week six - thursday

[refactor]

[ All things considered, this week hasn't been too bad for Jack. Not that he'd really expected it to be, since, well, what did he truly have to fear? His dreams were all of those questions he kept pushing off, of whether he was Handsome Jack or he was just a digital copy, but that's where those truths of his come in handy. Sure, returning to that ghostly form would totally suck (to say the least), but what did he have to worry about? He's Handsome Jack. The longer he has this body, the more certain of that he is.

Though of course, that's not the case for everyone else.

Even so, it's not quite something Jack is thinking of when there's a knock at his door. It's Rhys, so he's not exactly worried here. He takes off the glasses he'd been wearing and sets them on his desk, but after that, he opens the door to greet Rhys with a wry smile. ]

Listen cupcake, gotta say it for the both of us. The cuddling thing? Totally a one-off because we were handcuffed together.

[ because obviously that's why Rhys is here ]

Comments

[jackhole]

[ rhys, on the other hand, has been having a pretty awful week. every single one of his fears somehow lead back to jack and it frustrates him, leaving him unable to sleep and generally pretty weary. he thought he was done with this, he thought he was done with jack but the amount of nights this week he's found himself waking up screaming...

it has to end.

his hair is uncoiffed, his face is greasy and pale, he hasn't eaten in a few days and when he closes his eyes he sees helios burning down around him again. every time this week he's seen jack or head jack's voice, it's like nails on a chalkboard and he's not sure what to do about it. he's been doing so well -- pretending that nothing's different between him and jack, that jack doesn't mean anything to him anymore but it's not working and he can't. he can't live like this.

he can't kill jack though, no. then he'd be just like jack, right? he didn't kill him after helios, he won't kill him here but he can -- he can... disable him, make him weaker. he can make him something less than himself just like he did after helios. yeah, that's what he'll do.

after thinking about it for a long time, he finally settled on jack's mask. if he can take the mask and destroy it -- then jack would be powerless, right? then he couldn't hurt rhys anymore. he couldn't hurt fiona. he'd be as docile as a defanged skag. it's a perfect plan.

so, he shows up to jack's that night and he's dressed like normal, despite the ... hair and the sheen to his skin and the lack of shine to his arm. he's standing pretty stiff but that might just be the tension in him from the week and he runs a hand through his hair as he steps fully into jack's room. ]

I'm not -- look, I know it was a one time thing and like, I have other people to cuddle? Who aren't you? You weren't even that great anyway -- oh my god, I'm not here to talk about cuddling you.

[ don't get distracted, rhys. still, the thought of cuddling does make his body sag just a little because damn, he's exhausted. he gives a shake of his head a moment later and he's straight again, alert. ]

I just wanted to have a drink or something. I-It's been a rough week.

[refactor]

[ For all his casual way of approaching it, it's not as if Jack misses Rhys's appearance. Granted, it's pretty hard to miss in the first place, but Jack is much more observant and calculating than his personality implies. Rhys knows it because he's seen the very worst parts of what that means. Jack's eyes scan Rhys casually, but as he meets his eyes again, his gaze is definitely a touch sharper. It's curious and suspicious, but it's only for a moment, because as Rhys latches onto Jack's insult, Jack's laugh is perfectly predictable. ]

That is because I wasn't in the mood, kitten. I'll have you know that I kick ass at cuddling. For the record.

[ Is that something that you can kick ass at? Apparently Jack thinks so. He takes a step back and beckons for Rhys to follow before he heads towards his desk. There's a bottle sitting there proudly, and it's mostly full. Jack is much more of a social drinker than anything else, so he's probably had more of this when Rhys has been over than by himself. He grabs two glasses, then stays standing at the desk as he starts to pour their drinks. ]

What, too many nightmares about ending up poor? Which, gotta say, actually fair.

[jackhole]

[ rhys feels his arms coming around him, defensive and... scared? slightly scared. there's an odd tenseness to his body as he rubs his robot hand over his flesh arm in a way to comfort himself, taking a few steps into the room and his eyes flicking around a little. god, he's so tired. he's just... so. so tired. ]

No, you're all -- [ well, he's not bony. he's actually kind of soft? and warm now that he has a body. for a moment, rhys painfully wishes to actually be handcuffed to jack again because then -- then he might have an excuse to just... sleep with him again. just sleep. he just wants to go without nightmares and maybe if it was with jack ... ] Nevermind.

[ he's not going to follow the train of thought and instead watches as jack pours him something to drink and bites his bottom lip, wondering if -- if he didn't need to do this? no. jack's a danger and hell, that weird urge to cuddle him, to just forget for a while -- that's part off the danger. jack makes him want to forget what he's done, what the both of them have done. jack makes him want to pretend.

rhys can't pretend anymore. ]

Not... poor, exactly. Something else. Something worse.

