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erinchu · 6 years

Text

So my darling @ivemcfallenandicantgetup asked for cuddling rhack and here they are <3.

“Maybe angry Jack just fired someone but comes home to find Rhys crying at a shitty chick flick so needs to help him be okay”

I hope you like it bby ;~; ily x

It had been an excruciatingly long day and Handsome Jack could not fucking wait to be home. The CEO let out a tired sigh as he pressed the elevator button that would take him up to his penthouse. Even though it was in the Hyperion building, today it felt like it took ages to get home. Jack’s feet drug lazily beneath him as he approached his front door and his frustration grew when he couldn't find his keys right away. He felt the anger boiling up inside of him and it was about to spill over when he stopped and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He didn’t want to bring his work day rage home with him, not to Rhys. So he stood there for a few moments, gathering himself and trying to calm his temper the best he could.

Earlier in the day, it had been revealed to him by his security chief that they had come across an employee who was selling Hyperion secrets to rival companies. It had pissed Jack off something fierce. How could something like that happen, right under his nose? To make matters worse, all Jack had wanted to do with the guy was throw him out of an air lock, but he had promised Rhys he would cool it a bit on the whole killing people thing and so instead, threw him in jail. Traitors like that didn’t deserve a second chance in Jack’s eyes and he was still pouting over the fact that he had let the guy live. Geez, where was anyone's loyalty anymore? Standing out in the hallway, brooding over it wasn’t making Jack feel any better, that heated anger was building again and he decided to just go in.

Jack quietly opened the front door and swept inside, trying to keep the noise down in case Rhys was asleep already. He hadn’t realized how late it was, nearly two in the morning by this time. It was a lot more paperwork to jail someone than to just kill them it seemed. He let his work bag and jacket slide from him and dropped them both to the ground, not really caring about either at this point. Jack’s brows furrowed slowly as he walked further into the luxurious penthouse and noticed a flickering light coming from the living room. Was the TV on? As Jack rounded the corner into the room, all of his anger and stress from the day was put on hold. There Rhys was, sitting all curled up on the couch with tears streaming from his eyes. Jack was at his side faster than he could process.

“Rhysie, baby, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Jack’s hands were running all over Rhys’ body, trying to find anything that could be physically wrong with him, but he found nothing. It took Rhys a moment to calm himself down and he quickly wiped at his eyes and face as he sniffled a few times. Finally once he was able to breathe normally, he smiled and nodded, grabbing hold of Jack’s hands.

“I-I’m okay, Jack. I was just trying to w-wait up for you because I missed you and decided to watch a m-movie,” Rhys trailed off, looking over towards the screen where the film was still playing and burst back into tears. Jack sat there for a moment, his eyes blinking slowly as watched his boyfriend. The biggest grin pulled across Jack’s face and he covered his mouth as he let out a hearty laugh, the sound startling Rhys a bit. Rhys looked over at him with wide eyes, his brows drawing together as he began to cry harder.

“Why are you laughing?!” Rhys whined softly and threw a box of tissues that was sitting next to him at Jack’s head. Jack continued to laugh, dodging Rhys’ attack and scooted in closer to the younger man. He reached over and paused the movie before collecting Rhys up into his arms. He gently kissed at Rhys’ face, his lips attempting to wipe away his lovers tears.

“Because you’re adorable, kiddo and I just love you is all. And you’re ridiculous,” Jack winked and laughed softly, planting a soft kiss on top of Rhys’ head. “Thank you for waiting up for me, that was very sweet of you. Shall we go to bed? It’s pretty late-” Jack started to let Rhys go and stand up when he felt Rhys tugging at his shirt sleeve. Rhys sniffled as he stared up at him with misty eyes, his bottom lip pouting out as he held Jack there. Jack closed his eyes and huffed out a laugh as he sat back down on the couch.

“What is it?” Jack mused and nudged at Rhys gently with his elbow. Rhys just stuck his lip out more, his eyes welling up with more tears. Jack slapped his hand against his own face and pulled down, his head shaking a little as he continued to laugh. “Come on cupcake, use your words.” Jack carefully took hold of Rhys’ flesh hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing at his skin slowly, the older man trying to coax it out of him. Rhys felt a quick shiver run over him and he sniffled softly before nodding a few times.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d,” Rhys worried over his lower lip as his eyes slid over to the tv screen and he felt his face go a bit flush. He knew it wasn’t Jack’s thing to watch sappy chick flicks, but he really had missed him all day and was feeling a bit needy at the moment. “If you’d stay up a little bit longer and finish this movie with me. It’s almost done, really! You wouldn’t have to endure too much, ah ha ha…” Rhys tried to smile but it came out like a nervous grimace and he deflated a bit, thinking he already knew the answer. Jack tilted his head at the question and smiled as he watched Rhys. God damn, he was so fucking cute and all Jack wanted to do was just be near him right now.

Without a word, Jack grabbed hold of Rhys’ flesh wrist and pulled the younger man on to him, positioning them so Jack was propped up a bit against the couch and Rhys was lying in between his legs. Rhys blinked and let out a small yelp as he was pulled, his metal hand resting against Jack’s chest. He peered up at him with red, puffy eyes and raised a single brow. So, was that a yes then?

“Get in here babe, what are we watching?” Jack asked in an almost chipper tone as he settled further into the couch, grabbing a nearby throw pillow and sticking it under his free arm so he could get a better grip on Rhys. Rhys felt a small smile creep across his lips and he swallowed dryly as he reached for the remote, not entirely sure if he was ready for this ending.

“Aah, it’s called ‘A Walk to Remember’. It’s about these teens who fall in love but it’s later revealed that the girl is sick with cancer and uh,” Rhys’ voice broke a bit and he let out a faint whimper as he felt his eyes start to well up again. “I don’t think she’s going to make it.” Rhys buried his face into Jack’s chest and let out a very dramatic wail, his feet kicking against the couch. “It’s not faiiiirrrr.”

Jack watched with amused eyes as Rhys did this and he threw his head back against the couch, laughing loudly. He snatched up the remote from Rhys with one hand and ruffled Rhys’ hair with the other.

“Well that sounds like a roaring good time and not depressing as fuck at all. Shall we?” Jack waggled his brows a few times as he wiggled the remote back and forth between his fingers. Rhys took a deep breath and nodded and Jack hit play. It didn’t take long before Rhys was full on crying once again, the whole ending of the movie was completely heartbreaking. Even Jack felt a bit choked up watching it. Rhys’ tears were staining Jack’s shirt as they laid there, cuddled on the couch together, their bodies completely entangled. Jack was merely half watching the movie though, most of the time his eyes were on Rhys, his hand gently running through Rhys’ thick, chestnut hair, trying to soothe him. His other arm was wrapped tightly around Rhys’ shoulders, his thumb rubbing small circles into Rhys’ skin. Rhys was completely attached to Jack, at some point his arms had made their way loosely around Jack’s torso, so he was hugging him. His long, gangly legs were lying mixed in with Jack’s carefully. Really, there was no part of either of them that wasn’t touching the other.

The movie was clearly coming to an end as Rhys started crying more and more, his whimpers breaking through over the film's dialogue. Rhys had been right about the girl’s fate. Jack would give him a sympathetic squeeze and hold him tighter and closer each time until it got to the point where Rhys was so far up on him, he could barely see the screen. He was fine with it though. As the now only remaining, living main character uttered the last line, Rhys was a complete mess. He curled up into Jack as the credits began to roll and just sobbed. Jack carefully sat up as not to drop Rhys so he could get a better grip on the younger man. They sat like that for a few minutes, Rhys’ weeping slowly dying down before Jack clicked off the tv and scooped the younger man up into his arms.

