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comma-tose · 2 months ago

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Excuse me just a moment

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Okay I'm good now, Rhyiona fans are eating good today 🤤😋

Show Me My Silver Lining (TFTBL Rhys/Fiona Fanfiction) - Chapter 14

SUMMARY: A fan-written continuation of the lives of the Atlas CEO and Pandoran Vault Hunter. Canon-aligned with TFTBL, but not with game 3. What happened after the vault? How does the beloved duo continue growing together? Rhyiona ship including slow burn, fluff, and banter. Enjoy!

(art made by using Canva)

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heads up: this chapter is a hurt/comfort one. u might get ahh emo

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Wounded

—Monday—

Late afternoon, Rhys stepped into the Purple Skag. He raised a brow, surprised at the new wooden flooring and repainted interior. Last he talked to Sasha, she mentioned how chipped and cracked the walls were, and that there were so many scuff marks on the floor, so she and August were planning on getting it all redone.

August nodded at Rhys from the counter, wiping some glasses with a dish rag. “‘Ten million dollars,’ what can we do for ya?”

“Hey. Place looks nice.” Rhys nodded back with a tired smile. “I’m, uh, actually looking for Fiona.”

August looked over his shoulder, calling, “Sasha!” Then to Rhys, “She’ll tell you.”

“…Thanks.” Rhys scratched the back of his head. He awkwardly stood for a moment, then took a seat at the bar. His elbows rested on the counter, and he shut his eyes. He knew August wasn’t one for small talk, at least not with anyone who wasn’t Sasha. Rhys could probably ask Sasha how their trip was if he wanted to.

With the swing of the back door, Sasha came out and stood behind the counter. “Whatcha need, babe?”

August grinned at the sight of her. “Your friend over here wants some info on Fiona.”

Sasha noticed Rhys and smiled with surprise. “Oh, hey! Long time no see.” She looked back to August. “Be nice to him. He’s our friend, not just my friend.”

“Eh. I greeted him when he walked in, and I didn’t strangle him on sight. That’s friendly enough,” August chuckled. Rhys gave an awkward laugh mostly out of discomfort. “Anyways, gotta sort out the new shipment on the booze. I’ll be back.”

The two lovebirds exchanged a kiss goodbye, then August walked out. After August left, Sasha took a turn at wiping the glasses and stood before Rhys.

“Nice to see you again.” Rhys smiled. “I’m glad August didn’t strangle me. Maybe he does consider me an actual friend.”

Sasha shook her head, grinning. “That’s just how August jokes. He doesn’t mind people as much as people think he does.” She tilted her head at Rhys. “I’d assume you’re here to catch up and ask me how the trip was if I didn’t know better.” Sasha began to smirk.

“Pff— what? I care about you, too. I’m not… only here for, uh.” Rhys averted his eyes. “For Fiona…”

“It’s okay, Rhys. I’m not even offended.” Sasha smiled and patted his arm. “I’m actually glad you really care about Fiona before anyone else. Especially right now…” Sasha shook her head, her smile fading. “I’m worried about her.”

Rhys frowned. “I wanted to ask you what happened. I’ve tried messaging her and she hasn’t answered. Do you know where she is, or should I try to give her space, or…?”

Sasha sighed, setting down the glass and rag. “I can’t tell you what’s going through her mind right now, even if I knew it all exactly. You and Vaughn got a bro-code; her and I got a sis-code. Besides, it’s better if you hear it from her.”

Rhys anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. “Could you at least tell me if I did something wrong?”

“Uhhh… nope. But I could tell you where she is.” Sasha gave a small smile. Rhys slouched a bit. “Seriously, you’re alright, Rhys. Fiona’s just… she’s processing things. All I know is that you should definitely be the one to be there for her right now.”

Rhys raised a brow. “Even though you’re her sister?”

“…This may or may not be something that is about you. So, yeah. You could annoy her enough to get her to start talking. I believe in you.”

Rhys sighed, mumbling, “So much for the reassurance.”

“You’ll be fine. Well, when it comes to talking to her, at least.” Sasha crossed her arms, frowning. ”’Cause here’s the thing: Fiona told me hours ago she was going on another run for some vault-hunt info. Little exploration north of the nearest canyon… I hope you brought your stun baton.”

…

With an address and a spare jeep Vaughn provided, Rhys drove out until he reached a run down, abandoned town. The sky had darkened, and specks of stars faintly began to appear, when he carefully walked through and looked at the many bust-opened walls and shattered windows. Rhys frowned, noticing some dead bandits lying around outside. They must’ve tried to jump her.

“C’mon, Fiona…” Rhys’s brows furrowed. His shoulders tensed. “Where are you?”

With a flashlight beaming from his robotic palm, the stun baton in the other, he held his breath while wind whistled through the creaky wooden boards of the buildings. Upon seeing a familiar hat on the ground outside one of the doorsteps, Rhys hastily made way.

