond to the moniker of "Hot Boy" even if Beverly wasn't his type, but she didn't need to know that.

"This is getting so good. Then what happened?"

"We sorta kissed," he admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, my god, Noah!" Beverly said, hitting him in the arm playfully.

"Good for you," Shawn said, sounding like an approving parent.

"And how was it?"

"A mistake," Noah answered.

"That means it was great," Shawn translated for Beverly.

She giggled and sighed dreamily. "I've always thought he kisses really good."

"Bev, do you have a thing for Rex?"

"What, no, ew? Why do people keep asking me that? He's practically my brother."

"Okay, then what's up with your reaction?"

"Everyone knows the more intense the passion is, the better the drama is."

"You've been watching those Spanish soaps with Rex, haven't you?"

"Yeah, they're great! I love the tragic romance of it all."

I ought to introduce her to Annie and Claire, Noah thought with a laugh. "Hopefully, this doesn't end like one. With the lovers dead from some misunderstanding between their families."

"It won't," she declared as if she were the author of their story, with absolute certainty. "And then what?"

"I stopped it," Noah answered simply.

"What?"

"Why?"

Noah wasn't sure whose question to answer first. "I told you it was a mistake, didn't I? You know enough to know that we have a lot of crap to sort out before that kind of thing is okay again. So, yeah, it was a really, really good kiss, but I still had to stop it."

"I suppose so," Beverly said, pouting over the drama of it all.

They rode in silence for a while and Noah believed the lack of reprimand meant that he'd been forgiven. He was proven correctly when Beverly sucked on her teeth.

"Okay, I guess it's only fair that I share, too. The reason Shawn and I weren't in the hallway when you left was because I was a bit distraught after talking about everything," she started. "And then seeing Six like that…I know he's recovering and that the worst is over, but I still…I was feeling raw and I just needed a moment to gather myself. So I went to the restroom down the hall so I could cry about it." She said everything in a rush as if she was worried that being a human was somehow against company policy. The way they treated Rex, Noah wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't.

Noah thought to reach out and place a hand on her shoulder in a show of comfort, but he didn't know if it would be welcomed. So, he used his words instead.

"Hey, you didn't think the mission would've been over and that I would be gone when you got back," Noah began. "It's not your fault that you couldn't reach me. You had every reason to lose it. I am so sorry I put you two through that and I promise to do better and make sure you can contact me whenever needed."

"Thank you for taking responsibility," Shawn said. He must believe Noah because his earlier animosity was gone, replaced with the calm demeanor Noah had grown accustomed to throughout the short time he'd known him.

"Of course," Noah's phone buzzed and he looked down at it and saw that he'd received a photo text from Bobo. He opened it and chuckled at the tower of pizza with the smallest side salad. He could practically count how many lettuce leaves there were on his plate. At least he had proof that Rex was planning to eat something.

Noah relaxed as Shawn made the turn into his neighborhood. Seeing the familiar sights of his childhood self gave him a sense of safety and made him realize how eager he was to be home.

Beverly and Shawn didn't dawdle after dropping him off. Noah made a big deal out of showing that he still knew how to charge the ear communicator so it wouldn't lose power and that he did know how to turn it on. He asked Beverly to use it to let him know when they had made it back to HQ. He hoped his renewed reliance on the comm would go a long way toward regaining their trust that he was taking their role as his escort seriously.

He waited until he was sitting at the table eating dinner with his parents before he sent a text to Rex about being home. He didn't receive a reply from Rex, but he nearly choked on his green beans when he heard his ear comm crackle to life with Beverly's voice informing him they were back at HQ.

After helping with dinner clean up, Noah showered and barely managed to put on sleepwear before crashing onto his bed. He planned to sleep for twelve hours and was in the middle of debating how he could get under the blankets without moving when his phone started to ring from its place on his side table.

"Fuck," he sighed. It was probably Bash fulfilling Noah's promise to him by calling him himself.

He groped blindly for his phone and was surprised when he was able to make out that it was a video call request from Rex.

"Did you get the photo?" was Rex's greeting when Noah accepted the video call. He wasn't even looking in Noah's direction. The camera angle swayed back and forth. Rex must be on the move.

Then why even bother with a video call? Noah thought. "I did. Thank you."

"Welcome. You made it home alright?"

Noah heard the sound of a door unlocking and deduced that Rex had made his way back into his suite. "Yes. I did."

The camera steadied and Rex's face was finally in view. Judging from the view of Rex's bed behind him Rex was sitting on the loveseat. Noah was so focused on trying to locate where Rex was in his room that he almost missed the way Rex's eyes widened before he looked away from the phone. "Good. That's good."

Noah looked at his side of the video call and saw what had gotten Rex so flustered. It was the sight of him lying on his bed. "Yeah. It is," he said with a groan as he sat up.

They just stared at each other.

"Um, sorry about before," Rex blurted out.

Noah rolled his eyes. "I already forgave you for that. My phone's back, safe and sound. No harm done."

"Oh, yeah, sure, but I was actually talking about what happened here in my room."

Noah's face grew hot. "Oh."

"I know that things between us were weird but I didn't want to deny that a big part of me still wants you, Noe. Seeing Six on the road to recovery and the successful mission mixed with seeing you again. I felt high on life. Unbelievably, I still do."

"I get it. I enjoyed it too, so there's nothing to apologize for," he persisted as he relived that incredible moment against the door. "But we need to address other things first."

"Yes, we do," Rex agreed. "I just wanted to make it clear that I wouldn't have done anything that you weren't into."

"I know."

