day eight - i hate rhys

[heroizes]

[ After putting out the fire, Jack had left his apartment pretty quickly to go track down Rhys, though he had gotten somewhat distracted. In fairness, his alarm had decreased somewhat when he had seen other peoples' wounds and seen that they weren't severe enough to be deadly. It gave him enough comfort to pause and check on the people he liked, though all of those visits were at least brief.

After those brief visits, he's back to hunting for Rhys, which probably doesn't take long. Thankfully, the Complex isn't that big. When he sees Rhys, Jack nearly skids to a stop. He runs up to meet him and immediately grips Rhys's shoulders. ]

Holy shit— Rhys, why the hell did you leave? There- Was that a friggin' explosion? What the fuck are your people doing?

[ :) ]

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[heroizes]

[ By comparison, Jack's mind is racing in a different way. He has an intense focus on his face that's characteristic for him when he's quickly and almost viciously working through a problem. He has to find a solution here, because if he doesn't, he's sure Rhys would get killed. And that-- Selfishly, that's something Jack wants to avoid at all costs. It's irrational, since it's not as if Rhys's life or death actually controlled his fate, but almost like some kind of symbol, he'd come to feel that if Rhys managed to survive, then Jack maybe had hope of avoiding his fate.

So Rhys giving him a name is something that Jack desperately wants. It's not for Rhys. It's for himself for that twisted, nearly delusional association.

His gaze sharpens when Rhys starts to give a name, but it's quickly gone when Rhys screams. It's not quite concern that flashes onto his face, but all the same, Jack shifts forward to half catch him on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around Rhys, though it's not intimate so much as making sure he doesn't just. You know. Fall over. He at least immediately understands what happened here, but he still spits out a sharp, sour noise of irritation. ]

Oh- Oh, yeah, of course not. That would be too goddamn simple! Shit, I should've- Should've waited, then...

[ Jack trails off as he murmurs under his breath, but he gives Rhys a nudge with his shoulder to tell him to move. ]

No. No, we've gotta deal with it now. But goddammit, why all this crap now?! Maybe had a shot before, but now, shit. There's no way Liz is gonna listen to me.

[jackhole]

[ rhys and jack's wants are conflicting here but rhys is still in such a weird state of shock that he can't really find it in him to push for his. instead he just nods dumbly and stands up straight again to let jack continue to bandage him. he listens to jack, feeling himself hanging on his every word if only because he doesn't know what to do now.

his plan was so good, it made so much sense to him at the time and he pulled it off without a hitch. now? now he feels disgusting, feels like a looming fate is upon him that he's not going to be able to deal with. killing jack like he has planned is going to be the worst thing he's ever done, far worse than forcing jack into this situation. that hopeless expression is fixed on jack again because now he remembers. he remembers so much and the more he looks, the clearer those memories get.

jack means so much to him, so why did rhys do this to him? how could he hurt jack like this? and the man doesn't even know yet. all rhys wants to do then is take his hand and kiss his cheek, kiss all over his face until jack's smiling again but even now -- with whatever's going on with their memories -- there's no way jack will understand what rhys means by that.

he sighs and just follows along again, voice already sounding kind of defeated, tired. ]

Should've waited for what, Jack? [ then he pauses slightly and snorts. ] And you -- you were still trying to say it wasn't Elizabeth.

[ he wonders then, idly, if jack is cheating on him. the thought kind of feels ironic in the midst of everything else. ]

[heroizes]

Look, I dunno. If- If I had more time, then probably— I could probably make magic happen. You know how good I am at making magic happen? --Ehhh, what am I talking about, of course you do, it's me. I can't change that much.

[ Jack half rambles as he busily bandages Rhys's wound. There's some roughness from how he's hurrying just because of his general sense of anxiety, but it's also efficient. This isn't the first time that Jack has bandaged someone up, though he does pause to look up to Rhys. ]

Yeah, well, wasn't sure what you were gonna do with that information. Still don't think it came from her, but she was the one I talked to, so, whatever. Doesn't matter, since you're not going to do anything with it now.

[ It probably sounds a bit pessimistic to Rhys's ears, as if Jack has given up on him. His attention turns back to bandaging Rhys up, and he shakes his head. It'll probably be clear that it's not how Jack meant it, since it's quickly followed up by his confidence and optimism. ]

We'll figure it out. I'm not giving up yet. Not until every vote is counted, got it? They didn't vote for you when you were obviously super guilty, so it just has to be that kinda luck again.

[jackhole]

[ in a way, rhys still trying to parse out these new memories helps him here, dealing with jack's anxiety. it makes things slow, makes rhys so attentive to every shift on jack's face and every word that comes out of his mouth. he winces slightly at the roughness but now -- now with the memories, he knows why jack's rough, knows it's part of what he's going through right now. it's weird, knowing these things from one side of himself and not knowing them on another. it even makes rhys wonder how much of jack's anxiety is because of their fake memories and how much stems from something... different, something buried. he wonders if that's possible or his own naive hope.

he's starting to regret what he did last night and the sad thing is, it's only last night's actions that have sent him to a point to be able to regret it. he can't help but hate it all just a little bit more for that exact reason. there's a sigh and rhys asks, oddly calm in the same tone he used to ask what's their evidence last night. his hands reach down to take jack's wrists in his, stalling his movements and trying to catch his eye again. come on, jack, look at him. ]

Jack. What're you going to do when I die?