As he opened the door, his breath hitched in his throat as his flashlight caught the glint of a gun aimed at him.

“Rhys?” Fiona blinked at him, lowering her roshambo.

Rhys gaped. ”Fiona— what happened?”

From the looks of it, the place used to be some sit-down spot. Rusty metal tables and chairs were littered about, some being tossed over to their sides. Fiona was seated at a small crooked table at the back wall, hair messied, and with dark circles under her eyes. Bloodied makeshift bandages wrapped around her right calf over her pant leg.

She weakly smiled at the sight of Rhys rushing to her with worry in his eyes. “A bandit got me. Weird, right?“ She winced. “It’s rare to find one who’s a good shot.”

“Come back to my place. Let me take care of you,” Rhys immediately said. There was no room for hesitation at the sight of her wounded like that; No other conclusion existed to him.

Bittersweet warmth filled Fiona. She shook her head, loving and hating it at the same time. “Rhys, I’m fine. You’ve got work tomorrow.” She frowned, considering the travel time to Pandora. “Wait, why weren’t you at work today?”

“I took some days off. I needed to come see you.” Her face dropped. “It’s okay. This is important.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” She shook her head, chuckling. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Fiona, you’re bleeding.” His brows furrowed as she laughed.

“It’s bandaged, and I’m a big girl, Rhys. I’m all good.” She slowly stood, but as she stepped forward, she screamed. Rhys immediately caught her as she fell.

“No, you’re not!” Rhys said through gritted teeth. “Seriously, you can’t walk like that.”

“Pff, what are you gonna do?” She swayed a little. “It’s not like you can carry me.” Fiona giggled as deliriousness continued kicking in from the blood loss.

“Lean on me as you limp. Don’t put your weight on your bad leg. I-I’ll hold you steady. C’mon.” Rhys shook his head. “I’m taking you back to my apartment. I need to get you cleaned up properly— just, please, Fiona.”

“Mmm… hehe, okay.” Fiona weakly hugged his side as his arm wrapped around hers. Rhys heavily blushed as she nestled into him.

He sighed and muttered under his breath, “You’re making it so hard to be angry at you right now…”

“Good.” Fiona hummed, closing her eyes. “Since you make it so hard to be angry at you.”

Rhys frowned, but didn’t question it further as they started walking outside. First, get her taken care of. Then, talking.

Fiona, still delirious on losing a bit of blood, spoke softly, “You always smell good…”

Rhys let out a surprised laugh, raising a brow. “Yeah?” Suddenly, she buried her face against his neck, making him gasp. “Wh– F-Fiona!”

“Mmm… wish I’d get shot more often if it means I get to breathe you in like this.” She let out a shuddering sigh against his throat, and Rhys’s knees buckled. “You’re so good to me, Rhys,” she whispered. Rhys looked down at her, his heart racing, but her face stayed buried against him. “Why can’t I… h-ha..have… ” Fiona’s voice broke. She whimpered.

Rhys cupped the side of her face, meeting her sad gaze in the moonlight, her lips trembling. “Hey, hey…” He felt a sharp pang in his chest at the sight of her like this. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said softly. “But I want to talk about it. I want to talk to you, Fiona. I want to stop whatever’s hurting you.”

She sniffled. Without being able to fully be on guard, a tear slipped down her cheek. “I hate how hard you’re making this for me,” she whispered. “You’re such a jerk. Why’d you have to… why…” She softly punched his chest with no real force behind it.

His insides twisted further, making him pull her into an embrace, wanting to just hold her, wanting to just take away her pain. “I don’t know what I did,” Rhys said hoarsely. “But I’m going to do everything I can to make things better. Please, Fiona. Let me take care of you.”

“Rhys…” Fiona hiccuped, and shut her eyes, trembling. She let herself enjoy his embrace, missing how it felt from so many months ago, secretly wanting to relive it over and over every night. “I’m so selfish…” she murmured.

“No, you’re not,” Rhys softly said against her hair. You’re everything to me, Fiona.

…

Back at his place, Fiona tiredly sprawled across his couch. One lamp casted dim lighting. It was some hours past midnight, and Rhys was cleaning off the coffee table from redoing her bandages. He’d grabbed scissors and cut the bloodied pant leg fabric just below her knee, knowing he’ll just have to buy her more clothes if she’d fuss about it later. He’d properly disinfected the wound, applied salve, and wrapped it cleanly, then gently helped Fiona readjust herself on the couch. She sleepily grumbled.

Rhys grabbed a blanket from his room, then tucked it over her. His heart melted at the sight of her resting under his care.

He sat down on the floor in front of the couch, running his hand through his hair, then flicked on his palm’s screen. “Just texted Sasha you’re alright. Now we gotta figure out what to eat,” he said, more to himself than to Fiona. “Any ideas on takeout?” He asked out loud, anyway. “I know a few places that are open twenty-four hours.”

