Rae: Here was me thinking 'hey, let's do a Bruce/Wally fic for New Year this year! It'll be awesome!'

And then these two barged in and demanded some screen time, and this is what came out of it. I'M SORRY , MY MINIONS. ;A;

There's a saying that states whatever you do on New Year's is what you'll spend the rest of the year doing. In Ben's mind that was not really a good thing.

As far as he was concerned, he didn't want to have to spend the rest of the year fighting "miLord" Fuse and his fricking Fusions. (Wait, were they sure Fuse was even male? Did he have a gender? Perhaps "miLady Fuse" would be a better choice, seeing as the monster was acting more like a girl on a menstrual-induced warpath...)

But from the way that last battle had gone they might not have a choice. He hissed as one of the doctors in DexLabs medical started poking and prodding the wounds on his side again. He pushed at the hand, forcing it away so the jolts of pain would stop, and gave the doctor an annoyed look. She merely raised an eyebrow and left, hopefully to go find some painkillers and a bandage. Ben closed his eyes and let his hand rest gently on top of the gashes, relaxing slightly with the comforting distant hum of machinery and the smell of the sterility of a lab, which to him always meant safety.

The doors to the lab hissed once again, and he opened his eyes to look towards the sound, surprised the doctor had been that quick.

Except she hadn't. Striding down the room to his bed was Rex Salazar, the last remnants of a blue glow leaving his hand. Apparently he'd either just powered down a transformation or he'd been hacking. Again. The Evo teen stopped in front of Ben, worried mahogany eyes scanning him over and widening when they saw the cuts.

"¡Mierda, Ben! What happened to you?"

"Fusion Dexter, that's what happened." Ben shifted and fought a wince at the ensuing throb from his side. "Let it never be said that Dex isn't dangerous." A pause. "Well, him and a few Gigatech Wings. Did you know their claws are really really sharp and hurt when they get you?"

"You got caught by Gigatech Wings?" Rex gently lifted Ben's hand away from his side and examined it carefully. The cuts were very deep; muscle was sliced cleanly through and a couple slivers of rib bone could be seen peeking through the top two gashes. All of them were bleeding, but not profusely; just a steady trickle of red waterfalling down to Ben's hip. Rex inhaled sharply. "My God, Benji."

Ben looked away from his friend sheepishly. "I sometimes miss my timing when it comes to activating Big Chill's intagibility. Big Chill doesn't have the healing factor that Swampfire does, and the Omnitrix was about tapped out anyway. It's going to need a while to charge back up again, I might have over-used it."

"You think?" Rex sighed. "That's not making me feel any better." The black-haired youth hopped up onto the bed next to Ben and put a hand on his shoulder. Ben leaned into the gesture, and silence reigned for several minutes. Neither of them broke it, even when the doctor did come back and start re-sterilizing and bandaging the brunette's wounds. Rex quietly helped to wrap the linen tape around the younger man's torso, and when they were done the doctor told them that Ben could go but he had to take it incredibly easy until his watch recharged. She pressed several rolls of bandage into Rex's hands, smiling slightly, and then ushered the both of them out.

Ben leaned heavily on Rex, gathering his strength, before he eased off the pressure and took back most of his own weight, walking in time to the Evo's candence. "You room or mine?" The brunette asked, with a drawn but cheeky grin. Rex snorted, resisting the temptation to poke Ben as the only part of him Rex could reach was his side. Aggravating wounds wasn't in the agenda tonight.

"Mine," replied the Hispanic boy. "It's closer."

"And how would you know that?" laughed Ben, now thoroughly amused. Rex grinned back.

"Oh you know me, I have never anything better to do than stalk people. You especially."

"I'm flattered." Ben tightened the arm around Rex's shoulders briefly with another huff of laughter that ended in a barely audible grunt of pain. The Evo quieted and the two of them didn't say a word to each other after that, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. The rest of the way to Rex's room was careful but steady progress, Rex keeping the doctor's words to heart and making sure the brunette was taking it as easy as possible.

They reached the room and Rex helped Ben to the bed, where he promptly stretched himself out and started to doze off. The Hispanic boy gave a light laugh, made sure he was keeping well off his wounds, checked to Omnitrix to see if it had gone green yet (no such luck, but he hardly expected that) and then slinked into his relaxation area. He booted up the computer terminal in his room and started on some research while he waited for Ben to wake back up.

-x-

-x-

Ben glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes to midnight. He made a frustrated noise, causing Rex to look up from his computer terminal with a questioning gaze. Ben just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture from the couch where he'd relocated after he'd finished napping. "Just annoyed," he said. "Somewhere outside someone is battling Fuse's monsters. Possibly some Fusions. On New Year's. How is it fair?"

"It's not," replied Rex, saving and shutting down his session. "But it reminds us of why we fight."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Rex moved swiftly to sit next to the brunette once more. "We fight so our friends, families and loved ones stay safe, so they don't get hurt. So they can celebrate New Year like it's supposed to be celebrated."

"You mean with lots of booze, partying and wild sex?" teased Ben, wan smile sent at Rex. The Evo grinned widely back.

"Exactly."

"Knowing that doesn't make it much easier, though," Be sighed, placing his chin in one palm. "I feel like we're far too young for this. I mean hell, Nigel's only thirteen!" His other hand joined the first, and Ben's troubled visage disappeared as he covered his face with the both of them. "I feel like I need to take the brunt of this war, so the younger ones don't have to. So they're safe. I know what I'm doing. They don't."