[ he moves his hands slowly to rub up and down jack's arms from his elbows to his hands and back again in what he hopes is a soothing gesture, trying to pull jack out of what he's wound himself into. ]

I know you've made plans. I mean, a hero can't be without his damsel, right? So, tell me, baby. What are you going to do?

[heroizes]

[ Jack makes a noise of frustration when he's stopped again, and it certainly serves it purpose of getting Jack to look at Rhys. He looks up at him sharply, and there's a sharp response already on his tongue about whether Rhys actually wants him to do this or not. The touching, especially the intimate touching is starting to irritate him. Rhys is acting like they're dating after fooling around once? That's- God, even to someone that gotten broken up with for being "clingy," that seems like a little much.

However, the actual question at least gets Jack to swallow that retort.

The anger in his eyes cools down quickly, but it cools down perhaps past where it should. There's a pause in his actions and his words, because he's evaluating telling Rhys the truth or not. It was implicit, and hell, with how Rhys talked about him? He doesn't even think it would be a surprise. But it didn't mean he was exactly keen to tell him either. It was dangerous, potentially ruinous to their alliance, but...

Unless Rhys was very lucky, he wouldn't have to worry about it. The guy was really unlikely to live to curfew. He takes a deep breath, as if with it, swallowing that likelihood against Jack's worry that Rhys's death would somehow mean terrible things for him. But— ]

What do you think? I'm going to get out of here, obviously.

[ He doesn't want to give too much here. He doesn't want to give any specifics of his plan, because he does have one, but this one... It's far more selfish. So as such, he can't allow people to ruin it. ]

It's just numbers. Plain and simple. Thirty people for the tens of thousands on Elpis? I don't think so. [ His voice is cold here, and maybe that's put on, or maybe this had been Jack's plan from the moment he'd heard about that number. ] I'd kill all of them with those kind of numbers. I have to.

[jackhole]

[ but it hasn't just been once. they've been together for years and rhys is honestly not sure how long he can go without explaining this to jack. yet, jack already thinks he's insane because of the different version of him his other set of memories knows and he's just -- well, he's conflicted again. his hands pause when he does get jack to stop and he realizes he's overstepped again, letting them drop to his sides as he listens to jack's cool explanation.

... he can't let jack do that.

yes, rhys realizes now, he's given them a death sentence. there was always the possibility of getting out together but now when he hears this justification leave jack's mouth, he knows that isn't true. jack can't leave this place because that is something rhys knows would break him. rhys signed both of their lives away and now -- now rhys is dealing with the consequences. he just never knew those consequences would involve killing jack by his own hand.

so, he nods and places his hands on his hips, looking down at the bandages covering his torso. god, it hurts, a sting with every breath that leaves him dizzy on his feet. this trial is going to suck but at least the pain will keep him sharp, make him able to deal with what he's done and look for ways out of it. ]

You know I'm 32, right? Not 28. I don't know why it says it on the profiles but I didn't remember until I killed Rayfa.

[ he shrugs then, trying desperately to seem casual about it. ]

It made me realize there were gaps in my memory, you know? Bigger than I thought. I'm sure you've heard that before too, other people having memory gaps. Made me wonder what else I'm forgetting. What else isn't all there.

[ he lifts his flesh hand and he can't help it as he reaches out to push a piece of hair out of jack's face, fingers running through his hair once at least before he pulls his hand back. ]

If I die, that's what you should focus on. Not getting out but -- [ his eyes flick over to meet jack's and he frowns. ] Getting back your memories.

[ it hasn't yet occurred to him that maybe in killing everyone, jack will get his memories back. just that getting them back will maybe have jack remember what he's remembered -- their entire life together. ]

[heroizes]

[ Jack sighs slightly when Rhys draws back, since it lets him at least finish bandaging him up. He secures it snugly and draws his slightly bloody hands back as Rhys starts to speak again. His brow quirks, since he clearly doesn't know where Rhys is going with this. He interrupts with a "So?," but at least Rhys doesn't stop because of that. It paints a clearer picture of what Rhys's point is here.

He knows what Rhys is talking about, since he's not immune to them either. They're gaps he doesn't necessarily want to talk about. They're gaps about what he's doing on Elpis, but more worryingly, about his daughter. That's a topic he's incredibly guarded about to begin with, so adding this to it made him all the more reluctant to reveal those gaps. His expression sharpens, and this time he doesn't respond to the tender gesture from Rhys, but it's because his attention is very intently focused on him. ]

Yeah? Why?

[ He questions it with a hard tone in his voice, because this is the first time Rhys has really mentioned anything like that to him. As a result, Jack is suspicious, and slowly, almost deliberately, he places a hand on Rhys's shoulder. On the surface, it seems friendly, but there's a tension there that makes it clear that that's not exactly it. ]

You know something I don't, Rhys?

[jackhole]

[ rhys can't help but sigh and when the bandages are done, he runs a hand over the tight cloth holding him together. he still wants to touch jack, to reaffirm what used to be with what is but he knows he doesn't want to push it. today is going to be hard enough as it is and he's slowly losing his ability to be careful about it, his caution unraveling like string by the second.

so, rhys gives a firm shake of his head then, not going to give into jack like this. ]

I do but you're not going to believe it. So, there's no point in telling you. Not yet, anyway.

[ he shrug, reaching out for a moment before thinking better of it and instead taking a step back to grab his shirt off the floor. it's still covered in blood and he frowns at it, needing to go back to his room to find something clean to wear but there's still so much chaos happening below them. fuck. ]

We have to get back downstairs, Jack. I have to figure out what I'm going to do, see what I can find out.