He tiredly half smiled at the strands of hair that covered her face. Without thinking, he gently brushed it aside, and her eyes fluttered open. Rhys froze with his fingertips just touching her reddening cheek. “Sorry! Sorry, I uh—“ He pulled his hand away.

“What do you wanna eat?” She sluggishly asked. “I’m not really hungry.”

Rhys frowned. “Well, you still need food anyway. After what happened, you have to eat.”

“Ugh.” Fiona lightly scoffed. “So bossy.”

“Says you,” Rhys teased back. “Takes one to know one.”

”Mhm. Gotta boss you around,” she mumbled, pulling the blanket over her face. Her eyes shut again. “It’s fun.”

“Heh, yeah.” Rhys smiled tiredly. “Your sass is one of the things I really love about you…”

Fiona’s face reddened. She blinked beneath the blanket, unsure if she heard that right.

Rhys sighed, looking down at the floor. “I wish you knew how much you mean to me.” He sounded so disappointed. “I thought I was doing a good job. I thought I treated you well enough that you knew how special you are to me… I thought I made it clear that I… you… ” He shook his head as he mumbled to himself. “Damn it…”

Fiona felt her heart pound. Hope and hurt swirled in her chest. She felt dizzy at the thought of hoping that maybe… maybe…

“Rhys.” Fiona moved the blanket aside. She eyed him, frowning at how tired he looked. She stared at him as she struggled to figure out what to say exactly. “Rhys, I—“ She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Rhys’s brows furrowed. “I messed up somehow.”

“No– Well, I don’t know. I’ve already forgiven you for what happened long ago. I’m just— I don’t know.” Fiona sighed, sitting up.

“Fiona, you should rest. We can talk about this more after you’re taken care of.”

“I am taken care of.” Fiona patted the spot beside her, insisting him to join.

Upon him sitting beside her, she snorted. “Ew, those socks.” His socks were bright red patterned with blue swirls. He laughed as she made sure to cover his feet as she tossed his share of the blanket over his lap.

They stared forward, silent for a moment. Rhys rubbed his face while Fiona glanced away, both trying to figure out where to start.

Rhys began. “I don’t want to make you talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’ve been worried about you. I can’t stop worrying about you after the way you left my office.”

“I know. I’m sorry about that,” Fiona said quietly. “And I should’ve responded to your messages. I told you I’d be there for you. I told you that I’d be there to support you—“

“Stop,” Rhys said gently, more so pleading her to than wanting to interrupt. “You’re wrong if you think you haven’t been there for me. You’re always looking out for others. For Sasha, of course. For Vaughn. For me. So please, don’t feel like you’ve fallen short somehow.” Rhys shook his head. “Right now, you’re the one who needs to be supported. So tell me what’s going on. Please.”

Fiona fidgeted with her sleeves, thinking. She exhaled slowly, then began, “Your old arm… Do you know the last time I saw it?”

Rhys frowned. “On Helios, I guess, before everything went down?”

She shook her head. She turned her face away from him, feeling her chest tightened. “I know you’re okay now,” she said quietly. “But knowing you more than I did back then, I think that’s why it hurts so much more now. T-to,” she choked on her thought. “To think that you were—” Her eyes teared up. “Your arm was all I had left of you, Rhys,” she whispered.

Rhys’s eyes widened as he recognized what she meant. “You saw my arm… after Helios crashed. The way I left it there...”

She met his gaze, glaring at him. “Yes.” Rhys’s hand went to reach for hers, but she jerked away. “No! No, you don’t get it, Rhys— I—“ She sharply inhaled. “I thought you were dead!” Shaking with both anger and pain, she couldn’t stop hot tears from streaming down her face. “For a year! I thought you were dead, and I couldn’t reach out because I kept—“

“Fiona—“ Rhys’s heart dropped to his stomach.

“I kept looking for you!” Fiona helplessly admitted, cupping a hand to her mouth as she choked from sobbing. “I couldn’t s-stop looking for you. It was… S’bad…”

Remorse gripped his chest. “We looked for you,” Sasha said to Rhys, when they had all reunited to save Gortys. “We really did.”

“And now y-you’re here, and you’re okay. S-so, I don’t know why I’m not. I’ve forgiven you for not reaching out. I could’ve reached out, too, if I wasn’t scared to just have one more thing to constantly look at, t-to just know you were alive. But if I messaged you, and then you never responded, then what?” She hiccuped. “I-I would’ve waited everyday, checking my ECHO until you would’ve. So if you were dead, I would’ve checked until the day I’d die.” She shook her head, struggling to breathe. “I don’t know why I’m hurting right now; You’re fine. This doesn’t make sense. I’m s-sorry…”

Rhys grabbed her hands, firmly taking them in his. He rested his forehead against hers, tears streaking his face, too, as he looked her in the eyes. “I’m the one who should be saying sorry,” he said firmly. “Not you. Not for this. You shouldn’t have to feel like hurting the way you do now about what happened back then is something to apologize for. I put you through this, Fiona,” he said, voice strained. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Fiona shut her eyes as she struggled to calm her breathing.