“Come on baby, let’s get you away from here so Nicholas Sparks can’t hurt you anymore.” They both shared a laugh and Rhys leaned into a kiss Jack had placed on his forehead. Rhys held onto him tightly, his arms wrapping around Jack’s neck as he was carried to their bedroom. Once he was set down on the bed, Jack moved in with a kleenex and began gently cleaning up Rhys’ face until it was all dry. Rhys smiled wide and quickly leaned up, stealing a kiss from his boyfriend. Jack blinked and laughed, crumpling up the tissue and tossing it somewhere behind him. He. Was. So. Fucking. Cute. He let out a deep yawn and began undressing out of his work attire. Rhys watched him with a small smile on his face for a few moments and then drew his brows together when he glanced over at the clock. He hadn’t even realized the time. Jack had come home so late and Rhys didn’t even think to ask about his day when he got home because he was so preoccupied. He felt a bit guilty about the whole thing now.

“Late night at the office then?” Jack heard Rhys ask as he was pulling his shirt up over his head, an edge getting stuck on one of the latches on his mask. He let out an exasperated sigh as he tried to get it undone to no avail.

“Y-yeah, it was just a bullshit day. I couldn’t wait to be-” Jack growled a bit, still trapped within his stupid yellow Hyperion shirt. This was just great, the perfect ending to a perfectly shit day. He could feel himself getting aggravated when suddenly he felt flesh and metal hands grab his waist. Jack jumped a bit as the cool metal pressed into his warm skin but stopped moving as Rhys held him still. Rhys made quick work of the snag and Jack was freed within seconds. Rhys finished pulling the shirt off and Jack was met with beautiful heterochromic eyes and a warm smile. “...h-home.” Jack managed to finish his sentence finally. Even after all this time, there was still something about Rhys that completely caught the other man off guard. He had this amazing, specific smile that would leave Jack completely flabbergasted. He could feel his cheeks burning beneath his mask as Rhys looked at him like that. Rhys took the opportunity to take hold of Jack’s hand and slowly pull him into bed with him.

“That’s okay, we don’t have to talk about any of that right now. Tonight, you’ll get some rest and tomorrow will be a new, better day. Now get over here.” Rhys laughed and yanked Jack down onto the bed and quickly pulled him in close. Jack nearly tripped over himself as he was pulled and let out a laugh as he hit the bed. He nestled into the sheets, so happy to be back in their bed. Honestly, why did they ever leave it? Rhys slipped in behind him, his flesh arm wrapping around Jack’s waist and pulled him in close, their bodies pressing flush to one anothers. Jack let out an almost elated sigh, sincerely happy to just be home and in Rhys’ arms. He didn’t mind being the little spoon at times and Rhys was damn good at cuddling, so this was really nice. It didn’t take long before Jack was out, his body completely relaxed beneath his boyfriends hold. Rhys nuzzled his face against Jack’s back gently, his lips pressing lazy kisses into Jack’s skin. The younger man smiled and laughed gently as he felt his eyes growing heavy with sleep.

“Goodnight, my handsome Jack. I love you…”

#rhack #handsome jack #rhys the company man #tftbl #borderlands #tales from the borderlands #erinchu writes #writing prompt #love you frab #fluff #cuddling #cuddles #yay happy rhack for once lol #I HOPE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED ;.;#ily

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erinchu · 6 years

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“You’re overthinking– I’m yours. That’s all I want to be.”

*kicks door open* I CHIME IN WITH A HASNT ERIN EVER HEARD OF, WRITING A PROMPT ON TIME, NO!

I’m so sorry this took so long and I don’t even know??? I had this idea in my head and just sort of went with it *shrugs* I hope you enjoy lovely and thank you so much for the prompt!

Love Me Now or Never

It all started with a text message.

“Look, I don’t want to ruin our relationship, professional or…whatever this is, but I would 100% let you wreck me if given the chance.”

Rhys hit send and immediately threw his phone across the room onto his bed. Had he really just done that? What the fuck was he thinking sending a text like that to Handsome Jack!? He could feel his heart pounding in his chest like a kick drum.

The two had struck up a rather flirtatious relationship over the past few months, which hadn’t been helping the raging crush the young PA had on his CEO. Jack seemed just as interested in Rhys as he was in him and it finally reached a point where Rhys couldn’t even hear his voice anymore without getting hard. For Rhys, it was more than just lust, which, okay, there was a whole lot of lust going on. But Rhys was starting to feel something more for the older man. All these feelings combined created a moment of temporary insanity that had caused Rhys to send that text. Yeah, that was totally why.

The cybernetic man felt his breathing hitch as he heard his phone buzz against his bed sheets. The light from the screen lit up the dark area, shining like a little beacon, begging him to read it. Rhys swallowed dryly as his feet willed him across the room towards the device. Timidly, a flesh hand reached out and took hold of the phone tightly. He slid his thumb across the bottom, unlocking it, prepared to read his fate. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be fired via text.

Rhys let out an audible gasp as he read the two word response from his boss. Simple, to the point and exactly what Rhys had hoped for but not at all what he had expected.

“Ruin it.”

And that was how their ‘relationship’ started. The next day when the two got into work, Handsome Jack pulled his PA into his office, tossed him into his large yellow chair and simply said.

“Well, ready to get wrecked, kiddo?”

They carried on this like for the months to come, seeing each other in and outside of work nearly every day. Rhys was completely smitten with Jack and each day he could feel himself falling more and more for the older man. Jack seemed to be quite taken with Rhys as well, but it was always hard to tell with him. They hadn’t exactly gone public with their affair but they certainly weren’t keeping it on the down low either. Everyone who worked in Jack’s private office, including Rhys’ cubicle mate, Meg, knew what was going on between the two. No one really cared though. It was a common thing for Handsome Jack to do. There was a reason after all he had the habit of hiring beautiful looking PA’s, most of which all were happy to sleep with him whenever he wanted. In Rhys’ mind though, they were dating, exclusively. At least, Rhys was anyway.

It was Friday evening, Jack and Rhys’ usual date night and Rhys was waiting around his apartment for Jack to call him to let him know he was downstairs waiting for him. When an hour had passed and he still hadn’t heard anything, Rhys got worried and decided to call him. It took a few tries but Jack finally answered.

“N’hello?” Jack’s voice was a bit louder than usual, like he was shouting into the phone and Rhys could hear a lot of background noise behind him. Was that music?

“Uh, hey. What’s going on, where are you? Are you okay?” Rhys worried over his bottom lip after he asked that, feeling a bit silly for how worried he had sounded. There was a pause on the line before Jack finally spoke again.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine, cupcake. I can’t really talk right now though, it’s really loud in this club and I’m getting shit reception. I’ll call you after this date is over, it’s going horribly anyway, this girl is about as interesting as a road killed skag. Some broad from the R&D department. Talk about instant regret, ha.”

Rhys felt his whole body stiffen at that word. Had he said…he was on a date?

“Wait, what are you talking about? Jack?”

“I’m sorry babe, I can’t hear you. I’ll call you later! Byeeee~”

Click.

The phone dropped from Rhys’ hand and fell down to the couch, Rhys following shortly after it as he collapsed onto it. Jack was on a date with some random woman from work, like it was no big deal and Rhys was just supposed to sit and wait for Jack to call him after he was done.

