day 6 | jack

[jackhole]

[ what a weird fucking trial. what a weird fucking everything.

rhys isn't feeling the lingering clench of guilt in his stomach this time but he is... discontent. numb, even. two people he really actually liked had to do something they didn't want tonight and one of them died for it. he didn't feel up for socializing much afterwards, only wanting to talk to angel really for a bit before heading to his hideout when it was safe.

he's tired, exceptionally so after long hours of work and barely any sleep. he's not even sure how much he's keeping it together at this point with all the projects he has in the works for ciel and after that weird email from luke, he's not sure there's enough time in the day for all the stuff he has to do. it keeps him tense, wary, and that's probably why he didn't seek out jack like he usually does. though, can it really be a usually if it's only been a week? god damn.

but he doesn't want to deal with anything else tonight so he finds himself sitting on the floor of the small space he carved out for himself in the tech lab, eyes closed and head leaning back against the wall. maybe he'll just sleep here for a while until curfew hits, and then get back to work. ]

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[jackhole]

[ rhys doesn't reply to the sentiments about adam aside from an agreeing noise and a nod of his head. they're both on the same page there at least and that's what rhys meant when he told the others, drunk as he was, that he hoped adam lived. it's almost less than that -- not that he hoped he lived, but he hoped he could have a choice in his living. adam did have a choice in the end so rhys... rhys isn't feeling particularly guilty about it anymore. sure, they brought adam and franziska to the room but everything that happened from then on -- that was adam's choice. he was given an opportunity and it was his to decide how he takes it. at least, that's how rhys justifies it.

he turns his head when jack starts speaking about hyperion, opening his mouth to talk after the first pause but then jack keeps going and instead rhys decides to listen. he rests his head against his knees, gaze fixed curiously on jack in the dim light. as jack talks, rhys feels blanks he had on jack fill up eagerly, dragging the legend back down to earth and rhys closes his eyes for a moment to savor it. he likes jack, he's always liked jack, but even the ai version of him had a larger than life sort of feeling -- like rhys was insignificant no matter how strong their bond. he was still less than, not an equal.

now, with this jack sitting with him in the only place rhys can find himself able to breathe in the complex, he feels less of a david to a goliath and more so just... friends. friendly. two men who have met up on an identical path. they could either ignore each other completely or walk it together. this kind of feels like walking it together.

at the mention of jack having a daughter, rhys feels that tug again and while he expects surprise or shock at the mention -- it doesn't come to him. he frowns, just slightly, and figures he'll ask more later. for now, he'll stick to their current topic and feel the pull of sympathy. god, he gets it. he fucking gets it because that's just -- that's hyperion, isn't it? everyone has a story like this and of course, jack has the story the most. jack created the story.

when rhys finally speaks after all that, it's with a bit of a melancholy sigh. ]

I wish you could come back to Atlas with me.

[ that... isn't entirely how he wanted to start this but it comes out anyway and he grins, sheepish. he lifts his head up, stretching his legs out in front of him as he tries to think of how to explain what he means. ]

I think -- I think something happens to you. The way you are now, the way you talk, it just isn't the same as the Jack that I know. I -- I didn't say it before but you become CEO. You hit the top and that's great, right? Except that's when you become... the bad guy. The tyrant. The cruel, heartless killer everyone's afraid of. That's why everyone's so scared of you because you control everything and I just think -- if you want to be this hero, right? If you want to be Jack, which is much cooler than John FYI, something must have happened.

[ a hand lifts to run through his hair and he sighs, feeling antsy as he's still not sure he's saying the right thing here but. he's gotta explain anyway. ]

Before I met you, like really met you, I thought you were the hero everyone said you were. I really believed it, idolized you some ridiculous amount but -- you know what they say, right? Don't meet your heroes. I did and turns out, no, you just made people call you a hero because they were too scared of you to say anything else. I learned the hard way that there's a lot of difference in stories versus the real thing. You now, talking to you, seeing you talk to others, the whole thing -- you're more of what I always thought you were supposed to be. A real good guy, a hero. Someone I can really admire.

