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"Hey Rex, do you ever think about what you're going to be when you get older?"
Rex shrugs and flops backward to sprawl across Noah's bed. "Alive, hopefully. Why? You thinking of a career change?"
Noah snorts. "I don't mean a job - I'm pretty sure I signed myself up for Providence grunt work when I started hanging around with you. I meant like, what dynamic do you think you'll be?"
"Oh," Rex says, wincing. "Yeah, no. Apparently, if you go EVO before you get a dynamic, you never get one. Or at least that's what the research is saying right now for the EVO kids I cure."
"That research has to be pretty recent though, right? You only started working for Providence like five years ago. For all you know, they could all just be Omegas, right?"
"I mean, yeah, but even if they are, I'm not especially concerned about it. I kind of have bigger worries."
"Oh, come on," Noah complains, "you've never wondered about it? Like, tried to guess?"
"Not in the last five years, no," Rex says a little pointedly. He doesn't exactly have that much of a frame of reference for himself- no parents, no siblings, no childhood behaviors. He tried asking Cricket about it once (not his dynamic specifically, just any family she can recall) and apparently, he's been alone for as long as anyone can remember. He'd much rather know his last name than what he may or may not be when he turns 18.
"Still though, you have to have taken a guess." Rex shoots him a glare and Noah puts his hands up in a placating gesture. "Orrrrr you can take one now."
"Isn't it random, though? It's genetic stuff."
"Yeah, but different dynamics act differently. Like Omegas act differently than Alphas."
Rex shrugs. "I think that's called having a personality, Noah. You should try it sometimes."
Noah pushes him and Rex scoots over on the bed for him.
"Come on , Rex. Even if it's just guessing, there has to be one you want to be. Like, if you had to pick one."
Rex rolls his eyes and throws an answer out there. "Beta."
"At least pretend to think about it," Noah gripes.
Rex sighs and mulls it over a little. Circe doesn't have a dynamic, which gets rid of requesting one to match with her. He guesses being an Omega would be inconvenient, but so would being an Alpha. Honestly, anything that would make his life more difficult than it already is seems undesirable.
"Beta." Noah frowns. "I'm serious! Alpha and Omega both sound like they'd waste the few minutes of free time I have anyway."
"That's boring. Most guys would say Alpha."
"I don't know if you've noticed Noah, but I'm not 'most guys'."
Noah huffs. "Whatever. What do you think I'd be?"
Rex gives him an evaluating look. "Alpha," he says. Noah starts a fist pump but Rex cuts him off, a smile crawling across his face. "Or Beta. Or Omega. It's a 33% tie either way."
"Rex," Noah groans. "Just humor me. I mean - what do you think when you think Alpha?"
"The i A i A allele."
"You're no fun dude."
Rex frowns. "Hey, I'm plenty of fun. I'm just saying that your assumption that you can somehow tell what someone is by how they act is stupid."
"No, it's not. It's like the most common teenager pastime. I'm pretty good at it too. Better than you, probably."
Rex knows he's being baited, but still - he always falls for Noah's bets hook, line, and sinker. "No way!" He shouts, springing up from bed. "I could totally beat you."
Noah smirks. "You're on. Five people, we both guess - whoever gets the most answers correct wins."
"Fine. Let's go."
They end up choosing people at Providence because Rex doesn't know any other people. Noah tries to imply he's rigging it, but Rex assures him he's never asked for anyone's dynamic.
"Who do you want to start with, then?" Rex asks. "Random grunts? White Knight himself? Bobo?"
Noah rolls his eyes. "How about...Dr.Holiday."
Rex's eyebrows crawl up his forehead. "Sure, I guess. What do you think she is?"
"No way man, if I go first you're just gonna copy me."
Rex huffs. He takes a long look at Dr.Holiday and tries to recall the few stereotypes he's overheard about dynamics. While she's certainly attractive enough to be an Omega, she's also level-headed like a Beta and assertive like an Alpha. Truthfully, he probably would have just copied Noah, because this personality thing doesn't make any sense. People are more than genetic anomalies and he’s a testament to that. Still, he tries to think if he's seen Dr.Holiday take time off in any consistent schedule. She usually leaves a few days before Christmas, but he doesn't know if that's for the holidays or a heat or rut. Then again, Dr.Holiday didn't take time off when a sleeping plague decimated the population, so-
"Alpha," Rex says.
Noah barks out a laugh. "Are you crazy? She's obviously an Omega."
"What do you mean 'obviously'?"
"Well, she's hot, she's nice, and she lowkey acts like your mom. Omegas are constantly mothering people."
"Okay, but she's also super hard-headed and everyone respects her. Don't people like - look down on Omegas or something?"
"Not anybody decent," Noah retorts. "It's super taboo to imply Omegas are lesser these days."
Rex shrugs and doesn't mention what he's overheard in the Providence break rooms.
Rex sidles up to Dr.Holiday, who's standing by his MRI machine like always.