By the time Jack had tried to ring Rhys, the younger man was fuming. He was angry with Jack, but mostly he was angry with himself for being so stupid. How could he have allowed himself to get so close, to foolishly think he was the only one Handsome Jack was fucking. It made his stomach turn…Jack was his, or so he assumed.

Jack was tapping his fingers across his knee as the phone rang and rang until finally, Rhys had rejected the call. He furrowed his brows as he stared down at the screen but then smiled a bit as his phone buzzed. Rhys was trying to video call him. Excellent, he had wanted to see Rhys all night anyway, so this was the next best thing. When the call finally connected and he saw the younger man appear on his screen, he smiled wide and waved with his free hand.

“Well hello there, good looking. You have no idea how happy I am to see that face of yours.” Jack had opened his mouth to continue on but was quickly shut down.

“Jack, what the actual fuck?” Rhys snapped, his lip quivering a bit as he tried to keep his cool. This had thrown Handsome Jack for a loop and he looked around a few times before shrugging and shaking his head.

“What? Did I call too late or something?” Jack blinked and looked down at his wrist watch. It was nearly three am but he had called much later in the past before, so surely this couldn’t have upset Rhys that much to merit such a response.

“Are you joking? I don’t care about the damn time, I’ve waited up all night just to hear from you. What did that mean earlier when you said you were on a date with someone?!”

“Oh, well, when two people think they may hit it off, they go out to a place and hang out for a while to see if it ends in sex. At least that’s how it works when I date.” Jack chuckled and clicked air against his teeth a few times as he shot a finger gun towards Rhys. Rhys very visibly deflated and Jack watched as he tilted his head back for a few moments, his eyes just boring into the ceiling. It looked like he was trying not to cry.

“You’re seeing other people, Jack?” Rhys finally asked for a few moments, his voice soft and almost fragile. Jack could clearly hear the hurt in the younger mans tone and it made him feel…guilty almost.

“…Are you not seeing other people, Rhys?” Jack forced out a weak chuckle, his whole playful facade slipping away as he realized the gravity of the situation. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he watched Rhys just sit there silently for a moment and shake his head. Finally, he broke the silence, sniffling a little and clearing his throat before speaking.

“No, I haven’t been dating anyone else, Jack, because apparently I’m a fucking idiot,” Rhys laughed out, trying to mask the pain in his voice. “I figured since we were spending all our time together and you were fucking me, that we were in an exclusive relationship but I’m seeing now that I was wrong.” Rhys quickly swiped his flesh fingers under his eyes to catch any tears that might have dared to break free. Jack swallowed dryly as he watched him, his stomach dropping a little. He wasn’t sure what to say or if he should even speak, so he waited.

“Have you been seeing people the whole time you’ve been with me?” Rhys asked quietly, his nose and cheeks flushing a soft shade of red as he continued to try and hold back his tears. Jack let out a deep sigh and pushed his digits through the grey streak at the front of his hair.

“Look, Rhysie, I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you think just you and I were dating…” Jack began, that sentence alone causing Rhys to screw his eyes shut and whimper softly. Jack kept going though, powering through the heartbreaking sounds Rhys was making. “But yes, I have been seeing other people. I’m not really a ‘one person’ type of guy. Come on, kiddo. You had to know that when we first started all this up…Fooling around with me is basically in the job description at Hyperion. I don’t do the whole exclusive thing.”

Jack had had this conversation in the past many times with several men and women who had made the same mistake of thinking they were the only person in Jack’s life in that way. But somehow now, having that same conversation with Rhys made him feel sick. Those words felt wrong aimed at Rhys. He wanted to take them back as soon as he had said it, but it was too late now. It was out there and there was no changing that.

It was uncomfortably silent for a long while and Jack watched as Rhys processed everything and worked it out in his head. When Rhys finally lifted his eyes to meet Jack’s, it caused the older man to flinch and nearly drop his phone. Those usually beautiful and bright heterochromatic eyes of Rhys’ were flooded with tears, the corners on both ends already so puffy and red. It was a look Jack had never intended to put on Rhys’ face, but there it was. He had opened his mouth to speak again, taking in a small breath but no words followed. He wasn’t really sure what to say anymore.

“You’re right,” Rhys sniffled softly and nodded, his lips pressing into a hard line as he tried to calm himself down. “It was my mistake, Jack. It won’t happen again.”

The way Rhys had said it made Jack wince and he drew his brows together as he stared at his phone screen. The kid had stopped crying, his eyes a little glazed over now; hazy. Most of all though, the hurt was as clear as day and it was tearing Jack up inside. What the fuck was up with that? He was Handsome Jack after all, what did this PA expect? If Jack was being honest with himself though, he really did like Rhys and he was enjoying their time together. He had kept seeing randos out of what felt like habit, not want. It felt different with Rhys though. Jack looked forward to seeing him, to being intimate together, to just lay around on Rhys’ couch watching old black and white films and eating pizza.

It was dawning on Jack as they sat there, connected only by screens that he had maybe made a mistake. The more Rhys stared at him, the more Jack felt further and further away from him, like the distance between them was ever growing.

“Rhys, I-”

“It’s over, Jack. I don’t think we should see one another anymore. Sorry for getting confused on where we stood, but I won’t do this- I can’t do this.” Rhys dropped his head as his words just sort of fell off. It was obvious there was more he wanted to say but he couldn’t seem to get it all out. Instead he just smiled weakly at a stunned looking Jack and shrugged.

“Bye, Jack.”

There wasn’t even a chance for Jack to get a word in before the call ended and Jack’s screen went dark. The older man let the phone fall onto his lap and he sat back in his chair, his mouth hanging open slightly. Had he just been broken up with by his goddamn PA? He sat there for several minutes, fuming as Rhys’ words kept playing over and over in his head.

“It’s over…”

Handsome Jack wasn’t the break up-ee, he was the break up-er. This was ludacris, who did this kid think he was talking to and why did it bother Jack so much? He snatched up his phone and tried ringing Rhys’ phone, but there was no answer. He tried a few more times, determined to finish their conversation on his terms, but after the third time of calling, Rhys’ phone went straight to voicemail.

“Son of a bitch…” Jack sighed deeply and chucked his phone across the living room onto a nearby couch. Fine, Rhys could dodge him for now, but come Monday morning, he was going to finish their talk. Rhys couldn’t avoid him forever.

“What?! What the hell do you mean a transfer?”

It was bright and early on Monday morning at Hyperion and Handsome Jack was early for once. He had come in only to be handed paperwork for approval from his other PA, Meg. The young woman winced a little as he barked at her and she calmly tried explaining again.

“Mr. Rhys came in very early this morning and filled out these two forms, sir. One was a request for leave and the other for a transfer to a different department in the facility. Since you are the department head for this floor obviously, you have to approve it…”

Jack was listening as his eyes scanned over the form again and again. There it was, in Rhys’ hand writing, his request to be moved as far away from Jack’s office as possible. He had asked to be moved down to the coding department, which never really saw the light of day as far as the rest of the company was concerned. Basement nerds with bad social skills and in desperate need of a tan.

“How long did he request time off for?” Jack asked without looking up, his hand reaching out for the other piece of paper she had for him.

“One full week, sir. He would return to work at his new position next Monday, if approved.” Meg smiled a little as she placed the paper in his hand. This all seemed very sudden to her and she had her suspicions, but it wasn’t her place to ask and it certainly didn’t seem like Jack wanted to chat about it.

“How long would it take to process his transfer if I signed these today?” Jack was starting to piece together what Rhys had done but he wanted to hear it anyway.