[ he drops his hands to his sides then, fingers curling and uncurling for a moment because... because he just doesn't know what to do yet. fuck. ]

[refactor]

[ Jack just laughs by the time Rhys says "nevermind," since the way Rhys always stumbles over his words is a constant source of amusement for Jack. Of course, if he knew just what Rhys was stumbling over, it would be even more hilarious, because yeah, case in point, bitch. He's awesome at cuddling! It's probably one of his top dating skills, but the people he dates never actually are into that part as much as he is. But. ]

Woaaaah, worse than poor? Damn. You must have some skeletons in your closet, huh?

[ He laughs again, but it's the sort of laugh that's mocking, as if he's making fun of Rhys for being tormented about anything like that. Jack's closet might as well be overflowing with skeletons, and yet the ones that he feels anything over he could probably count on one hand.

Jack has finished the drink by now, and he turns to hand the glass to Rhys with a smile. Even if he's half-heartedly mocking Rhys for his morals, it can turn to that charismatic friendliness with the sort of smoothness that makes Jack a frightening person to deal with. ]

Here ya go, babe. You're gonna be my drinking buddy at this rate, should note.

[jackhole]

Nothing too different from anyone else, I guess.

[ rhys watches jack pour, tries to make sense of the odd slowfasttired spill of thoughts in his head. he wants it to stop, all of it to just... stop and jack's laughter feels like tiny daggers against his brain when before, it was such a comforting sound. that's why he can't let it happen anymore -- that's why he has to stop this.

rhys takes the drink and wonders, if for a moment, if he should just drink it and leave. try again later. let things play out like they have to -- but... he can't. he's already got so much blood on his hands in his work to take down jack, at least this time it's actually jack's blood for once. ]

... Haha, right. You and me. Sharing a drink and troubles. I... guess this is what it's like being on your team, huh?

[ he swishes the glass around a little before taking a sip, eyes still on jack. when he pulls back and swallows, he'll add one more thing after. ]

Did you share drinks with Athena too?

[refactor]

[ Jack smiles as he pours his drink after, and it even warms when Rhys says that he's on his team. Not that Rhys will really be able to see it, since it's a slight difference, but it's still something quietly meaningful to him. Not many people say they're on Jack's team lately. Another man might pause more to think on why that is, but not Jack. He's already created his perfect little narrative to justify any of that self-doubt away.

He lifts his glass to his lips, but Rhys's question comes as a surprise enough for him to pause. It's not out of the blue, since he knows he'd mentioned Athena as being a part of his team to Rhys, but it's still unexpected. He remembered that? Jack ends up taking a sip of his drink after all, though he ends up setting it on the desk as he leans against it. ]

Well... Yeah, I did. Not often or anything, since Athena's not really the drinking type. [ Not with him, at least. ] But... Yeah. I did. With all my team back on Elpis. Well, minus Claptrap, but who even cares.

[ me... ]

Why?

[jackhole]

[ rhys' eyes drift away from jack, to look down at his drink before he takes another sip. he'll move closer into the room then, closer to jack so he can lean against the desk right next to him -- shoulders touching with the closeness. he sets his glass down afterwards and grips the edge of the desk, sighing and looking down to the floor.

he's... building up to something, it's pretty obvious now. ]

Just wondering about it. She hates you, you know? So much. Don't really get why. Don't really know what you did to her because... because you had to have done something to her, right? Something bad.

[ he lets out a little laugh, kind of broken and sad as he lifts his robot hand to press his face into his palm. ]

I mean, that's how this goes, right? Someone puts their trust in you, their complete and total blind faith -- and then you ruin it because that's what you do. You take things too far and people die. Every. Single. Time.

[ his hand drags down over his face, covering his mouth as he looks to jack with wide eyes and he's definitely... off. there's a weird look in his eyes, like he's strung out and not really seeing jack despite looking straight at him. if rhys was able to really put into words what he was feeling, he wouldn't know how to start -- right now, he's just sort of running on instinct. babbling. losing his mind. he pushes up from the desk a moment later, hands dropping to his sides as he takes another step closer to jack, way too close now. ]

Hey, but... if I stop it, before it happens again. If I... if I can just prove that I'm not the same as you, right? Then maybe it'll be fine.

[ is he really even talking to jack now? it's kind of weird but jack can notice rhys reaching behind him to pull something out of the back of his pants now -- one large, very sharp knife from the kitchens. his grip looks pretty tight around it. ]

I'm not you, you know? I'm really, really not, but I just... want to keep you, Jack. You don't have to die! I really, really don't want you to die. But if you just stay still, this'll be a good thing -- for both of us!

