[OOC] Fic - "Presents for All"
For Holiday, he makes a little Petting Zoo set with his shinto and some wood pieces he finds whenever he's on a mission. They're different shades of brown and he packs them in a box. He leaves them in his lab, with a card of course and knows she'll only come back and look on Christmas Day. He knows her routine, never forgotten it (has an entire ten pages devoted to it), so he's satisfied as he packs it into a corner and leaves.
He sneaks into Providence and leaves a package. It's his ball, the first and only toy he's ever had (the bathtoys don't count, he stole those off Bobo). Rex knows his brother, knows that the meaning would be lost on him, knows that his brother would keep it in a corner, but it's Christmas and even when brainwashing and blowing up was afoot, Cesar was family.
(He leaves a sack of coal for Black Knight)
Rombauer and Lansky get a manual on how to make sandwiches, Kenwyn gets a phonecall (it's not safe to speak to her, it's bad, but he leaves a message). He also remembers to call up Abuela and Frederico, even if it meant his ear got talked off and Abuela made him promise to visit at least ten times over.
He stops halfway to look up at the sun. He could fly up to it, he could reach it, touch it. Then Breach's face comes to mind and he pushes all those kind of thoughts away.
Bobo gets the Las Vegas showgirl he got last time. Let it never be said fame didn't have perks.
He writes a card for Ben and includes an action figure he found at a blast site two years ago. Rex puts every single dumb joke he could remember (and even the ones he can't, but makes up anyway). He's happy with it in the end and when Ben comes back, he'll give it to him.
Rex leaves the box of mints on Six's bed. Before, before everything, Six and Rex never had to know who got the present, they always just knew. Rex always knew that Six got him socks and Six always knew it was Rex who got him the mints. It wasn't tradition or routine (they had nothing like that anyway) but instinct from being partners.
Rex felt his heart ache a little, but it was gone as soon as it came and he felt better.
If he ever found Breach again, he'll give her Christmas. That's his plan.
But first, he visits Noah, tosses him a game he got for a bargain and even when Noah complains at him about how old it was, he still slugs him on the arm, so everything's okay.
White Knight gets a milkshake.
He calls up Hong Kong, biting his lip.
"Hey."
His heart leaps, "Hey, Circe."
"Rex! It's good to hear from you."
"Yeah, same." I love you, I never stopped loving you.
He could feel the smile curve against the phone, see her leaning against a pillar, "What's up?"
"Oh, y'know, merry christmas!"
"Finished all your shopping?"
"Yeah!" And Rex loves her so much, "All done. Just thought ... I'd say hi."
"You should drop over sometime."
He pauses, was it a joke or something she meant? "I should?"
"Sure. Everyone misses you."
"They do?" Last he checked, they tolerated him, wished him well, but nobody wants to remember the time he sold them out, him included, but it comes up like bile in his throat, "Really?"
"Well I do." She's smirking, he just knows it.
"Sure. ... Soon."
"Soon."
The phone clicks off, and he thinks of all the clutter in his head, hearing her voice bringing it all back. But he exhales happily. Life was... good. Life was so good.
Christmas day, and Six tells him, "Nicely done."
Rex couldn't be happier.