“…It takes about a week, sir. Between paperwork and getting him setup with security clearance for that department.” Her face fell a little as Jack finally figured it out. So he was trying to avoid Jack. He wasn’t even going to give Jack the opportunity to corner him to talk. Jack felt that anger building up inside him again and he began to crumple the papers he had been holding. His hand twitched slightly as he felt the paper slice a thin, long cut along his index finger and he snapped out of his own head after a moment. Fine, if that was how Rhys wanted it, then so be it. Jack would give him what he wanted.

“Hand me a pen, would you, princess?” Jack smiled, reaching his hand out towards his PA and snapped twice. Meg did as she was asked and eagerly gave him her pen, her brows furrowing as she watched him. With just a few strokes of ink, it was done. Jack let out a small sigh before putting on his usual grin and winked up at his PA as he handed her back her pen.

“Thanks babe,” Jack winked, grinning a little as he put his finger against his lips, licking away the small amount of blood that had formed from his cut. “Could you get those sent off right away for me, please?” Jack gently tapped on the top of her desk a few times and smiled wide, earning him an equally wide smile from his lovely PA.

“Right away, sir. Consider it done.”

Jack nodded and turned to walk away, his smiling instantly dropping as he headed back towards his office. He didn’t want anyone to see the hurt on his face.

It was torturous for Jack, waiting to hear something, anything from Rhys. He had tried calling him throughout the week and got the same result each time. Nothing. He didn’t want to just show up at his house, either. Why would he anyway? Rhys had ended it with him and made that very clear. Still, even though he didn’t want to admit it to himself, it was driving Jack insane.

When Friday finally hit and still nothing from his former lover, Jack was angry. Who the fuck did Rhys think he was? No one walks away from Handsome Jack or says they’re done. That was Jack’s job and Rhys was lucky Jack had feeling for him or he’d be out an air lock by now.

Feelings…

“Oh for fucks sake, what is happening right now?” Jack exclaimed loudly as he sat at his desk, thinking over the whole situation, his digits plunging into his hair as he leaned forward onto his elbows. Jack had never caught feelings for any of his conquests in the past, but for some reason he couldn’t shake Rhys from his thoughts. Was it possible he actually cared about Rhys? Like proper, hold hands, go on dates, make love and not just mindlessly fuck, only be with him, care about him? And could that be why he was so bothered by Rhys ending things between them?

“Noooope, nope, nope. Fuck that.” Jack growled out through gritted teeth. He looked around his office, his chest heaving a little as he took short, shallow breaths. He needed something to distract himself, to take his mind off of Rhys, off of how guilty and hurt he felt about this whole stupid fucking situation. If Rhys wanted out of his life and was so willingly to just walk away, okay then. Jack wasn’t going to sit around all mopey and wait for him. His eyes trailed to his office’s front doors and he smirked as he remembered just who was sitting on the other side of them. The perfect distraction. He reached over to the little comms box that sat on his desk and pressed a button on it.

“Meg, pumpkin, could you come in here please? I need you.”

It did not take long for Jack’s intentions with Meg to become clear. The younger woman had grown used to the look Jack would give her during work hours when it meant he wanted her. In the past, she would happily oblige, but now she felt uneasy about it. Jack didn’t seem to notice this however as he threw her against his desk and quickly closed the space between them, his hands roaming all over her body. He was being hasty and rash, not flirting and being coy like he usually would. He truthfully just wanted to bury himself in someone right now and try to forget about Rhys, even if it was only a temporary fix. He was upset and angry and confused all at once and he didn’t like any of it.

“Aaah, s-sir?” Meg stammered out as Jack ran his hands up her thighs, pushing her skirt up and out of his way. She was bracing herself against the desk, really unable to be any other way as Jack’s weight laid against her body.

“What?” Jack asked drly, his hands now making quick work of the buttons on Meg’s blouse, his eyes just sorta staring past her, down at his desk.

“I’m not really sure this is such a good idea, sir…” Her voice was timid and a little nervous sounding, like she was trying to not offend him. Jack didn’t seem to mind though as he gave up on the remaining buttons and just yanked the fabric the rest of the way open. This pulled a cry from Meg and she shuddered as Jack lifted her legs so they were wrapped around his waist. He pulled her in closer, grinding his hips against hers and smiled.

“What’s a matter, princess? Don’t want me anymore?” A reoccurring theme this week, Jack thought to himself.

Meg swallowed dryly and worried over her lower lip as she felt her entire face flush. Her legs were trembling now as she stared up her boss, trying to hold onto what little strength she had to resist him.

“It’s not that, Jack, sir, it’s just I-” She was cut off as Jack lunged forward for her neck, his teeth sinking ever so slightly into the skin and nipping gently at it. Meg tilted her head back as a startled moan escaped her and she relaxed a bit into Jack’s hold. Jack chuckled against her skin before kissing at the little wound he had created.

“Atta girl, that sounds more like the tune I wanted to hear.”

Meg felt herself slipping farther and farther, her lust for him consuming her as he continued his welcomed assaulted on her. She had missed them being like, Jack using her whenever he needed to blow off some steam. He had stopped calling for her once he and Rhys had gotten more involved and-

Rhys!

Meg’s eyes shot up and she sat up quickly, shoving Jack away from her and scrambled to get up from the desk. Jack let out a confused cry as he was pushed and stood there with this hands held open, a frustrated look on his face.

“What the hell, sweetheart? We were just getting to the good part, what are you doing?” Jack tried reaching for her again, but she swiftly moved away, her fingers quickly trying to do her buttons back up. Once that was done, she pulled her skirt back down and attempted to smooth her hair back down.

“What are you doing, Jack?” Meg shook her head slowly, her brows pulling together as she gave Jack an accusing look.

“Well, I thought it was pretty obvious what I was doing, but I’d be happy to make it clearer for you,” Jack laughed awkwardly as he took a few steps closer to her. Meg moved back, a hand clutching her shirt as she began to shake her head more rapidly.

“No Jack, I mean what are you doing? Why are you trying to sleep with me? What about Rhys? Think of how upset he’d be if he found out.” The question made Handsome Jack flinch and he turned away from her briefly and shrugged.

“What about him? He’s ancient history, what do I care?”

Even though she couldn’t see his face, she knew the look on it, just by hearing his voice. Carefully, Meg approached her boss, her hand gently resting on his arm as she pulled him back towards her. Jack resisted at first but eventually turned to face her once again.

“Sir, I don’t know what happened and you don’t have to tell me, but I do know that you do care.” She knew she was touching on a sensitive nerve by the way Jack was clenching his jaw over and over again and glaring down at her, but she kept going anyway. “Look, you know in the past, I’ve always been down with this,” she looked between the two of them and smiled softly. “But sir, ever since Rhys started working for you, things have been different. I see the way you look at him. I know because when you saw him for the first time, you stopped looking at me.” A soft hand reached up and gently cupped at Jack’s face, causing the older man to lean into the touch.

“I don’t even think you realize how much you’ve changed since you started seeing him. I think…” She hesitated and swallowed softly, her thumb rubbing against Jack’s face, “I think you have actual, real feelings for Rhys. And I know he has real feelings for you.”

Jack perked up a bit, a single brow raising up as she said this.

“What makes you say that?”

“Are you kidding?” Meg laughed softly and let her hand fall back to her side, “He doesn’t shut up about you all day. It’s not just a fling with the CEO of Hyperion for him. His feelings are genuine.” She nodded and stepped back from Jack, sighing softly.

