A/N- Just a little one-shot that hit me when I was feeling nostalgic and regretted finishing up my trilogy (Yes I'm trying to stick to three!). Trying.. Anyway, I figure it fits in somewhere later in the series, after Fault Line maybe.

For my Community fic followers; Wait out, I'm still working on another chapter for you and it will be up soon.

-Grey

Hex desperately sucked in another lungful of frigid mountain air. He was seriously feeling out of shape running alongside Alex. His rangy friend was matching the pace he set and was still keeping a steady flow to his breathing. Alex's long sinewy legs seemed perfectly designed for the cross-country run they were doing along the Cheviot Hills, Northern England.

He makes it look easy, Hex grumbled internally about his friend, who seemed to be born to run the lonely hills. Every movement he made seemed smooth and effortless, his pale, bare legs bounding him along in a lengthy stride. Dressed in only his sneakers, running shorts and a plain brown T-shirt, Alex also appeared impervious to the cold.

There was no question; the boy was in his element.

In contrast, Hex felt like he stumbled the slopes in a clumsy huffing lope.

The long grass snatched at his trainers periodically and the undulating terrain threatened to roll an ankle with any misplaced step. In track pants and long sleeves, he was feeling distinctly too hot, despite the single digit temperature they started the endeavour in.

The sensibility of Alex's shorts was quickly becoming apparent.

While he did a fair amount of running at home, it seemed like a completely different world. He was used to pounding across pavement, a flat, hard run that was fragmented by frequent stops to give way to traffic. More scenic and far quieter, Hex could see why a guy might actually enjoy making his running track venture up into the hills instead.

But then there was the whole, them still being hills part.

Hex knew from research just what one hell of a climb they were making; it was over eight hundred metres above sea level at the higher points.

Yeah, lets blame it on the altitude; the air is thinner up higher right? His mind justified his struggling in its wanderings, while the body ran on autopilot.

His calves felt like jelly and his chest ached from the cold and exertion, but he carried on.

If Alex can do this than so can I, he decided resolutely, lifting his head and pushing on.

"We're almost at the peak," his running partner informed him between puffs.

Hex saved his breath and grunted as a reply instead.

"Doing well," Alex encouraged him breathlessly, when the slope steepened under their feet.

The strain increased and Hex really started to feel the extra effort it took to get up the hill.

Surrender! Stop and walk, the dark voice of temptation suggested, seductively at the back of his head. Considering the attractive alternative, Hex's pace began to falter with his resolve. His eyes drooped to watch his own footfall.

His body was screaming for respite, his muscles stretched and tired, his heart and lungs seemed to ache from the increased workload. His stomach rolled with nausea, threatening to host a guest reappearance from his breakfast.

The less painful option, the soft way out, was looking pretty damn good at the moment.

Alex would understand, it is a tough run and you've done so well already, the sweet elicit tones of surrender whispered gently, like a lover's lips against his internal ear. The sound was enticing, but edgy, a familiar voice that belonged to someone he couldn't or wouldn't admit to naming.

If I take the easy way out now, where do I stop though? He asked himself. Today it is stopping to walk, but tomorrow I could be talking myself out of the run altogether, it is always easier to stay at home in front of the computer.

Nothing important is ever easy, he thought remembering back to the voice of temptation that echoed in his mind.

Looking at his determined friend beside him, Hex drew fortitude.

I'm not doing the run for Alex, I'm doing it for me. He berated the voice, it felt like he was used to arguing with its owner. Still, if Alex isn't giving up then neither will I; I won't let down my friends, Hex mentally declared as images flew through his mind of him letting down the group by not being to the same standard of fitness.

With that sentiment he pushed harder then ever, forcing strength into his legs and powering up the dwindling hill. A low growl started in his throat with each harsh breath, but his body stayed true.

Alex noticed the change in Hex's pace and smiled despite himself, he knew all to well the battle that raged inside. His dark voice didn't sound like a certain girl, but the message was still always the same. Proud of his friend's determination, he too increased his pace to match the other boy, who was now almost sprinting up the last of the hill.

They crested the peak together, staggering to a grateful stop as one. There were no words exchanged, nothing but heavy breathing for a good minute from the two runners.

Still sucking wind hard, the pair stood up straight to appreciate the view from the top.

It was magnificent.

Looking down on the windswept tussock and wide expanse of long grass below, Hex thought it truly felt like standing on top of the world. Bruised, overcast clouds rumbled overtop, but in the far distance the sun peaked through, lighting a different part of their country.

"Nice view," Hex finally remarked when he had the respiratory function to do so.

"Nice run," Alex commended him back, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, equally short of breath.

"It was easier with a training partner," Hex admitted candidly, stretching out his tight calves.

"It always is," Alex conceded, still flushed from the effort and reflecting on the times he made the run with his father. It felt slightly different running with a partner, a friend, rather then a mentor, a father, an idol. Not necessarily in a bad way either.

It was a shared strength, a bond of comradeship that kept both parties moving, neither wanting to disappoint the other. In this case too, Alex knew that he had almost adopted the role of mentor, as the better runner on the familiar ground. It had suddenly become his job to lend more strength then he borrowed, to place more effort into his partner's run then his own.

"That is a pretty hard out run Alex." Hex decided with a look of slight admiration in his direction.

"Nine Kilometres, Three times a week," Alex revealed the crux of his training, causing Hex to shake his head in disbelief at the dedicated teen.

Alex dismissed his friend's impressed expression with a casual shrug, "The view and the walk back are almost worth it,"

"We're walking back?" Hex made sure he had heard him right, "Well that is bloody lucky, because I'm knackered." He confessed.

Alex gave a huffing chuckle at the look of relief on his friend's face.

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't mate," Alex teased him.

"Train hard; fight easy." He quoted one of the many SAS mantras he heard so often growing up.

"Running feels like dying." Hex replied with a saying of his own that pretty much summed up his feelings on the matter at the moment.

The two companions had a decent laugh this time, largely because they now had the breath to do so.

The walk back seemed downright leisurely in comparison to the ascent and Hex embraced every moment of it.

Reaching the starting point of their run, he turned back to face the hill they had just come from. It was silhouetted light against the stormy backdrop of angry clouds, a downpour the pair had narrowly avoided.

Without thinking, Hex aimed his palmtop up at the landscape, making sure to include the ground closer up to provide some scale to their distance from the feature and he snapped a picture.

He admired the high-resolution photo he had just taken for a moment before attaching it to an email. The intended recipient was on his frequently messaged list and it took only a couple of seconds for him to set it all up. He pondered over the caption for such a photo and finally remembered the taunting voice in his head as he battled the final leg of it.

Finally he settled on a message to her.

Just ran to the top. Beat that!

-H.

His email flicked away into cyberspace and he looked up quite satisfied with his sent product.

Alex gave him a smarmy, knowing grin at the expression the hacker wore; it was one that Alex noticed wasn't reserved for just anyone.

Hex didn't much appreciate the smart-arse grin on the local's face and decided he would try and remove it.

"So what now? Press-ups?" He suggested as their next exercise. He felt pretty confident in his ability to show up the skinnier Alex in that department.

Alex changed his expression to say cocky and daring.

"Fine you're on, who dares wins." He accepted the challenge.