The sun had just dipped beneath the skyline, casting shadows across the rooftop of the Guardian base. The air was thick with summer heat and tension... mostly the tension part. Rex stood at the edge, arms crossed, watching the sky.

When he showed up... yeah, the guy Rex couldn’t stop thinking about... Rex didn’t greet him with his usual smirk or some cocky one liner. Not tonight. Instead, he turned just slightly, enough to acknowledge the other man.

"Yo," Rex muttered, like he wasn’t secretly thrilled just to see him.

He waited a beat. Then another. Rex finally let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair and messing it up even more.

"Okay, look, I gotta get this off my chest before my brain explodes, and not in the cool kind of way..." He turned fully now, eyes scanning the man he wasn’t supposed to be in love with. "I can’t keep doin’ this sneaky crap, man... We almost got caught today. Kate showed up at my place while you were still hiding in the fucking shower."

He paced, hands gesturing wildly. "And the worst part? I panicked and told her I was just... exfoliating! Since when do I exfoliate? I explode things, I don’t exfoliate them."

His laugh came out bitter and nervous. "She bought it, too. Said my skin was looking real glowy lately... fucking Glowy. That’s what we’ve come to."

Rex sat down hard on an air vent, legs spread, elbows on his knees. He stared at the ground for a second before looking up again.

"I hate this," he admitted, quieter this time. "I hate pretending like you’re not the best part of my damn day. I hate lying to Kate... she doesn’t deserve that. But I don’t know how to come out with this without wrecking... everything. The team, the trust, the image I’ve built up where I’m this super straight, ultra macho, kind of a douchebag but still lovable Rex."

He frowned. "You know, the usual Rex package."

His eyes softened when they met his boyfriend’s. "But with you? I don’t gotta keep up the act. I don’t gotta pretend I’m okay when I’m not. And I sure as hell don’t gotta act like I’m not catching feelings... because I sure as hell already did..."

Rex leaned back against the vent, exhaling slow. "I just wish this didn’t feel like a ticking time bomb. Every time we sneak off, every time we steal a moment, it’s like... one wrong move and the whole thing blows. And for once, I don’t want something to blow up..."