“I’m here, Fiona. I’m here, right now, with you.” Rhys whispered, cupping her face with his human hand.

She leaned into his palm, and her eyes shut tighter. “W-why does it hurt more now? Why— why did you make me experience grief, and now I know you more than I ever had, and if you h-had died, I wouldn’t get to have what I’ve been having with you…”

More tears streaked down Rhys’s face as she shook. “I’m so sorry,” he kept saying. “I’m so sorry, Fiona.”

“You’re such a jerk. For making me think you were dead. And then getting me to live moments with you that I wouldn’t have if you were. ‘Cause you made me– y’made me–” You made me fall in love with you.

Rhys so badly wanted to pull her in again, but was overwhelmed with guilt. As if he shouldn’t be allowed to want to hold her. “If seeing me now hurts you—” He swallowed as his chest ached with dread. “We don’t have to keep hanging out. I know I messed up. I-I know, I—“

“No!” Fiona desperately lunged for him, wrapping her arms around his neck as if he were about to vanish in thin air. “Don’t leave again.”

Overtaken with yearning, Rhys hastily wrapped his arms around her in return. His arms were quickly displaced to wrap around her lower back as they leaned and shifted into laying on their sides, their bodies facing towards one another as the blanket fell to the floor. His chin tucked over her head, and their legs intertwined.

For a while, they laid on the couch, silently crying and clinging to one another, their chests aching and their throats tight. As they focused on one another’s body heat, they soothed each other in their embrace. At last, their breaths calmed, and the tangible comfort felt lulling.

“I’m not leaving you, Fiona,” Rhys declared softly. “I need you to know that I won’t. I won’t leave, unless you ever want me to.”

“I don’t want you to." She sniffled. "I don’t want to ever go back to living without you.” She snuggled into him further, and his face warmed.

His arms wrapped tighter around her. “You mean so much to me; I wouldn’t dare to even think about leaving you behind.”

Fiona’s stomach fluttered. “Rhys…”

“I had to see you again,” he said. “Remember?”

“Rhys…” Fiona felt herself come undone, melting at his words. “Don’t say that to me. Please.”

“Why?” He whispered. “I mean it, Fiona.”

“You don’t understand what you’re doing to me when you say that,” she desperately said, but Rhys closed his eyes, continuing.

“Did you know how much I love it when you tease me,” he murmured. “And your laugh. I love it when you snort-laugh.”

Fiona’s heart felt loud in her chest. She stayed silent, aiming to focus as she processed his words.

Trying to be brave, Rhys continued. “I love seeing how excited you are when you talk about books or vault-hunting… and how you're all badass with that tiny gun in your sleeve, and how you'd trash talk me when we’d do anything together… A-And your smile— Did you know you wear the cutest smile, even when you’re being a smartass? Heh, especially when you're being a smartass...”

Fiona gently pulled away. Her eyes widened at him. His eyes searched hers, and their faces flushed. “…You should see how cute you get when you’re excited,” she quietly admitted as her eyes shyly went to her fingers curled against his chest. “You’re such a dork about pancakes and silly nerd stuff… and I love trash talking you because your pout looks so good on you…” As she spoke, she focused on soothingly tracing circles with the tips of her fingers, but it only made Rhys’s heart beat louder. “Building your own arm is pretty badass… pff, y'know, you’re so smart sometimes it’s annoying.”

“…” Astounded, Rhys wore the shyest smile. “…I hope you’re not messing with me right now. I… heh... u-um…”

“I’m not, Rhys.” Fiona’s eyes softened. “I mean it.” She gently smoothed her hand over his shirt, firmly holding it against the thudding of his heart.

“I- u-um…” Rhys nervously chuckled, and Fiona melted as she recognized the effect she really had on him.

She gave a soft smile. “Continue,” she gently encouraged.

Smiling back, Rhys softly cleared his throat. “You’re so courageous. Clever, witty, and you just... You don’t understand how much you mean to me. You make me want to be better. You make me want to be someone you deserve.” Rhys shook his head. “I just can’t believe you’d think that ‘someone else’ could ever not be you.”

“Rhys...” Her heart skipped a beat. Her hand slightly pressed harder against his chest, feeling how real it all was, making sure that she wasn’t dreaming. “…You mean after all this time, it was me?”

“Yes. For the longest time, yes.” Rhys eyed her longingly. He subconsciously brought his face slightly closer to hers, furthering her blush. “I just want to take care of you, Fiona. I want to do more than just take you out to the city, or have dinner together. More than just staying up late talking, or tending wounds and trauma… I want to make you smile whenever you're down.”