The microphone blew out as Rex sighed heavily. "I hate that I keep being the one to mess things up in the first place. I miss you. I just... I miss you," Rex admitted, resting his cheek on his shoulder. Before Noah could ask him to clarify which part of their past he was lamenting Rex answered for him. "I don't mean to sound like a mopey ex. I just... I just miss my best friend."

"And here I thought you would have found a replacement by now."

"No one could ever replace you, Noe."

Noah pressed his lips together and held his breath doing his best not to sigh as well. He was trying not to smile at Rex's confession. There had been no hesitation on Rex's part to admit how he was feeling. He didn't even seem the least bit flustered at having said something so intimate.

"Hm."

"It's nice to have you back. I don't wanna screw it up because I, well, you know…"

Noah took pity on his friend by not making him spell out what he meant. "I know." Would it be too early to tell him that he felt the same way? Probably.

Noah got a call from Bash, but he declined it and responded with a text. He took a screenshot of his video call with Rex and sent it to Bash. Who immediately started sending him walls of text. Noah grinned as he read them.

"Is that your friend, Bash?"

It was weird hearing Rex call him that. Noah was one of the few people that got to call him that.

"Yeah. You might have created a monster with him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, after your little stunt, he's got some choice words for you. Hold on." Noah took a moment to text Bash, asking for permission to share those choice words with Rex. He couldn't stop laughing as his friend insisted upon it.

"What? What'd he say?"

"He wants me to tell you that you better play nice with me. That if you don't he'll handle it. He's an English major so he is very good with words."

He spent the next few minutes proving just that by reading the text out loud to Rex. Rex grinned with approval at the so-called choice words.

"I see, I don't think half of that's anatomically possible."

Noah laughed at Sebastian's clever threats. "Creative license."

A text from someone new caught Noah's attention. "Oh, that's random."

"What? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's just a text from my roommate, Casey. I don't know if you remember him."

"Vaguely."

That was Noah's experience with him too. Casey's cool but was much more interested in having as much sex with his girlfriend as humanly possible so he was rarely around. It was actually how Noah and Sebastian met. Bash was roommates with Casey's girlfriend but they used their dorm room so often that Bash would just hang out in Noah's room. It's Noah and Bash's room in every way but officially.

"What'd he want?" Noah marked the note of jealousy in Rex's voice but didn't say anything about it. It was just how things were between them right now.

"Just checking in. I guess he finally came up for air and saw that I wasn't gonna be around for a few days." Still, it was a nice if unexpected gesture from his estranged roommate. A follow-up text proved him wrong. "Ah, he wanted me to know that Bash was using my bed as a dining table." Noah shot a text to thank him for the update, but that he was okay with it and that he'd change the sheets once he was back.

"You and Bash seem very close."

"You don't have to sound so bummed about it."

"I'm not."

"Uh, huh, sure. Keep telling yourself that."

"Will you tell me about him?"

Noah switched back over to the video call so he could look at Rex. He seemed sincere in his request. "Sure."

So he did. He divided the next thirty minutes of his life juggling between chatting with Rex and texting with Bash. There was a moment where Rex got jealous when he learned Noah and Bash had hooked up during one of those times Bash was kicked out of his dorm. As unjustified as his jealousy was when it came to Casey Noah wasn't entirely against his reaction when it came to Bash, even if Noah did his best to reassure him that it was a one-time thing and that the only interest they had in each other was purely platonic.

"Turns out, there's no replacing you, either."

"I should have done all of it," Rex admitted randomly.

"Done what?"

"What Bobo did. I should've called you and made those travel plans. Hell, I should have just come'n'got you myself."

"It's okay. I know why you didn't. I could have done more so you wouldn't have had to even think about calling me. You'd have already done it."

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Taking the blame for my fuck ups?"

"I-I'm not."

"You are. And it's starting to piss me off. You gotta stop denying that I am the reason why we're like this. It was my idea to start this thing between us in the first place. And it was my cowardice that led to what happened that morning."

"Rex-" Noah started. "I get that you want to talk about this, but let's not get into this now."

"When then?"

"Tomorrow. I know I don't have a lot of time, but I want to have this talk in person. I need to have it in person. Understand?"

Rex's eyes closed briefly. "Yeah, yeah, I understand. Goodnight, Noah."

"Goodnight, Rex."

Rex ended the call just as he finished speaking.

Well, shit.

That was just not going to do.

Noah tapped his phone to wake it after it went dark and pressed the phone icon twice to make his phone automatically dial the last number in the call history.

"Noe?"

"Listen here, you jerk! I'm not letting you get away with being pissed at me because I'm not pissed at you anymore! We'll figure out shit out together. Got that?" He shouted and exhaled through his nose as he waited for Rex's answer.

Rex's shuddering breath made his skin break out into gooseflesh and then Rex was laughing, deep and honest. "Yeah. Yeah. I got it."

"Good. I'll make arrangements to stay the night, okay?"

Rex perked up at that. "Yeah, okay. It's late. You should rest. I wasn't gonna hang up until you were in a better mood."

"Mission accomplished."

"Awesome. Night, Rex."

"Night, Noah."

This time when they ended their call some of the guilt in Noah's chest eased. He should have been here. But his guilt at how they parted as lovers had overridden his friendship. He hoped this was a good sign that things between them could be mended if not fixed completely.

He made himself roll out of his bed in order to get into it properly, as tired as he was he still had one more thing he had to do before he slept.

Sebastian picked up on the first ring. "Tell me everything!"

Apologies for the delay in updating. I've actually started working on a new story and it's possessed me completely. It's not for Generator Rex or any other fandom I've written for before. I am equal parts excited and terrified to dip my toe into this fandom, but the writing process for it has been an absolute joy. I hope once this story is completed you will take a chance and follow me into that story!

As for this story, the next chapter is practically finished so the next update won't take over a month.

Bramblerose4