“Which is why I will no longer be offering my side services to you, sir. Now, what I need from you is to stop being a dumbass, realize that you actually like this guy and go fix whatever it is you did to make him leave, before it’s too late.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and shot her a look, his arms folding over his chest.

“What makes you think it was my fault?”

“Jack…” Meg said knowingly and rolled her eyes, her head nodding over towards the front office doors. “Just go. And please be honest with him, and yourself for once. You both at least deserve that much.”

He chewed over his PA’s words for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh and nodding. He walked up to her and hugged her quickly.

“I’m sorry about your shirt, go get a new one downstairs and just have them bill it to me.” Jack smiled down at her before planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Thank you, Meg,” and with that, he let his PA go and headed for the door.

“Oh and remind me to give you a raise, please.” Jack smirked and winked before slipping out of the door.

“Don’t worry, I will!” Meg called after him. She slumped down into his chair once he was gone and let out a heavy sigh, fanning her face with a paper folder as she tried to get herself calmed down. “Phew, I definitely do not get paid enough for this.”

“What the fuck am I doing?” Jack asked allowed to himself as he stood outside of Rhys’ apartment building. He hadn’t called ahead to let Rhys know he was coming by, not that the kid would have answered anyway. He had made it very clear he was done with Jack and didn’t want to see him. Jack was starting to feel…nervous? A feeling he wasn’t used to having. He paced back and forth for a few minutes, talking himself out of this embarrassing situation at least a dozen times. What if Rhys slammed the door in his face or laughed at him until he was blue in the face? Worst of all, what if Jack spilled his purse all over Rhys and Rhys still ended up rejecting him? He did deserve it, sure, but that didn’t mean Jack wanted it to happen. He took a deep breath and set his sights on Rhys’ apartment, his feet willing him forward even though his head was screaming to run. Handsome Jack did not do well with the whole emotions thing, but for Rhys, he was going to god damn try.

A slightly trembling hand reached up and tapped against Rhys’ front door. Jack waited anxiously, switching his weight from foot to foot and hands fidgeting at his sides until finally the door swung open. Jack let out a soft sigh of relief as he saw Rhys’ shocked face.

“Jack? What…what are you doing here?” Rhys demanded, closing the door just enough so only half of Rhys could be seen. Jack attempted to smile, but it came out so forced, he looked a bit crazy.

“Rhysie…kiddo, I-” Jack was struggling to get out what he wanted to say. Thank god for that fucking mask because Jack was totally flustered beneath it, his cheeks burning red and skin damp with sweat. Rhys rolled his eyes and sighed, moving out of the way of the door so he could fully shut it on Jack.

Oh no, Jack thought to himself and stepped forward, planting a large hand on the door and pushed it back open.

“Rhys, please, wait. Just talk to me, five minutes of your time. That’s all I’m asking and then you can tell me to fuck off if you want. Please, can I just come in?” Jack’s voice was frantic and Rhys could clearly see the desperation on the older man’s eyes. With a begrudging sigh, Rhys nodded and stepped aside so Jack could enter.

“You’ve got five minutes.”

Jack smiled and nodded, rushing inside before he could change his mind. Rhys led them over to his living room couch, a place they had been so many times before, but under happier circumstances. A lot more kissing and less clothing were usually involved. They were both silent for a little while until Jack finally sat up and carefully collected Rhys’ flesh hand into his own.

“Rhys, I’m here to say I’m sorry, which is like, not an easy thing for me, kiddo. This is practically a break through for me.” Jack laughed nervously, his brows lifting as he hesitantly smiled over at Rhys, hoping a little humor would break the tension. Rhys did not look amused one bit.

“Gee, how brave of you to power through this troubling time in your life, Jack.” Rhys’ voice was completely monotone and he had this utterly bored look on his face. He wasn’t really interested in hearing anything Jack had to say. He sighed and shifted in his seat, trying to pull his hand out of Jack’s. “Now, if you’re all finished up-”

“Rhys!” Jack finally snapped, his lips pressing into a hard line as he exhaled through his nostrils. “Listen to me, okay? I get that you’re fucking pissed at me and you have every right to be. I was an asshole who wasn’t thinking about anyone else but himself. I get it.” Jack sighed in frustration, his free hand smoothing back his hair briefly. Rhys watched him with curiosity, his hand relaxing back into Jack’s hand as he spoke. Okay, so may he could hear him out a little more. He liked what he say hearing so far.

“I…I don’t want this to be done,” Jack gestured to the space between the two of them with their joined hands and sighed softly. “I want to be with you, like really be with you. I actually like you, Rhysie.” It was clear, even with his mask on, that Jack was feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable, in that moment. He was never one to speak so openly about these types of things. It was new territory for him. Rhys stared at him for a while, his brows drawing together so the center of his forehead was a little crinkled.

“I know I hurt you, Rhys and I can never take that back, but I don’t want to do that anymore. I just want you,” Jack sounded more confident that time, his lips curling into a soft smile. He gently squeezed at Rhys’ hand and instinctively leaned in a bit closer to him, his body just happy to be near the other man. Rhys swallowed slowly, his eyes welling up the tiniest bit. Could this be for real? Could Handsome Jack really become a one person type of guy? Rhys thought about it for a little while, his face registering all types of different emotions as he did. Jack watched him nervously, biting at his lips as he tried to stay quiet and let Rhys think. Then, Rhys finally looked up at him and spoke.

“There’s gotta be some ground rules, Jack. I like you too, like a whole lot but I can’t share you with anyone else…If you’re mine, then you’re mine. If you start seeing anyone else, I swear to god-” Rhys was getting worked up, like he was releasing all the pain he had been holding on to the past week in one go. Jack closed the distance between him, pulling Rhys into his arms and held him tightly.

“Rhys, listen to what I’m saying,” Jack pulled back from the younger man and gently cupped his hands around Rhys’ face. “You’re overthinking– I’m yours. That’s all I want to be.” Jack flashed the most affectionate smile Rhys had ever seen. The way he was looking at Rhys, it made his whole face flush and he nodded slowly, his eyes fixated on Jack. Jack let out a soft chuckle and leaned back in, tenderly pressing his lips to Rhys’. Rhys’ eyes fluttered closed and he felt himself letting go. He believed Jack and he could tell he truly meant it when he said he was sorry. Plus, Rhys was just a fool for the man. Overcome with emotions, Rhys started to laugh and sob gently against their kiss. The sudden shift alarmed Jack and he pulled back to look at Rhys.

“Hey, hey, are you alright, pumpkin?” Jack asked softly, a hand reaching up to wipe away the tears that were streaming down Rhys’ cheeks. Rhys sniffled a little and smiled wide, letting out a joyous laugh as he practically pounced on to Jack. The younger man hugged Jack tightly and nodded, planting a few soft kisses all over Jack’s face.

“I’m great, now,” Rhys laughed and stared up at Jack for a few moments, his chin gently resting on Jack’s chest. “So are we really doing this then? Just you and me?”

Handsome Jack’s face turned soft and serious all at the same time, his eyes scanning over Rhys’ face as he slowly began to nod. He sat up, pulling Rhys along with him so he was still close to him and very gently ran his digits through Rhys’ thick, chestnut hair.

“Yeah baby, we’re doing this,” Jack whispered before pulling Rhys into another deep kiss. They both started laughing after a few moments, Rhys still crying happy tears off and on and Jack kissing away each one that broke free from his eyes.

“Just you and me.”