[ he shrugs then, hating what happened with jack all over again. the other jack. not this one. ]

I kind of wish I could take you back home with me. Stop whatever happens to you from happening and we could -- we could build up Atlas together. Make it a real good thing in the universe, not like Hyperion was. We don't have to question where the scales lie if we own them, you know? Could find your daughter, give her the life you're talking about. I -- I don't know what happens to her, Jack, but you never talked about her with me. I don't think anyone even knows you have a daughter, really. I'm not sure if that's much of a good thing, considering.

[ he's getting ridiculously sentimental though and he can feel the heat on his face as he does it so, he stops himself there with a sigh as his head tilts back against the wall again. he looks up at the ceiling, emotions still mixing uneasily in his gut. what a weird day. ]

I don't think I've ever really cared about being a hero but -- if I could know who I am, be a decent person, and make you happy too? I think I'd be okay with that.

[heroizes]

[ Jack quirks a brow as Rhys expresses his wish for him to return to Atlas, and he breathes out a laugh, though it's soft. The other day, he would have thought of that sentiment as creepy and obsessive, and now-- Okay, it's still a little creepy and obsessive, but he can tell now that Rhys does genuinely mean it. He does tense noticeably as Rhys starts talking about the kind of person he was going to be again, and the smile leaves his face fairly quickly. He almost interrupts sourly, since he thinks that Rhys is going down this path again, and it stings a little when Jack's just been so honest himself, but luckily, Rhys makes it to his point for bringing it up at all.

Gradually, Jack starts to relax. He sets down the can of peaches as he listens, since hearing this gets him full of enough energy to want to fidget, because everything Rhys says fills him with energy. It's not the creative kind that gets Jack to be praised as a genius, though, but more than manic kind that would lead to what people fear about him. When Rhys has spoken to him about his future before, it's a topic that Jack finds hopelessly depressing, and for good reason. He had such high hopes and dreams of being able to be a force of good in the universe, because he wanted to be a hero instead of some morally grey asshole like everyone else he'd ever met. To think that he would fall so far to be the opposite... Who wouldn't be disheartened by that?

But this time, the meaning of bringing it up is different. This time, Rhys mentions it in a context that's more how Jack desperately wants to think of it. Knowledge and information were power, and that's why Jack was here, sitting next to one of the staff members. It wasn't something to be tossed away or ignored, even if it was information you didn't want to hear. He could have killed Rhys and been a hero that way, but it was short-sighted. Short-lived. This information about his future was the same. Both give him a chance to change things for the better, since because he knows, he can steer things without the uncertainty of where the path may lead. There was value in that. No one else seemed to see it, because they were all short-sighted morons, but Jack could.

He breathes out a sigh, but this one isn't so much exasperated as it has been previously as just tired. ]

Yeah, not many people know about her. I don't like people to. She's-- everything to me. The wrong person finds out about her, and she's probably the best piece of blackmail you've got against me. It's just kind of better for people to think I'm a bachelor instead of a single dad, because the less attachments people think you have, the harder it is for them to screw you over. Shitty, but that's what I needed to do to keep her safe from assholes that'd use her against me.

[ That's first, because that's easy to address. The rest... That comes after a pause. ]

I've put my whole life into Hyperion, y'know. So leaving-- Well, uh, you don't really leave Hyperion unless you're dead, but... No, I get what you're saying. And, man, it doesn't sound too bad at all. Maybe that's the problem. I dunno, maybe things get messed up because playing by Hyperion rules just messes you up. Wish I had an answer to what happened just as much as you do.

[ He shrugs, considering something, then looks to Rhys more directly. ]

Point being, if there were a way-- I think I'd try it. Because, being real honest here, every time you talk about me being a tyrant, I think the same thing. I just want to stop whatever happens to me, so- so I don't have to become that person. I know, so I could probably stop it, right? Ehh, something like that. Still kinda got bigger priorities at the forefront here, but still. That kind of thing sticks in your mind, so I'm not forgetting it any time soon. So. This is probably a "once bitten, twice shy" kind of thing to offer to you, but. Between this whole bullshit mess and apparently the one coming for me in the future? You've got what I need to try and come out on the right side of it.

[ With how they're sitting, it's a bit awkward in terms of positions, but he offers his hand for a handshake all the same. ]

Partners?