week 7 and on

[refactor]

"I can't believe Rhys is so creepy" and other stories

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[jackhole]

[ see, the problem here is rhys knows jack. at this point? he really fucking knows him despite how messed up his perception has become. so rhys, ever faithful, watched jack and jason discover liz's body and stuck with watching jack until elizabeth found him later, after she arrived.

there was an argument.

it left rhys unsettled, a bit more hollow and chiseled away in a way he couldn't quite handle. he wasn't sure how much of this he could take, how much more watching he could do before things took a real toll on him, made his psyche truly shatter beyond repair (not that he'd realized yet just how far gone he's become, that's not till much later -- if ever).

he missed jack, like an ache in his chest that he couldn't fill and just watching him wasn't helping anymore -- not with the specter of rhys' mistake lingering just outside with the rest of them. he wanted to talk to elizabeth again, to make her understand what he meant, what his side of the story was and how wrong he was about... everything, but he wasn't sure if she'd listen.

so, he continues to watch jack.

it's when jack retires for the night that rhys suddenly starts paying attention to the feed again. his arms wrapped around his knees and head tucked into his body while his eyes fixate on the monitor. he knew jack's reaction to elizabeth's death was... subtle, excepted a reaction later -- to jason, maybe? he didn't think so, didn't think jack trusted jason enough for that even if jason was so equally effected by the death. so, he must have been keeping it to himself, must have been saving it for later -- that's what rhys thought.

for a moment, rhys doesn't want to do anything. he watches jack leave jason's side and take the trip to his room and --

rhys bolts.

he has to find elizabeth, he thinks. quickly because he doesn't want her to miss this. if she can just see what rhys has seen, especially when it's so related to her? he knows this would help him, help prove his point. jack was trying to help her this entire time, and her rejecting his help was cruel. elizabeth didn't know what she had, didn't know what it was that she was giving up and maybe now rhys can... show her, can show her the truth.

and if she accepts it, maybe rhys can kill her. he hasn't yet decided.

so, wherever elizabeth so happens to be, she'll see rhys run up to her frantically before grabbing at her wrist with his robot hand and taking off back to the shack. he'll ignore any of her protests, using the slight strength there to make sure she comes with him and to explain why they're running, he bites out -- ]

It's Jack! You have to see this, you have to.

[ and hopefully that's enough because when they burst into the shack and return to the monitor, jack is just beginning to speak. rhys will let go of elizabeth then, running both of his hands through his hair as he settles, something in him just finally feeling at rest at jack's very, very insane babbling. rhys is too... off, too broken to really understand the nature of this, it being relayed to him in such a way that he keeps justifying it to himself.

jack thinks so much, he can't keep it inside. jack's brain works too quickly, this is a result of that. jack's so smart, he's already figured it all out. jack's going to save them all, he's the hero of this story.

rhys falls back into his chair and lets out a sigh of relief, body relaxing fully for once as he watches jack rant into the mirror about math and alien and everything else. he props his head up on his elbow, lets jack's breakdown play out in front of them and isn't even surprised when jack falls silent.

he isn't even surprised when jack breaks the mirror.

(there is one twist to his expression during this, one little jerk of his eyes from the monitor to elizabeth when he hears jack say it. the one goddamn person i give a shit about. his mouth curls into something ugly and his free hand clenches in his lap but a moment later, his expression falls neutral, placid. he continues to watch.)

in fact, as jack starts up again and finally, finally pieces it together -- rhys smiles, content. rhys' eyes fall shut when he hears jack says his name and it feels good, like there's hope for him yet -- someone as disgusting, as vile as rhys, to still be considered by jack? he's not unworthy, he's not.

jack begins to yell at alice and rhys doesn't pay much attention because what he needed elizabeth to see was this, was jack's heroism coming out in full force. can't she see now? doesn't she understand? handsome jack is going to save them all, just like he saved rhys. he has to tell her this.

when jack finishes, rhys' eyes open up again and he leans forward, elbows resting on his knees as he looks up at elizabeth. he catches a glance of jack again, the man is crying and rhys' heart twists but he knows there's nothing he can do. no, right now all he can do is talk to elizabeth again. ]

See? He's our hero. He's going to save us.

[ and that's all rhys has to say before he smiles again and leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest as if he's just proved a point. as if he's just, finally, shown elizabeth the truth. ]