#erinchu writes #writing prompt #rhack #tftbl #tales from the borderlands #rhys the company man #handsome jack #rhys x jack #rhack angst #then some fluff #because i can't hurt these boys #borderlands #handsome jack x rhys #i listening to now or never #by halsey #on repeat for like ever #hahaha #it seemed to fit

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erinchu · 6 years

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*kicks door open*

Send me your prompts, kiddos (ง •̀ᴗ•́)ง~ I feel like writing!

#erinchu writes #rhack #or whatever?#lol

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erinchu · 6 years

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So @alpha-the-lone-wolf asked me for a Greaser Rhack AU and I started thinking about it...I think I want to take a crack at it. Except it wouldn't be their usual roles. I want to make Jack the rich, preppy kid and Rhys the just absolute punk, asshole. I already have a lot of ideas. Sort of like a slow burn enemies to lovers type deal. Would anyone be interested in reading something like that :3?

#handsome jack #rhack #rhys the company man #tales from the borderlands #borderlands #tftbl #thoughts?#erinchu writes

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erinchu · 6 years

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Would you ever write a sequel to In Bloom? (Hehe big fan of your fic btw v well done)

I would love to write more In Bloom, Nonny. For sure. However, I think it depends. What more could you would want to see from those two? I know I still haven’t posted the epilogue, but that does sort of wrap up their story. I don’t want to keep trying to milk In Bloom because I do actually feel like there’s closure for the story. Plus I like the idea of you guys coming up with your own theories of how their lives continue on. I’m not opposed to one shot prompts of the IB Boys (I’ve done that in the past already :D) but yeah. I need the motivation to finish that final chapter. I just feel like it’s been so long and no one would be interested in it now. *flails* thank you so much for asking and even more so for reading In Bloom. That seriously means the world to me, you have no idea. I hope you have an amazing day x

#in bloom #rhack #personal #erinchu writes #thank you for asking #rhys the company man #handsome jack

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erinchu · 7 years

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so @skybloodfox had this idea for rhack and I sorta instantly knew what I wanted to do with it, so I hope it’s okay that I rolled with it! I hope you enjoy :3 *slinks back into the shadows*

That’s mine

The year had started out a bit rough for the company man known as Rhys. He was working in one of the many coding departments of Hyperion under a hellish and frankly hard to look at boss named Hugo Vasquez. Ugh. Even hearing his name made Rhys roll his eyes so hard, his cubicle mate and best friend Vaughn had to tell him to stop or his eyes would get stuck that way.

He was truly a dick to everyone, but the man just loved to torture Rhys the most for some reason. Rhys had contemplated many times requesting a transfer to a different department but couldn't for two reasons. He didn’t want to leave Vaughn all alone in that place and two, Hugo would never approve it. So he was just stuck in limbo, being treated like garbage day in and day out.

Until one day, during a routine inspection of all of the departments, Rhys happened to catch the eye of a very important CEO.

Handsome Jack wasn’t sure how he had never seen the younger man before then, I mean come on, it was his space station after all. You’d think he noticed a hot little dish like Rhys waaaaaay sooner. He was instantly infatuated with Rhys and this suited Rhys just fine because he had always had a huge crush - er, admiration for Handsome Jack. Rhys was rescued from his work hell and promoted to Handsome Jack’s PA. He felt really bad for leaving Vaughn behind, but he made sure he was well taken care of and looked after. Vaughn had protested at first but wasn’t complaining in the slightest once he realized his new cubicle mate was Jack’s old PA and man, she was beautiful. Plus, Rhys and Vaughn still had lunch together, so he wasn’t totally abandoned.

It pissed Hugo off something fierce, but what could he do? It was Handsome god damn Jack after all. He wasn’t going to go against him and especially not since he had a raging boner for the guy. He had to bite his tongue and just go along with it, at least for now.

It confused a lot of people when word started getting around about Rhys’ promotion. Why him? Why would Jack possibly get rid of his too hot for this earth PA and replace her with Rhys of all people? Speculation as to why started to circulate around but eventually died down. People just chalked it up to what a hard worker Rhys was. Everyone who had worked with him knew at least that much. The kid was good at whatever job he was tasked with and always saw a project through to the end.

Jack wanted to blurt out every time someone asked him it why was because he was banging the little cybernetic cupcake, but Rhys had asked when this all started that they keep their relationship under wraps, at least for a little while. It frustrated Jack at first, but once Rhys explained why, Jack reluctantly agreed. See the thing was, Rhys was over the moon to be dating Jack. It’s Handsome Fucking Jack! He wanted to shout the news from the top of Helios so loud, the people on Pandora could hear him, but he also spent years building himself up in within Hyperion and he didn’t want all that hard work to be over looked because now he was sleeping with the company’s CEO. He had earned his respect within Hyperion and he wanted to keep it.

“Just for a little while, Jack. At least until the chatter about my transfer dies down. Then in a couple months from now, you can throw a damn party to announce it if you want. Is that okay?...” Rhys asked timidly as he stood in front of Jack’s desk, worrying his hands together. Jack’s hands were folded together and covering his mouth as he started out at him from behind cold, sharp eyes. He started for a moment too long and Rhys began to feel a bit sick. Great, he ruined it. Then, as soon as he was ready to accept his defeat and leave, he felt himself behind pulled forward and practically across Jack’s desk. The older man had a hold on his collar and he was holding on for what seemed like dear life. Rhys’ eyes shot open as Jack crushed his lips against his own and Rhys felt himself melting into their kiss. That was all the answer he needed. After a moment of this, Jack pulled back just enough to speak, their foreheads touching gently.

“You got it, kiddo.” Jack grinned and quickly pecked him on the lips one more time before letting him go and sitting back in his chair. “Oh, and you’re god damn right I’m going to throw a party to announce this. You’re a treasure, Rhysie and you need to be celebrated.” Jack grinned up at him and shot him a playful wink before returning to the paperwork before him. Rhys felt his cheeks flush and he pressed his metal hand to his face to try and calm himself. He smiled wide and nodded before seeing himself back to his desk.

“Thank you, Jack.”

Nearly eight months had passed since Rhys and Jack started secretly dating. All was going according to plan and Rhys felt more and more comfortable with revealing their relationship to the public. Life had gotten into a very nice flow for the young man. He got to see his best friend every day and get brought up to speed on all the hot gossip in the coding department, which included many stories of Vaughn’s failed attempts to hit on hot PA girl who Rhys was sure had a name that wasn’t “hot PA girl”, but he let that one go. He got to do work he enjoyed, alongside the man he was falling for while still keeping current with all of Hyperion’s coding techniques. The days where Jack would call him into his office under the pretense of ‘work’, but actually were for a cheeky romp across Jack’s desk were particularly his favorite. Yes, everything was pretty much perfect for the company man. Pretty much but not totally because one problem still pestered Rhys; Hugo.

As Jack’s PA, when he was unable, Rhys had to step in for the CEO during department head meetings or run his weekly walk through of each division. This meant he still had to see a lot of his old boss, unfortunately. Hugo hadn’t changed one bit since Rhys left, in fact, Rhys felt like he was even worse than before. The way Hugo would look at him made the other man feel very uncomfortable and his skin would crawl until the moment he was safely back in Jack’s office.

The past two weeks had been no exception, only now Rhys had noticed he was receiving some odd looks whenever he’d visit his old office. That and Hugo would act overly friendly towards him. Placing his arm around his shoulder and giving him a tight squeeze, smiling at him and complimenting his hair, really just making physical contact with Rhys any chance he could get. It was beginning to creep Rhys out truthfully, but he didn’t make any fuss about it. He didn’t need any type of altercation or drama so close to him and Jack going public, so he stayed quiet and just put on his best, most non-awkward smile and got on with the meetings.