[refactor]

[ Jack doesn't exactly shift away when Rhys comes to join him, since they're both just physical people, but there's also an implicit trust, even if that's more from Jack than Rhys. The way Rhys is acting is confusing to him, since it's clear that there's something, and something big at that, on Rhys's mind, but Jack truly isn't following. Bringing up Athena now just gets him to frown, since he doesn't get where Rhys is going with this. ]

Now, wait, she's-

[ He starts to interrupt defensively, because Rhys's words dig in more than he would even know to be able to intend. Some of those Vault Hunters he'd hired were scumbags that had abandoned him, sure, but Athena wasn't quite the same. She had never betrayed him, and so Jack does take offense here that Rhys is assuming that Jack had done something here, but that mild offense is cut off as Rhys continues to speak.

Jack's jaw sets tightly, and it's easy to see how his eyes fill with a quick, hot anger. Rhys has seen this before when Jack was nothing more than a hologram, because this is the sort of expression that serves almost as a warning. He doesn't say a word, but he almost doesn't need to. There's danger in Jack's expression, as if he's saying "watch it," but any of Jack's further response is forgotten. The way Rhys looks up at him, Jack understands all at once that this situation is reversed here from what he usually expects. He recognizes the danger even before Rhys pulls out that knife, and tension creeps into Jack's posture as he stands very nearly at the same time Rhys does. ]

You're losing it, kiddo.

[ Jack's tone is low and cold, a last warning before that knife appears, and Jack's eyes narrow. But, as always, Jack's fear never manifests normally. His eyes may narrow, but it comes with the sort of sharp, vicious grin that splits his face. When Jack smiles like this, it's almost like it doesn't fit on his features, twisting everything up into something sinister.

Even so, as Jack takes a step back, it's to grab his glass off the table. He's stepping back, feeling cornered, because his back is away from the exit to this room and his gun is sitting out of reach. He's all tension waiting to lash out, but that first expresses itself in the way that's so distinct for Jack. ]

Hah— [ Jack barks out a laugh ] Haha, Rhysie...! You- You reaaaally don't know what you're doing here. What, you're- You're serious? What're you going to do? Stab me?

[jackhole]

[ rhys wishes so badly that he could explain. the stress that's run through him since they arrived at the pygmalion hitting a sort of peak here, not even able to be satisfied by his simple bond with jack because even if they are friendly with each other, maybe even more than that, that's something rhys can't tolerate. jack isn't safe -- as long as he's in full control of his facilities, he can't be trusted and oh, rhys wants so badly to trust him. he was dangerous as an AI but rhys was still able to stop him so all... all rhys needs to do is drag him back to that level again.

if only jack would stay still. he takes a step forward. ]

Don't you want it, Jack? You can't -- you can't say you don't. This is what you like! You like violence like this, you thrive off of it and it makes you happy. I just -- I want to make you happy, Jack.

[ wait, what's he saying? god, he's so confused and his emotions are sloshing around inside of him, overwhelming and making him unable to focus on what's reality here. he's not -- he's not losing it because he's not losing jack. not again, at least. he takes another step forward, grip tighter on the knife and eyes wider. ]

Then -- then maybe if I do this, right? Maybe you won't hurt anyone and we can just... go back to normal. Me and you! Just... just back to normal.

[ he's so tired. he misses the handcuffs, oddly enough. the simple feeling of being attached to jack and knowing jack can't go anywhere without rhys being right there beside him -- just like when jack was inside of him. the paranoia eating away at him when he can't keep an eye on jack, the guilt over feeling happy whenever he was in jack's company -- it's a little too much to deal with at this point.

later, rhys thinks, later he will really sit and think about it and come to terms with it. right now, he's busy with jack and just making sure jack can't do... anything. ]

Hold. Still.

[ and now is when rhys lunges at jack, knife brandished and other hand reaching out to grab at his face. the knife will most likely aim to his side but it's obviously not what rhys is focusing on, that becomes really clear with the actions of his other hand and the intensity of rhys' eyes on jack's face. ]

[refactor]

[ It's strange, to be the one stepping back when Rhys steps forward, but he knows his disadvantage here. Namely, that Rhys is clearly out of his goddamn mind and holding a knife, and Jack is armed with a yet unbroken glass. Shit, this is bad. Rhys rambles on, and Jack considers his options here, trying to run over every scenario he can, but none of them are good enough for him to feel confident. His eyes snap back to Rhys when he talks fo things going back to normal, and there's something about that phrase that gets Jack's expression to shift to something a bit angrier, almost edging into hurt, but the harsh laugh he breathes out doesn't quite match that flicker of something deeper. ]

You stupid piec—

[ Jack starts to respond with venom in his voice, but Rhys lunges forward first. He tenses in an instant, and there's a quick decision he has to make with the path of Rhys's hands. It's Rhys's intense focus on Jack's face that makes his decision, so his hand holding the glass swings out quickly to smash against Rhys's temple. Which mysteriously doesn't cut Jack's hand since I forgot that this would have happened in the trial, whoops.