“You do,” Fiona insisted. She couldn’t help but leaned closer. Rhys’s ears reddened even more as she found her fingers toying with locks of his hair, soft from loss gel. “When I struggled with the vault pendant. When it came to Felix.”

“I want to make you laugh the way you make me laugh,” he said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her stomach fluttered. “You do, Rhys.”

“You’re my silver lining, Fiona. Not just back then. At any moment I’m in trouble, you show me my silver lining, and it’s you. I just want to be that for you.”

“Rhys.” Fiona was breathless. “You already are that, to me.”

“I want to be the one who gets to make you happy in ways that… friends don’t,” Rhys finally said. “I don’t want to do this with anyone else. Wanting you so close to me. Wanting to hold you. I want to hold you so bad, I—“

Fiona teasingly brushed the tip of her nose against his. “Yeah?” She whispered. “I think about you holding me,” she helplessly admitted. “Every night.”

Rhys brushed his nose on hers back, their breaths mixed in with one another. “Fiona,” he whispered.

Nose brushing nose, breath on breath, they fell into a trance, studying each other’s eyes and lips up close. Warmth washed over them. Their bodies radiated with urgency to be closer.

“I love you, Fiona,” Rhys finally admitted. He had one hand still firmly held against her lower back, while his other hand tenderly traced the nape of her neck, making her shudder, before settling on caressing her cheek. “So tell me what you want from me.”

With her fingers in his hair, she softly grabbed a handful, making his breath catch in his throat. Their lips helplessly parted as Fiona finally breathed to him, “I love you, Rhys. Kiss me.”

Eagerly, their lips met and melted into one another. Trembling from the intensity of their intimate exploration, Rhys and Fiona got lost in one another, yet finally found what felt like shelter from being homesick for so long.

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writer's note: ahhh!!! should I keep going? I could end it here, but I'd love to write out more scenes of an established relationship between Rhys and Fiona. I could honestly do one-shots of them in an established relationship, or just keep adding on chapters here. what do you think? please let me know!

Also, thank you so much for reading my ongoing fanfic thus far! It means a lot that I can just write stuff like this and that others could enjoy it. Hehe, finally got that long awaited smooch, eh? Hoped this chapter's pacing didn't feel rushed. I might've gotten too emo to gauge that oops

#rhyiona #fiona tftbl #fiona the con artist #tales from the borderlands #tftbl #rhys strongfork #rhys tftbl #rhys the company man #sasha the kid sister #august the guy with the key #I love the way you write them its so perfect!

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comma-tose · 2 months ago

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Rin!!!!✨✨✨✨

This is SO good!!! The way you describe the scene is amazing, and I adore the classic Rhyiona bickering with them being petty about the EMP 🤭

Rhys looking at her lips and Fiona's heart skipping a beat tho 👀👀👀👀👀

Work It Out

"Jump with them all, and move it. Jump back and forth, and feel like you were there yourself, work it out." -- Gorillaz

While trying to track down a stolen case full of money, the Hyperion stooge and the Pandoran con artist find themselves trapped beneath Bossanova's arena. While not necessarily enemies, they aren't exactly friends, and they need to set aside their pride and work together to reunite with Sasha and Vaughn, and secure that case. If only they could stop bickering to make it in time.

This was created with the mindset of "what if it was Rhys and Fiona under Bossanova's arena instead of Rhys and Sasha?" The opportunity they could've had to bond and banter even more~ 💯‼️✨️

As always, anything I write can't pass inspection without my beloved ship sister @admiralsweko who betas 99.9% of my works and catches all my flaws and makes them better 😆💕✨️ THANK YOU SWE~!! 💖

Super awesome special shout-out to beloved Rhyiona Core members, @comma-tose @plague-cure and @writeastormsblog who I'm posting this especially for, since she requested fluff. (Even tho this really isn't fluffy per se~ But it's definitely rhyiona themed, and building on the potential for future romance~ 😏😉😆)

Fiona, Rhys and Jack AI gif from this post. Blue cyber themed dividers from this post. Blue cyber themed LOADING gif from this post.

Enjoy! 💜

"Attempting to reboot lift operation systems, please input the authorization code for calibration." The voice informed them as it floated out of the barely functional Atlas speakers.

The Hyperion company man furrowed his brow as his ECHO eye glowed, his look of concentration illuminated by the bank of moniters before him. His real and cybernetic hands danced over the brightly lit keyboard with such speed, that it was hard for even the seasoned con woman to keep up with everything he was entering into the old database. She glanced up at him, his side profile stark against the artificial light before him and the dark room at his back.

"We need to hurry, who knows what Bossanova's goons are gonna do with that case of money." Fiona tried to urge him along, crossing her arms as she grew antsy when another minute dragged by and nothing seemed to be happening.