"I know how you feel Ben," replied Rex, "but pulling stupid stunts like you did today won't help us in the long run." The Evo moved off the sofa so he was kneeling in front of the older teen and gently started to prize tense hands from an equally tense face. "You have no idea how scared you made me when Abby told me you'd been brought to medical covered in blood and completely out."

"I... scared you?" Ben put his head to one side, emerald eyes flashing with curiosity.

"Yes, you idiot, you did. I thought you'd finally gone and done something you wouldn't recover from." Rex rocked back on his heels slightly. "Turns out I needn't have worried, but the way Abby described it-" The Evo shook his head. "No, I'm just glad you're alright."

Ben stared at the black-haired young man in front of him for several seconds, and then lowered his head so his bangs fell in front of his eyes, obscuring them from view. "Truthfully," Ben said quietly, "I haven't had anyone worry about me properly for a while. I kinda had an argument with both Gwen and Kevin, so they're avoiding me at the minute. And I'm avoiding them."

"An argument? What about? I thought you guys were inseparable."

"So did I. And then Dexter came into the picture." Ben ran his fingers through his hair. "They're absolutely convinced that Dex only became my friend so he had access to the Omnitrix. I can't have ordinary friends, there always has to be an ulterior motive. But of course, they're my cousin and her boyfriend so they don't count. Everyone else must be after the Omnitrix though. Especially since Dex is a scientist." The brunette laughed hollowly. "I have absolutely no doubts that Dexter is fascinated by the Omnitrix and its secrets, but I also have no doubts that our friendship means more to him than some alien shapeshifting device. Kevin and Gwen don't think so though, but couldn't change my mind. That was what our fight was about."

"Well, if they can't accept that you're allowed friends beyond an alien circle, then perhaps you simply need to distance yourself from them until they get that bias towards your friends won't be tolerated and they're only pushing you away. It's good to see loyalty like that." Rex paused, then, and canted his head to one side. "What do they think of me?"

"You?" Ben looked startled for a brief moment.

"I'm your friend, clearly not an alien and I have the ability to hack your Omnitrix and screw it so badly not even Azmuth would be able to jump-start it again. Surely that's cause for concern with them."

"If it is," Ben said with a sour look, "I've not heard anything. This just makes me think it's something about Dexter."

"Well, whatever the case it won't do much good to dwell on it." Rex stood up and offered a hand to the brunette, who took it and hauled himself upright. "Now, cabrón, I think your watch has recharged. How about you go Swampfire and heal yourself up so you're not in pain?"

"Ah." Ben looked down at his bandages and touched them in slight surprise, like he'd just remembered they were there. "Good plan." He pulled up the face of his watch, whirled the dial around several times until the holographic form of Swampfire flickered into view, then pushed the ring back down. A familiar, warm green light enveloped him, rapidly warping him, twisting him and moulding him into the vegetative bipedal Methanosian.

Ben sighed as the bandages on his side fell away and Swampfire's dermal layers reconnected and merged together as though the cuts had never been. Once Ben was satisfied he'd been healed fully he hit the Omnitrix centerpiece on his chest, and once more a green flash came and went to reveal the human brunette.

Sans injuries, Rex was pleased to note.

The Hispanic boy walked up to Ben and gripped him gently by the shoulders. "We will defeat Fuse, Benji, you have to believe that. We won't spend next Christmas or New Year's fighting him, we won't have to worry about the kids under our command nearly as much. We'll make this world safe again."

The Omnitrix wielder gave a lop-sided grin. "Is that a promise?"

"And my New Year's resolution." Rex drew Ben into a hug, and the older boy didn't resist. They stayed like that for several minutes, before Rex pulled back slowly and touched at Ben's side. The young man didn't flinch, just watched the Evo steadily. Dusky fingers traced where the gashes had been only moments before, lightly, caringly. Ben's breath hitched when the dark-haired hero suddenly and unexpectedly leaned down and brushed his lips across smooth skin.

Ben could feel his face heat up as a single mahogany eye looked up from under longer dark hair - who had time to primp anymore? - gauging his reaction. The only thing the older boy did was place a hand on Rex's shoulder, and the younger sighed and closed his eyes. Warm breath ghosted over his side, and the brunette shivered slightly. This didn't go unnoticed by Rex, who started fluttering butterfly kisses up from he was leaning into Ben's ribs to a pronounced collarbone. The Evo planted one last kiss there before he straightened and touched his forehead to Ben's.

"I won't let this happen again," he said, seriously. "I'm going to protect you."

"We're at war, Rex. There are going to be casualties." Ben gripped Rex's forearm, never once dropping eye contact.

"Not you," breathed the younger man, "never you."

Ben didn't have anything to say to that, so he settled for simply leaning forwards and pressing his lips to Rex's, caring and chaste. I'd never leave you if I had a choice was left unsaid, but both heard it. Rex returned the gesture more meaningfully just as the Evo's room clock chimed that it was 12 midnight.

Ben laughed slightly into their liplock, and retreated at the same time Rex did, who canted his head curiously.

"What?" he asked.

"Just thinking that I'd rather like to be spending the rest of the year doing this," grinned the brunette. Rex groaned and shoved playfully at his friend.

"You would," he groused good-naturedly, and Ben merely widened an unrepentant smile. That made Rex drag a thoroughly amused Omnitrix wielder back into another kiss, if only for the sake of wiping that smug grin off his face.

Even if he did have a very valid point.

Rae: Happy New Year, guys! All the best for 2012, mucho luffles! xxx