Of course, that doesn't quite matter, since focusing on trying to get Rhys away means that he didn't stop the knife. Jack half yells out a noise of pain as the knife cuts through his shirt into his side, but, good. It's not too deep that he has to worry right away. That's what he figured, because Rhys wouldn't know how to really stab someone. No way. It was a gamble, but a lucky enough one. Jack tries to grab at whatever piece of glass might have fallen enough to show Rhys how you really do it, but the way Rhys grabs at his face stops him from that. ]

You're dead, asshole!

[ He sounds furious, but really, he's afraid and fighting on instinct more than anything else here, since this is a situation he hadn't exactly expected to find himself in. He'll curse himself for that later. Jack steps back roughly, even if it makes the knife slice deeper into his side, and that step is accompanied with what little he can do. He throws a punch at Rhys's arm grasping his face, since he needs to break that hold first. However, the quick combination of those and Rhys's hand on his face have Jack off balance, so instead of taking a step back to retreat into the bathroom and barricade himself somehow, he stumbles. With the frantic way he'd stepped back, he slips and falls back. It won't give Rhys much time to pursue, but it's a brief advantage. ]

[jackhole]

[ this is all getting out of hand so quickly. if jack could just -- if he could just stay still and let rhys take care of everything, they wouldn't need to do this! instead, jack slams the glass against his head and his vision spins for a moment but he keeps the hold on his knife steady -- ugh, the cut isn't nearly as deep as he wanted it to be. he's ready to push it in deeper, to curl his fingers around the edges of jack's mask but jack is. still fighting.

god damnit, jack. ]

Stay still! You're making this worse than it has to be, Jack!

[ he takes another step forward but it happens to be just when jack falls backwards, a yelp escaping rhys as he finds himself going down with him, clawing even harder at the mask and pressing the knife even deeper into jack's side. the punch lands midway, making rhys lose his grip on jack's face but in response, he drags the knife deeper into jack's side. shit, shit!! they'll land on the floor most likely, with rhys on top of jack and rhys finally pulls his hands back as shock takes over his expression. there's blood on his hands already, his clothes too. this is all just going so... badly... ]

No, no, no, no! You're messing this all up, stop fighting so much -- I just need to. Stop you. Ugh, Jaaaaack.

[ his own hands go to his face, dragging his fingers down in a whine very reminiscent of all the times rhys has let out the same cry when complaining about going to the gym or not wanting to get out of bed or even during that weekend they spent together -- just a few feet away from this spot. if rhys even tried to parse through what was going through his head right now, it wouldn't be easy.

when his hands pull away, there's blood on his face -- both from jack and the jagged cuts on the side of his face from the broken glass -- and he shoves at jack's chest hard with the robot hand, flesh hand trying to reach out again for that damn mask. he's not as quick as he could be though, too caught up in whatever's going through his head to really lash out at jack. he just... needs that mask! ]

[refactor]

Shit- Shit—

[ Jack yells out in pain once he hits the ground, since that knife stabbing deeper into his side isn't exactly pleasant. His heart is pounding in his ears, and though he tries to scramble back, the way Rhys lands on top of him makes that difficult. There's pain shooting through his side, and he can feel it as blood oozes out. On Pandora, this wasn't anything to worry about too much, because there was always a health kit not far away, but here? Here, he doesn't have that kind of security.

He's breathing hard from how he's high off adrenaline, but also just from how each breath sends another sharp bolt of pain through his side. But Jack is nothing if not relentless, so as Rhys's hand presses down on his chest, Jack's hand balls up into a fist and he bangs it against the desk. He's trying to get that bottle of liquor to fall, since if he can get his hands on that, he'll have another weapon here. He's at a disadvantage, and with the stab wound in his side and Rhys's weight on his chest, he can't reverse their positions here so that he can strangle the life out of Rhys.

Though as Rhys's fingers pry at his face, Jack just laughs. It's manic and vicious, because really, he's afraid. To Jack, he feels like he's fighting for his life here, so there's another bang against the desk just hoping for it to fall. ]

This— This what it was about the whole time, kiddo? Not quite- Haha, not quite stabbing me in the back, but you're damn close!

[ The bottle barely moves, so instead Jack grabs Rhys's metallic arm, trying to apply an opposite force at the joint of his elbow to try and break it. He knows he probably won't be successful, but he only needs a slight bit of luck, and maybe... ]

So- So, tell me! How does it feel, Rhysie?