She didn't wanna mention that she was also worried for Sasha, having been separated from her when the manhole cover slammed down over her head, forcing her to partner with the taller of the two Hyperion men. The shorter one seemed to be a little more put together than his lanky friend, but he was very obviously an off-worlder, and Pandora wasn't kind to its own inhabitants; a foreigner was just ripe for the picking (or peeling, in some psycho's cases). Hopefully Sasha could keep them both safe...

When the only response she got to her statement was the sound of more clicking and tapping on keys, she approached the lanky man's side to peer down at whatever the hell was taking him so long. She reached his shoulder and he spared her a glance, and from this close she could see even more details about him. His robotic eye implant was radiating a bright blue light, almost bright enough to hurt her own eyes. Around his azure iris swirled repeated patterns of zeroes and ones, circling around his pupil which seemed to operate much like an aperture for a camera. He blinked, and turned back to his insistent tapping, and the after image of his luminescent gaze floated before her. She blinked rapidly to dismissed the lingering affect.

"What's taking so long, Hyperion?" she outright questioned, frowning at the lines of unreadable code flashing across the screen. None of it made sense to her, and it usually never did; she was comfortable with leaving electronics and the like to Felix's capable care.

"Hey, hacking into an old, unused Atlas database is not exactly as easy as I'm making it look, lady. You've got to be subtle and finesse your way through - though I suppose that you, a lying, cheating, Pandoran con artist wouldn't know about subtlety." He offered her a tight smile full of false joy, before dismissing her and returning to his work. He was still obviously sore over the fake vault key and maybe also the attempt to push him out of a moving vehicle into the desert.

But oh, he wanted to play it like that, did he? Well it takes two to tango and Fiona had nothing to do right now but dance.

She leaned back against the jutting curve of the desk, lifting a delicate hand and making a show of examining her nail polish. "I sure was subtle enough when I planted that EMP receptor on the case of the vault key."

His almost rhythmic tapping ceased, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn towards her.

"So that was your fault?! You were there the whole time?? Ya know, my systems are still whacked because of your little 'EMP receptor'!" He huffed and threw his arms in the air, and though he easily towered over her, she didn't consider him a threat in the slightest; just another Hyperion lackey blowing a lot of hot air.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you while I was being extremely subtle over here."

"Oh my GOD - has anyone ever told you how infuriating you are??"

The Pandoran native leveled him with a flat, unimpressed stare as she plucked at her ruffled cuff to fluff it out more. "Cry me a river, corporate boy."

Rhys grumbled in clear discontent, his eyes narrowed and his mouth souring into a petulant pout. Something about it brought joy to Fiona's jagged heart; perhaps it was the fact that she could easily rile him up with so little effort. It was actually kind of fun.

He straightened his vest, glowering down at her from his height as he added, "By the way, that vault key was the worst one I had ever seen, it was so obvious that it was fake."

"Dealt with many vault keys, have you?" she asked, lifting a scarred brow in accusation. "You must be really important up there if they're leaving you in charge of all the real vault keys. Tell me, how many have you handled that have actually opened up a vault, huh?"

The company man glanced off to the side, the apples of his cheeks pinkening ever so slightly as he swallowed. "Look, I'm uh, I'm trying to work on this okay?" He gestured towards the ancient Atlas computers by his side. "So I'd appreciate a little more patience and also, some peace and quiet would be nice, if it's not asking too much."

The grifter sighed, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest. "There will be all the 'peace and quiet' you want from me as soon as we get that money and go our separate ways."

Rhys shook his head, more so to himself than anything, and settled his fast fingertips over the illuminated keyboard again. "Ya know, I never wanted this."

"What, to be a mindless cog in the massive warmongering machine of Hyperion? Seems a bit late to be thinking like that." Time was ticking and the more time they stood here squabbling, the farther away that money and their chance at a new life got.

The man before her sighed, and it was deep and frustrated, and something about it made her regret her words, for just a moment. But she wasn't going to get soft around a complete stranger, doubly so for a Hyperion stooge who was after the cash just as much as she was.

"No, I mean..."

"Authorization complete. Initiating system maintenence check, please wait."

Images flashed across the grime covered monitors, but all Fiona could make out was the occasional glimpse of the Atlas logo. A soft whirring sound emitted from the computers, before a series of loud metal clanking noises reverberated from the area around the lift.

"I meant..." Rhys spoke up again, and Fiona had forgotten that he had been trying to tell her something while lost in the tentative excitement that the lift was actually going to work for them. "I've always wanted to be this. To just, be good at my job. I wanted to make it, and bring my friends with me. I never thought that I'd be doing something like this... I can admit that I regret a lot of the stuff I've done, things that were 'necessary' to help me get a step ahead. But it's all meaningless, everything I've done up until this point, if we don't secure that briefcase."

