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?

[ :) ]

Comments

[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.