"Rex, perfect timing," she says. "I need another biometrics scan before we-"
"Can you tell what dynamic someone is by their personality traits?" He blurts. "Like how they act."
Dr.Holiday's face crumples. "Oh, Rex," she says gently. "I know it might be tempting to...speculate, but the data really does show that people who go EVO before puberty don't develop dynamics. If you need to talk, we can-"
"No, I mean - Noah made a stupid bet that he could guess what dynamic people are by looking at how they act. And I told him it was up to chance, but-"
"Are you asking me what dynamic I am?" Rex nods sheepishly. Dr.Holiday sighs. "Listen. You can't actually tell what dynamic a person is based purely on their behaviors, but we do live in a world that treats people differently based on their dynamic, which in turn shapes the way you behave. So some people may act traditionally like an Alpha or an Omega, but that doesn't-"
"You're an Omega, right?" Noah interrupts. "If you were an Alpha, you would have just said that."
"Yes, I am an Omega, but-"
"Sweet!" Noah cheers. "I was right! I knew she wasn't an Alpha."
"You thought I was an Alpha?" Dr.Holiday asks. Rex flushes.
"Don't rub it in. I'll get the next one right, just wait."
"Six-"
"No."
"Aww, come on-"
"I said no, Rex."
"You don't even know what I'm trying to ask! I could be in danger."
" Are you in danger?"
"Yes." Six gives him a chilly stare. "In danger of dying of curiosity!" Rex says, finally.
"Then die. I'm leaving." They do not get to ask Six.
They go for Calan next. Rex guesses Beta and Noah guesses Alpha. Calan ends up proving Noah right about Alphas not explaining their behavior when he just gives a brief nod and stalks off. They go for White Knight next, since his files are all available publicly as the President of Providence. They both guess Alpha and he is, unsurprisingly. They also give a cursory glance at Six's file only to see it has the highest classification status physically possible. It's right up there with the protocols they won't even mention around Rex and no amount of nanite-hacking seems to be able to get into them. Noah comments that it's weird Six would hide his status, but Rex just shrugs it off and says that Six hides everything, which is true. In the end, Noah wins 5-1. It puts Rex in a mood because he realizes there's a whole other side to life he was missing out on, another thing being an EVO has taken from him.
"It's not a big deal," Noah says. "I mean, Doc Holiday is right - you can guess, but you can't tell for sure by the way anyone acts. Besides, the information isn't all that useful anyways."
"I guess," Rex responds mulishly. "Still, it feels like- like everyone is speaking a language I don't know. Wouldn't that annoy you?"
"Yeah," Noah admits, "that's why I'm the best at it."
"Oh shut up," Rex laughs. Still, he doesn't forget about it.
The video he watches on how to tell people's dynamics by mannerisms is a little sketchy. It looks down on Omegas a lot and uses a lot of phrases like "inherently submissive" and "matronly charm". It sounds like a bunch of old, dynamist lies, but so did guessing people's dynamics off of behavior and Noah proved him thoroughly wrong on that. He decides to ask Six about it, since he doesn't know his dynamic and therefore can't be accused of saying something offensive on purpose.
"Where did you hear that?" Six asks sharply. They're at dinner like they are every Friday, but Dr.Holiday missed it because it's her sister's birthday. Rex figured the mood couldn't get any worse, so he casually slipped out that he had heard someone imply that you could tell if someone was an Omega based on how well they took orders.
"Some guy on the internet," Rex replies. "I thought it sounded stupid, but apparently it's really common to-"
"It is stupid," Six says. "You can't tell what dynamic someone is based on how they act and especially not based on antiquated stereotypes."
Rex raises his hands in surrender. "I'm not saying I believe it, Six. I mean, Dr.Holiday is like the coolest, strongest woman I've ever met, and Circe once hit me over the head with a chunk of loose concrete. But Noah guessed like 5 people's dynamics the other day including Dr.Holiday's, so there's got to be something identifying."
"There isn't." Six's voice is tight and his face is edging into the snarl it takes when he fights. "Noah's bigoted assumptions aren't science, Rex. Remember that." Six stands with a clatter of cutlery and leaves his full plate on the table. Next to the untouched mashed potatoes, his fork is bent nearly in half.
"Well that was a reaction," Bobo mutters. "Nice one hot shot."
"Is Six an Omega?" Rex asks. Dr.Holiday's eyebrows shoot up her forehead.
"Sorry? What would make you think Six is an Omega?"
"Well, yesterday at dinner-" Rex stops himself, really thinking over what he said and how it might come out. "You have to promise not to get mad at me if I tell you."
"Rex," Dr.Holiday says, squinting suspiciously.
"And you have to know that I would never believe what I said back then-"
"Rex."
"-and that really, it was more of a scientific inquiry, and I know you love science so you have to-"
"Rex!"
"Fine!" He whines. "I may or may not have said something dynamist about Omegas at the dinner table and Six bent his fork in half."
Dr.Holiday frowns.