He turned towards her and met her eyes, his heterochromatic stare arresting. "I don't wanna argue with you any more, and I'd like it if we could come to some sort of truce. I mean, we're partners in this, whether we like it or not, so why can't we try to make the best of it...?" He offered his metal hand, waiting tentatively for her acceptance or refusal.

She eyed him skeptically, but he seemed sincere enough about it. Though in her time as a con artist, she knew that actions spoke louder than words. So she'd take him for face value, but keep him at arm's length because at the end of the day, the only people she could trust were Sasha and Felix.

Confident with her decision, she reached out and took his mechanical hand, offering a firm shake as she said, "I can agree to a compromise."

Relief softened his features, a smile breaking out across his face. "Great! That's actually, pretty great, I uh, didn't think it'd be so easy, honestly..."

"Just because I'm born and raised on Pandora, doesn't automatically make me a psycho, you know. I do have some decorum." Here she stepped closer to him, his cybernetic hand still heavy in her grip. "That being said, I do have the shiniest meat bicycle. Never forget that, slick."

At his look of surprise and confusion, she smirked and winked playfully at him, loosening her hold around his hand and taking a step back. Or she would have, had he not renewed his grip and tugged her forward, leaning into her space and keeping her trapped between his body and the edge of the desk behind her.

Before she could decide whether or not to jam her knee into his groin, he said, "Just because I work for Hyperion, it doesn't automatically make me a bad guy." He mirrored her statement, locking eyes with her as the lift lights flashed in the background. "And my name isn't 'slick,' it's Rhys."

Being cornered like this would usually cause Fiona's fight or flight response to kick in, but despite the fact that he was encroaching on her space, she didn't feel threatened. She parted her lips, about to ask him if he was finished making his point, when the action caused his gaze to flick down to her mouth. He glanced back up into her eyes, and whatever sass she was about to say fizzled away as her heart skipped a beat.

She felt the tension between them shift ever so slightly, felt as though if she were to let this moment linger, she would come to regret it. He was objectively attractive, but she had never let a pretty face distract her from achieving her mark, and she wouldn't start now. Even if curiosity tempted her to taste his mouth...

He blinked, seeming to disperse his thoughts before releasing her hand and taking a step off to the side. "Uh... So, it says here that there's less than a minute left of the... The maintenance check. Yeah."

"That's... Great! The sooner we get outta here, the better. Right."

Rhys ran his robotic hand over his gelled hair and down his neck as Fiona brushed her bangs away from her face, both of them purposefully avoiding the other's gaze. The con woman berated herself, vowing to stay on top of whatever little game he was playing. Willing away the mild attraction she felt, she adjusted her stance and tugged on her jacket, straightening it out.

"Lift system maintenance check complete. Anomaly one detected: C-grade gears need replacement. Anomaly two detected: hydraulic wiring in need of repair, potential fire hazard. Anomaly three-"

"Shit, what does this mean?" The Pandoran groused, stepping close to Rhys' side again to glare down at the lift's long list of damages that needed immediate repairs.

The young manager grunted in frustration, before leaning down and spamming the keys again. "The Atlas maintenence system is trying to prevent us from getting on that lift, it's claiming that it's a huge safety violation. The bandits here have rigged the basic system somehow, but my method must've woken up the actual safety protocols. But, that's okay because if the guys who were here before us could make it to the top, so can we. Don't worry, I've got this, this is gonna be way easier than the initial breach." He flashed her a confident smirk over his broad shoulder before focusing on bypassing Atlas' firewalls.

His little smirk was winsome, and as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she rejected it completely, throwing out the possibility that this nerd could cause such a reaction in her. Refusing to entertain those kind of thoughts about him any more, she turned away to survey the room. There had to be something she could do while Rhys fiddled with the computers for another ten minutes-

"Aaand done!"

"What?"

"We're outta here, c'mon!"

He grabbed her hand in his human one and ran over to the elevator, almost dragging her along in his excitement. She held on to her hat as she did her best to keep up with his ridiculously long legs, opening her mouth to scold him as they stopped in the center of the lift.

"Hey, you-" she started, shaking off his slightly sweaty grip and wiping her hand down her pant leg.

"I'm not gonna lie, this is actually kind of cool!"

"What?"

He turned toward her and smiled shyly. "When I was a kid, I used to make and hand out my own business cards. I always wanted to be at the top of the corporate ladder. I never had time to explore or go out and see the universe if it wasn't related to acquiring another asset for my boss. So this... It's scary as shit, don't get me wrong - but... It's pretty neat."

Fiona could see how a life full of 'thrills' would appeal to someone who lives in a cubicle and survives on paperwork and speadsheets, but this was the real world; her life wasn't some adventure that she could just drop whenever she wanted. Life up in Helios must be hell, but she'd take it in a heartbeat over another day scrounging for scraps on Pandora.

