Trying to Live

"I am only going to break your heart."

Those words hung clearly in the cold wasteland of the Providence hallway. Silence greeted them and they seemed to stretch out even more than they already had. Stunned, it took a while for him to do it, but eventually a Rex managed to get his tongue under control.

"What?" he yelled. He quickly caught himself, he didn't want anyone running to see what was going on and seeing this. "What?" he repeated. It was softer, but it held all of the tumbling emotions the yell could not. Their clashing colors practically painted the word in the air above Rex's head.

Six sighed softy under his breath, but continued. "I am going to tell you this before you try to stumble your way through a confession." Rex could feel his face get hot, but Six plowed on, forcing the rest of the words out through Rex's almost tangible embarrassment. "I am giving you a fair warning. No matter what happens, eventually, I will only break your heart Rex. Think about that before you make a decision you will regret." With those words, Six turned ad began to walk down the hall with calm, even, steps.

"W-wait!" Rex choked out. He desperately reached for the Agent's sleeve, but with a quick move, Six was out of his reach. Rex let his hand fall, and he felt a wave of hopelessness crash onto him. However, Six only continued for a few more steps before he came to a stop.

"What is it Rex?" Six's voice floated back to him. Rex was surprised to hear that it sounded just the very slightest bit strained.

"How? Who told you?" Rex was beginning to get over the shock, and his voice had steadied out, even though it still let out the trickles of emotion with each word. His mind was racing, trying and trying to figure out who had told Six. Was it Holiday? Or was it Calan? No, Holiday wouldn't do that, and Calan was just too much of a good guy to tell about that sort of thing. So how did he... Six's voice broke through his thoughts.

"I know you Rex. I know everything about you." This time, when Six began walking away, Rex didn't say anything, and Six didn't stop.

Rex did think about it. Actually, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Sure, he knew the fact of relationships. No matter how amazing and all consuming they were, very few actually worked out in the long run. Rex also knew that, if a miracle happened, and they actually did 'make it' then six could still… could still... Rex shoved that one out of his mind. He wouldn't think about that one.

Rex knew every fact about why they would not work out. Six was so much older. That was the main one. A lot of people would get mad about that. They were both guys, and a lot more people would get really mad about that. They worked together, and Six was his superior/nanny. White would get mad about that.

Still, no matter how much Rex thought of each of these facts, the moment Six walked into the room, the moment he said something- anything, that was the exact moment in time that none of the facts mattered anymore. The way Six smiled sometimes, when he thought he was alone, it said the age gap didn't matter. The way he spoke said it didn't matter if they were different species, they would be together so why would being male be a problem? The way Six fought even said that White could kiss his ass; no one really wanted his opinion anyway. Rex saw every line on his hands and hair on his head, and they all worked together to melt away the cold hard facts like snow on a hot July day.

"I thought about what you said, before. I made my decision."

They were standing in the exact footprints they had stood in only the week before. They looked as if they were squaring off for a fight, except that neither one of them actually seemed to have much energy to do anything resembling fighting.

"Really now? What did you decide?" Six looked just as impassive as he had the time before. Rex could just feel his heart sink in his chest. That was not a good sign.

Six was about to rip the words from Rex's lips forcefully. He really couldn't take this waiting. He needed to hear Rex say those words. But no, no he could not do anything that would make it seem as if he had pressured Rex. It had to be clear that it was his own decision, his own choice. His stomach was clenching and churning. The fear and the hope were swirling together in a mixture that felt as if it could easily kill him. He forced himself to breath slowly, keep still, and try to stay in control. 'Damn it, please Rex, Say something- anything. Say it before I go insane.'

Slowly, Rex opened his mouth to speak, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the words past his lips. He shut his mouth, and with a nervous swallow, he tried again. Nothing happened. Rex felt the panic blossoming in his belly. He self-consciously licked his lips. Why was Six so damn impassive looking? Maybe he didn't care; maybe he thought Rex was disgusting. Maybe- "I'm sorry." He broke through his own thoughts. Blindly, he turned and began to run as fast as he could down the hallway, away from Six.

He didn't get far. There was a flash of green, and suddenly Six had him pinned gently to the hallway wall. He was just a little too close for Rex's thought process to deal with, and obviously, he knew that. He stepped back quickly, and smoothed his suit out once he was at a more appropriate distance. He looked as if he was trying to compose himself, but it was only for an instant, and then he was looking blankly at Rex again.

"You said you made a decision Rex. Tell me what you decided Rex." Was it just Rex's imagination, or had the ghost of panic passed over Six's face as he said those words?

Somehow, that little ghost imagined or not, gave Rex the courage to say what he needed to. "I have decided," his voice broke, and he began again, "I have decided that it is worth the risk."

Rex didn't know what he expected, but whatever it was, it wasn't what Six actually did. Six simply nodded, and stepped backwards until his back touched the wall. He didn't say a word. Rex watched as he slid down the wall. Six still hadn't spoken. Firmly, he pressed his forehead into his palms, and finally spoke. "You are going to send me straight to a mental institution. I can already tell."