He tried to put the thoughts of Hugo’s behavior and the looks from his old work mates out of his mind as he tried to fall asleep that night, but something kept eating away at him through-out the evening.

The next morning when Rhys awoke, that feeling hadn’t gone away. It was weighing heavily on his mind as he brushed his teeth and began making his head ache as he got dressed. When he arrived to work and got into the elevator, things only got worse. Two girls from his old department were already in the lift when he got on. He smiled at them and said good morning and they sorta just nodded their heads and looked him up and down. Once Rhys’ back was turned to them, that’s when he heard them start murmuring. Rhys furrowed his brows as he tried to pick up on what they were saying, but could only make out bits and pieces. His heart nearly stopped when one word in particular was heard crystal clear. Vasquez.

Rhys swallowed dryly and he began to fidget a bit as he watched the elevator slowly climb up. The ladies he used to work with had already pressed the button for his old floor and that would be his first stop. He was going to find out what the hell was going on. He thought he might just ask the girls behind him but just as he went to turn, he felt his ECHO unit buzz in his pocket. He frantically pulled it out and felt himself go a bit stiff as his eyes read over the message. It was from Vaughn.

“Dude, what the hell? Why didn't you tell me? You and Hugo of all people? Bro...”

The two women in the elevator stopped talking as Rhys let out an almost pained cry and began smashing the ‘door open’ button. The elevator would take way too long at this point and he could run up the stairs faster than this. Once they finally slid open, Rhys pushed past all the people waiting to get on and b-lined for the stairwell. He didn’t even know he could leap up stairs as quickly as he was and he ignored the burning in his lungs as he sucked in air, willing his feet to keep moving. He needed to find out exactly what the hell was going on and put a stop to it before word reached Jack. Oh god, Jack. There’s no way Jack would believe some stupid rumor, right?

The staircase door to the coding departments flew open and out burst Rhys. Out of breath, a bit sweaty and very frantic looking, he tried to settle himself as he made his way through the cubicles. His heterochromatic eyes moved around the area, looking for Vasquez. He wanted to go straight to the source. Rhys jumped a bit as he finally spotted the bastard and marched straight towards him, a stern look on his face. Hugo was leaning against a cubicle, no doubt spreading his false gossip with a cup of coffee in one hand and Rhys could tell he had spotted him as well as a pure shit eating grin spread across the other mans face.

“Aaah, there he is. Couldn’t stay away, Rhys? What did I tell you about being professional at work?” Hugo laughed and took a swig from his coffee, his eyes staying locked on Rhys. He looked positively pleased as people began to poke their heads over their cubicle walls and watch. Rhys drew closer and stopped directly in front of the other man. Nothing on his face showed admiration or amusement to the situation. Hugo set his coffee down on his employees desk and looked around to make sure everyone was watching before trying to reach for Rhys’ face. He moved in like he was going to kiss Rhys’ cheek but we met with a swift metal hand as Rhys slapped his hand away and pushed him back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Vasquez? Have you lost your damn mind?” Rhys couldn’t stop himself from shouting. His hands trembled by his sides as he tried to calm himself. If everyone wasn’t watching before, they were watching now. Hugo played it cool and laughed, fixing his shitty looking suit before shrugging a bit.

“Just trying to give my guy a little good morning kiss. It’s okay, you don’t have to be shy, Rhys. Everyone here already knows.” Hugo’s grin grew as he saw the panic register on Rhys’ face. Rhys quickly looked around at all the faces in the room, flinching for a moment as he saw Vaughn standing there silently watching as well. No way he believed this bullshit...He looked back at his former boss and clenched his jaw tightly a few times before speaking.

“Already knows what, exactly? That you’re out of your mind!? No sane person would possibly believe that you and I are anything but coworkers.” Rhys spat at him, his voice a little shakier than he would have liked. Hugo stood up straight and placed both hands on either side of Rhys’ shoulders, a completely fake look of concern on his face. Rhys tried to jerk away from him, but winced as the other mans nails dug into the fabric of his suit and threaten to breach his skin. Rhys wanted to hit him right then and there but he also didn’t want to risk making any more of scene than this already was becoming. How was he going to explain all this?

“Rhys, it’s okay. We don’t have to lie anymore. Everyone knows now that you’re Hyperion’s little slut and you slept your way up to the position you’re at now. I mean, I know I’m just a stop along that way since you needed my approval to transfer and all, but I’m not ashamed of it and you shouldn’t be either.”

Now Rhys REALLY wanted to hit him and scream ‘No, no none of that is true! Jack is the one who transferred me!’ but he couldn’t. He couldn’t explain that without giving some sort of detail as to why. Why would Handsome Jack care about some lowly coding employee enough to elevate him to such a high position?

Realization set in on Rhys and he deflated underneath the other mans hold. This was going to hurt him and Jack. They couldn’t announce their relationship now... everyone would just think exactly what Hugo wanted them to think. That Rhys was sleeping around to achieve rank within Hyperion. All these months of keeping their relationship hidden would have been for nothing. All of his years and years of honest, hard work would be for nothing and no one would take his relationship with Jack seriously. They would be a laughingstock and worst of all, it would damage Jack in the process. Rhys could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and they burned at the corners as they threatened to break free. He stared at the other man and just shook his head. He wanted to know why, why Hugo hated him so much that he had to go and do this. Why this rumor of all rumors? Rhys could feel all the eyes of his old coworkers boring into him and he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to get away, he needed to figure out how to fix this and just standing there crying wasn’t going to help. He pulled Hugo’s hands from his shoulders and took off towards the elevators as fast as he could, his tears finally falling.

Hugo watched him with dark, pleased eyes as he went and once he was out of eye-sight, he let out a hearty laugh and a long sigh.

“A lovers quarrel, ain’t he precious? Okay, back to work people. I’m not paying you to sit there and look pretty. And that’s mostly because you’re all just hideous to look at. Move it, chop chop!”

It was midmorning and Jack was impatiently sitting at his desk, drumming his finger against the surface. Rhys was usually here by now, bounding in with a fresh cup of coffee, a warm bagel and all the kisses Jack could possibly want. Today though, nothing. Not even a text saying he was going to be late. It was really unlike him. Jack didn’t think too much of it at first, but as fifteen minutes passed, then thirty and then an hour, Jack was starting to get a bit concerned. He had tried calling Rhys’ ECHO unit, but it just went straight to voicemail.

Finally, the CEO had had enough of just sitting around and waiting and he decided to go look for his PA/boyfriend. First he wandered around Rhys’ desk, looking for any post-it notes with any meetings he may be at or appointments Jack wasn’t aware of. Nothing. He kept going, checking the areas outside of his office, at the receptionists desk for messages but still no sign of Rhys. Jack let out a frustrated groan and shoved his fingers through his hair, ruffling it a bit before letting his hand fall back to his side. He started to make his way back towards his office when he heard the a very faint sound coming from his private washroom. Only he and Rhys had a key card for it. It had to be Rhys!

Jack dug around in his pocket for his key cards and flipped through a few before the door would finally open for him. As he pushed into the room, the door creaked and he heard the sounds from inside come to a halt.

“Rhys?” Jack asked softly and let the door close behind him. He heard someone trying to stifle their sniffles and the older man poked his head around the corner, finding none other than his gangly boyfriend curled up on a sofa that was in the room. He looked like a total mess. Hair disheveled, eyes red and puffy, nose bright red. Jack couldn’t tell if he had a cold or had just been sobbing his eyes out. He got his answer as Rhys’ breathing turned into hitched whimpers at the sight of Jack. Jack immediately fell to his side and collected him up into his arms.