"You must have it easy up there. When I was young, I had just mastered a new pick-pocketing technique called 'feather fingers,' and I couldn't wait to teach it to my baby sister. Don't ever be mistaken, Rhys - Pandora is just a stepping stone for you but this little rock is my home, and I know more than anyone how things can turn sour real quick."

His hopeful smile had dimmed completely as she spoke, and now he looked down in thought. He lifted his gaze and met her jade eyes again, his features solemn in the dim light. "Have you ever thought about...leaving?"

The grifter couldn't help but scoff, incredulous at his question. "Of course I have, every sane person on this damn planet has. You think if we had a way to leave Hollow Point and everything behind, we wouldn't take it? That money in that briefcase was our way out, our only chance to get away from here. So let's get our asses up there and do whatever it takes to get that money back."

Rhys could see that she was dead serious, the fire in her eyes was blazing with determination. He felt the same, seeing how determined and how dedicated she was, was like looking in a mirror. If he didn't return back home to Helios with at least half of that money, everything from the moment of his handmade business cards up til his conversation with Vasquez, was all down the drain. That cash was really the answer to all their problems.

He lifted his cybernetic hand and opened the menu for the lift. Or at least he assumed it was the menu for the lift. His interface was still a bit wonky due to the strong pulse of the EMP device from earlier. The menu he could see was very distorted, buttons and commands glitching across the holographic screen. He tsked in irritation and clicked on the button he thought would start the lift.

Across the spacious room, a crane lowered a row of large crates to the floor. The crates seemed to be making... Noise.

"What are you doing? Get the lift started!"

"I'm trying! I just- I pressed the wrong thing alright? Okay, it's gotta be this one-"

The next button the young manager clicked on opened the crates, which turned out to be cages, which turned out to be holding ill-tempered skags. The pack of four-legged beasts prowled out of their metal carriers, scenting the air and eventually turning towards the only two people in the room.

"Rhys...??" Fiona questioned, flicking her wrist to make her pistol settle into her hand.

"Uh- shit- At least you have a gun-"

"This only fires one bullet!"

"One- one bullet?? Why?? What's the purpose of that?!"

"It's not my own choice! It was given to me!"

"By who, someone who wants you dead??"

"Shut up and get this lift moving!"

What a buncha dumb asses, just my luck.

"Hey, I'm trying my best here!" he groused in response, only realizing a second later that the voice didn't sound like the Pandoran. "Wait, who-"

"Well, 'your best' isn't cutting it!"

Before the Hyperion employee could answer her, the skags drew closer, hesitant at first but growing bolder as their hunger overtook the need to be cautious. Rumbling growls filled the room and Fiona aimed her pistol to the closest skag. Rhys pressed the only available button left on the glitchy menu...

And nothing happened.

Cursing under his breath, he spammed the command in the hopes that something would work in their favor.

The con woman tried to entertain the thought that she could fend off the small pack of wild, ravenous animals with a single bullet and the small knife she kept hidden in her boot. There was a slim chance she could do it, but in every scenario, the injuries would be grievous.

Suddenly the lift beneath their feet shuddered, and slowly began to rise. The immediate elation they both felt simultaneously plummeted as the largest skag began running towards them, intending on making a leap onto the platform. The grifter readied her gun, aiming at the hungry creature to shoot it off in case it made the jump.

The animal pounced off the ground and sailed through the air, its momentum more than enough to carry it to the elevated platform. Fiona's finger tightened on the trigger, waiting for the precise moment when it would be close enough that perhaps the shot could push it off the ledge.

Before the skag landed, it seemed to bounce off of an invisible wall and fall down onto its spiny back, scrabbling to right itself and stand on all fours again. It roared in frustration, but the lift was now much too high up to see it any more.

The 'invisible wall' shimmered and reformed into a tall figure that stepped closer to the two flabbergasted people with a graceful ease that Fiona envied.

"I have a question. Have you seen a Gortys piece? I really need it."

The Pandoran con woman recognized the lithe being in front of her, vaguely recalling that this was one of the vault hunter's that was known galaxy-wide. Unsure of what to say in the presence of someone who was very powerful and who obviously just saved their lives, she shook her head mutely.

Rhys, unlike her, didn't seem to be at a loss for words because his giddy voice sounded from behind her, "Hi, I just wanted to say, that I think you're really cool."

She glanced back at him and was perplexed to find him damn near twirling his hair. Fiona fought the urge to roll her eyes as she turned to face Zer0 again, surprised to see a <3 flash across his reflective visor.

Before she could find her footing in this new predicament, the muffled sound of a roaring crowd and the booming bass of loud music rumbled above their heads. Just as the three of them looked up, the doors over the ceiling unlocked and parted, the lift pushing them up into the middle of Bossanova's arena.

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