Six knew he probably looked a little crazy, just sitting there on the floor. Really though, he couldn't help it. The rush of emotions that hit his body when Rex finally said those words… it was just… euphoric. Six was just a little too damn old for this shit. He couldn't help but to grin at the irony of those words; thank goodness his hands were blocking his face. If he was anything, he was a little too old.

He was too old for Rex, and he was defiantly too old for the feelings that coursed through his blood when Rex was around. In the middle of his private little pity party though, a peal of laughter sounded from somewhere above him. Slowly, he lifted his face and watched as Rex proceeded to laugh himself stupid. His face quickly turned red, and then slowly began to color purple; the veins on his neck stood out as he tried to breath and burst with laughter at the same time. Only once Rex was laying on the floor next to him, blue in the face and gasping for breath, did Six bother to say anything. "I'm glad you find this situation amusing." He deadpanned.

Six felt his pulse speed up a little as Rex directed that cocky grin up at him. "Six. I think I could go my entire life and not understand you." He was still huffing slightly as he pulled himself up into a sitting position next to Six. Six could feel the heat from Rex's body as they sat there next to each other in silence. Unconsciously, Six's breath synced up with the younger man's, and he leaned a little closer to that vibrant warmth. They remained like that for a few moments before Six realized what was going on; and forcing himself to put his stoic mask back on, straightened up and leaned away from Rex.

Eventually Six decided to speak, and he struggled to keep his voice calm as he turned to Rex. "Do you want to tell the doctor, or do you want me to? I don't know how she will react."

Rex quirked his head and looked at Six. "What do you mean, how she will react?"

The genuinely confused look on Rex's face made Six raise an incredulous eyebrow at him. "I am a lot older than you are Rex."

Six narrowed his eyes, not that Rex could see, as Rex grinned at him. "You aren't that much older than me."

"I'm 32 Rex. You are only 18."

"That's only 14 years. Noah's parents are 19 years apart." Rex retorted stubbornly.

Six sighed. This was getting nowhere, even though it did warm his heart a little more to see that Rex honestly didn't care about Six's age. "Well then, since you think it isn't such a big deal, I see no reason why you can't tell the good doctor."

"Fine with me." Rex replied, and leaned back against the wall, this time a little closer to Six. "Besides, she already knows. So does Calan. Probably, lots of other people know too."

"Why do you say that?" Six asked, though in the back of his mind, he remembered what he ad deliberately forced away before. His suspicions were confirmed as Rex lazily pointed across the hallway. Directly at the security camera, and even as Six looked up at it, it focused more on his face.

Holiday's eyes were glued to the screen. She could feel the soldiers behind her jostling for position in the crowded room, but she ignored them ad kept her eyes focused solely on the movie unfolding in front of her.

"20 bucks says Six kisses Rex before he gets off that floor."

Holiday couldn't help the smile that came over her face as she drug her eyes away from the screen. She locked eyes with a grinning Calan. "30 bucks says they don't."

"That's a deal." Calan nodded, and instantly both sets of eyes were back on the screen. Rex was picking himself up from his laughing fit. Slowly, their smiles got wider as Rex oh-so-subtly inched his way closer to an oblivious Six. They simultaneously tried to learn to read lips as they watched Six and Rex talking on the soundless video feed. Then suddenly every smile in the room disappeared as Rex nonchalantly pointed out the camera to Six. As the camera focused on Six's quickly darkening face, even Holiday began to get nervous. They didn't have time to react as suddenly Six sent one of his katanas straight into the camera.

Every person in the room, Calan and Holiday included, flinched back when the katana hit, half expecting it to come barreling through the screen. Everyone was silent for a few moments as the white noise of the static from the monitor rang out across the room. Then, a rough voice cut through the tension of the room. Everyone jerked, thinking Six was already standing in the room, ready to kill them. Thankfully, though, it was only Calan speaking to the shivering men.

"None of you were here today." Calan stated forcefully, his words meeting a barrage of nodding from the room. "You were on patrol, reading a book, taking a shower, kicking puppies- whatever- but you were not here. You were not even in this wing of the building. Unless you want to take a no hands, tied to a cinderblock, swim in the petting zoo tonight, I suggest you stick with that story. Clear?"

"Yes Sir!" The overenthusiastic and highly panicked men yelled in unison. Then there was a mad rush to the door, with each of them trampling the others in their hurry to get away from that little room.

It was only when Holiday and Calan were alone, did Holiday turn to Calan once again. She folded her arms and grinned at the smirking man beside her. "That will be $30."

An:

Well, I hope you liked it! I know that really, I could do so much with this, and I am debating whether to leave it as a one shot, or making it a chapter fic. If enough people want me to, I can definitely make it longer.

Read, Review, And Criticize. Like always, I love constructive criticism just as much as any other review (I really really really love reviews) and if you see something that I screwed up on, call me on it. I WILL fix it if it is a problem. Thank you for getting this far, and don't forget to tell me what you think!