"Why would you say that? And what did you say?"
"Well, Noah beat me at his game 5-1, and even you said that there's something to identifying people's dynamics based on behavior, so I figured 'why not look it up?' And all the answers were like, really bad, but I figured I would ask anyways."
"Rex," Dr.Holiday sighs, "if you needed help with stuff like this, you could have come to me. I am a doctor."
"Sure, but - it was your sister's birthday yesterday and I didn't want to make anything worse for you. It just seems like I made things worse for Six instead."
"I'll talk to him," Dr.Holiday assures. "He was probably just upset because a lot of people said some...unkind things about my dynamic when I started here. I'm sure he just didn't want you internalizing those kinds of thoughts."
"I would never," Rex promises.
Dr.Holiday smiles. "Good. Now we never did get those biometric scans."
Six still gives him the cold shoulder for the next few missions. Rex tries to explain himself and apologize, but it only ever seems to make it worse. It never gets to the point where it interferes with Six's ability to do his job, but he skips three group dinners in a row and Rex ends up crying on Noah's couch with Maria Del Barrio reruns going in the background. He says some stuff he probably wouldn't have if it wasn't three am and Maria hadn't just lost her husband and baby, and he knows Noah snitched about him saying Six was "the closest thing he'd ever had to a dad", but it ends with things between him and Six going back to normal. He still has the desire to understand what makes Noah able to guess people's dynamics, but he keeps it under wraps to maintain the fragile peace. Soon, enough time passes that it seems like everyone has forgotten about it but him. Noah natures and becomes an Alpha, which he's ecstatic about. Rex rolls his eyes and congratulates him, but still…
"Doc?" Rex asks. He grabbed her sleeve on impulse at the end of dinner. She had stayed behind to pick up a few dishes long after Bobo and Six left. She turns to him and gives a tight smile. He knows she's been overworked lately - Rex's nanites have been weirder than ever after Van Kliess' return. It's been stressing Rex out too, and with Noah naturing, he can't help but think - wouldn't it be so much easier to be normal? Can’t he dream of a world where everything didn’t go so wrong?
"Yes, Rex?" She asks. Rex realizes he's just been staring at her, hand hanging limply off her sleeve.
"Do you think-" he cuts himself off and drops her sleeve. "Never mind. It's stupid."
"It's not stupid if it's bothering you, Rex. I care about you; we all do."
Rex hesitates and tries to convince himself she means it, that he isn't just an asset she's been ordered to keep happy like Noah was. Then again - even if she is, it wouldn't change the answer.
"If I wasn't an EVO-" Rex's voice cracks. Instantly, Dr.Holiday's face creases with pain.
"Oh, Rex," she says. It's such a simple phrase but it sounds like so much when she says it - grief, concern, guilt. Rex pushes forward anyway.
"If I wasn't an EVO," he starts again, "what dynamic do you think I would have been?"
Dr.Holiday sighs. "It's- it's hard to tell, Rex. There's only so much speculation can do, and thoughts like these tend to be more harmful than helpful. You are an EVO, Rex. Thinking about what you might have been will only hurt more in the long run."
Rex turns away abruptly. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry." He leaves before Dr.Holiday can get another word in.
The next day, Six meets with him for private training. The air is awkward around them and Rex knows immediately that Dr.Holiday must have said something. He and Six spar for a while with the tonkas. Rex is clumsy with it, more used to his builds, and when Six doesn't press forward after he disarms Rex he knows the conversation is coming.
"Rex," Six begins stiffly, "living without a dynamic isn't so bad. People can't judge you for something you have no control over. You're not a slave to your biological functions. Speculation occasionally works in your favor." He speaks like he's reading off a mental list.
Rex huffs. "You have a dynamic though. Hiding it is different than being an EVO freak."
Six pauses for a long moment. "You once said that you and White, despite all your differences, were one of a kind. You said that meant something to you, whether or not you were enemies. Trust me when I say I am also one of a kind, and that sometimes you have to use that to your advantage." Rex picks up his tonka and looks at the writing. He and Six, wielding different halves of a whole.
"Who gave you your tonka?" He asks impulsively.
Six's answer is immediate. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Six-"
"White. For my birthday. It didn't end well." Rex lapses into silence. A birthday gift? From White? Why? And despite what Six said about it not ending well, he still kept the tonka, even finding the other half and carrying on the tradition with Rex.
"Was he your old partner?"
"Yes."
"Was he…" Rex stops. He doesn't want to burn this bridge, not when he doesn't know how to fix it. But Six brought him here to be vulnerable, to help Rex. And, well - he still wants to know.
"Was he your Alpha?"
Six is quiet. Then, "Yes. We had a falling out when I failed to be as….submissive, as he expected of me. I was never very good at following orders."
"Oh. Oh. " Rex says. The night at the dinner table makes so much more sense now. "I'm so sorry, Six, I would have never-"
"It's alright Rex. I know." They don't talk much after that.