“Rhys? Rhysie, baby. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Jack’s eyes were scanning over the other man as he tried to see if there were any injuries on him. Rhys couldn’t exactly speak because he was so worked up but he shook his head weakly and managed to get out a very weak,

“N-no, not h-hurt.”

Jack nodded and pulled him in closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head and letting out a small sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t injured. He didn’t press him for questions yet as it was clear he was too upset to talk, so Jack scooped him up and carried him back to his office, telling his receptionist not to let anyone in until he said so.

About a half hour and several glasses of water later, Rhys finally stopped sobbing long enough to explain what had happened earlier that morning. They were sitting on a couch as he told Jack about Hugo’s odd behavior over the past several weeks and why he hadn’t said anything to him about it.

“I was scared that if it escalated into something bigger, it would hurt us when we went public...that it would hurt you.” Rhys sniffled and struggled to meet Jack’s intense eyes as he spoke. He couldn’t recall ever seeing him look so damn angry. Rhys began to panic a little at the thought of Jack believing the rumors and he set his glass down and moved closer to Jack’s side.

“Jack, I swear to god it’s not true. I am not sleeping with Hugo Vasquez. I have never slept with Hugo Vasquez. I want to throw up even saying the words ‘sleep with’ and ‘Hugo Vasquez’ in the same sentence. Please, you have to believe me...I would never betray you,” Rhys’ voice had broken off a bit there at the end and he could feel the sobs building up again in his chest again. The noises he was making broke Jack from the trance he seemed to be in and he stared down at Rhys for a moment as he registered what he was saying. His face then turned soft and he laughed loudly, the act catching Rhys off guard. Jack was laughing so hard, he raised a finger to the corner of his eye and wiped away a few tears. Rhys’ face twisted into pure confusion and bit horrified. Was he...laughing at Rhys?

“Oh Rhysie, oh my god. Is there truly any part of you that thinks I believe this horseshit?! Honestly babe, come on,” Jack’s laughter died down to small giggles and finally he was done, his face totally serious once again. “I know you Rhys and I know you would never even think of betraying me, let alone with that greasy haired, man ape. He’s suuuuppperr gross and I’m Handsome Jack. There’s no competing with that.” Jack smiled softly and gently thumbed away the tears that were streaming down Rhys’ face.

“Don’t worry, cupcake. I believe you.”

Rhys let out a shaky sigh and sprung up on his knees, wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck and held onto him tightly. He nuzzled his wet face into Jack’s neck and smiled, whispering ‘thank you’ against his skin. After a moment or so though, his smile faded and he sat back down, staring down at his hands.

“What do we do now?” Rhys asked softly. Jack tilted his head a bit and placed a hand under Rhys’ chin, lifting his head up and meeting his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Rhys began, sniffling a bit, “I mean what do we do? This is bad, Jack. If we try and go public now, everyones just going to think Hugo’s story is true. That I just slept my way up the chain to get where I am now. All the work I’ve done, all the hours I’ve put in, those will all be in vain if people believe him. How’s it going to look if this rumor is spreading around and then, surprise! I’m dating Handsome Jack...” Rhys looked up through his lashes at Jack and frowned. “I mean, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what they all think as long as I have you, but still...It’s not a nice feeling. The way they were all looking at me, with such disgust. Even Vaughn...ugh.” Rhys shivered and pulled his knees up close to his chest, burying his face into his legs.

“Maybe I really am as bad as they all think...” Rhys whispered quietly, mostly to himself but Jack had heard it. Rhys could feel a shift on the couch and looked up to see Jack standing, his fists clenched tightly by his side.

“Jack?”

Handsome Jack turned and began walking towards his office doors without a word. Rhys scrambled to get up and chase after him, pulling at his sleeve gently to try and stop him.

“Where are you going?”

Rhys was taken aback as Jack turned to face him, his eyes narrow and downright vicious looking. Rhys had heard stories about this look. This famous, dark, dangerous look that Jack only reserved for people he truly hated. Rhys never thought in a million years those eyes would be looking at him.

“I’m going to pay our little friend Hugo a visit and set the fucking record straight,” Jack said in an amused tone with a twisted smile on his face before pulling his arm free of Rhys’ hold. Rhys just stood there for a moment, slack jawed and wide eyed.

“Oh, fuck.”

The whole elevator ride down to the Rhys’ old office, the younger man stood nervously behind his boss, his mind racing. What was Jack going to do? Surely just pull him aside and have a civil conversation with him, right? That would be the bossily thing to do. But this was Handsome Jack we were talking about, he didn’t do anything by the book. It was his world and we were all just living in it and he was going to do as he pleased. Rhys could practically feel the heat radiating off of the older man and as he went to reach for him to try and calm him, the elevator dinged and there they were. Rhys felt like someone had hallowed out his chest and replaced everything with a kick drum, his heart was pounding so hard. Jack didn’t waste any time as he strolled out of the lift and made his way through the office, hunting for his prey. Rhys hurried behind him, his eyes and head down as he followed him.

Rhys let out a small noise as he spotted Hugo, and Jack looked back at him for confirmation, Rhys nodded his head in Hugo’s direction. Jack’s eyes just narrowed and Rhys swore he saw a faint smirk. Jack was quiet as he approached Hugo from behind. Vasquez was standing in the common area, leaning against the water cooler with a small group of his employees surrounding him. None of them seemed to notice their CEO looming in the shadows.

“Yeeeeah, I tell ya. He’s a bit of a drama queen if you ask me but damn if Rhys isn’t a tight little piece of ass. A mediocre lay at best. He’s such a dirty little whore though, always begging for me. I can’t seem to shake him. Like god man, I know you want to rise in the ‘ranks of Hyperion!’ but could you like, get off my dick for five seconds.” Hugo threw his head back and let out a boisterous laugh, slapping at the shoulders of a few of the men surrounding him. They all let out nervous laughter and looked amongst themselves, trying to find a way out. No one really cared to hear about any of this but Vasquez wouldn’t shut the fuck up.

“Hey, wallet-head!” came an amused tone from behind them all. Every person, including Vasquez spun around to see where it had come from. The colour all but drained from Hugo’s face as he saw Handsome Jack standing in front of him, with Rhys in tow. Jack didn’t even give him time to speak before he shot a hand out to Hugo’s shoulder and dug his nails in deep.

“You know what really makes me laugh?” Jack flashed his brows up, as if he was waiting for answer from the other man. Hugo swallowed loudly, a confused smiled on his face as he looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Um-” Hugo had started to speak but was abruptly cut off by a swift back hand across his cheek.

“No, no, that was rhetorical, do not speak.” Jack warned as he towered over the now shrinking man. “Anyway, what really makes me laugh is the idea that you think that you’re some how important enough for ANYONE to sleep with you to get ahead in MY company. Or just the idea that anyone would sleep with you in general, really. I mean, look at this suit. You’re a fucking joke.” The amusement had drained from Jack’s voice and the employees who were surrounding Hugo before were now slowly backing away. The man looked like a bomb who was about to explode. Panic and fear spread across Hugo’s face and he lifted his hands in defense as he tried to speak.

“Sir, wait, I’m sor-” Another hand, this one much more forceful than the last, landed across the other side of Hugo’s face. Hugo could feel the tears involuntarily welling in his eyes.

“Didn’t I say not to fucking speak? You think I want to hear sorry from you? Your words mean nothing. This little rumor you’re trying to spread about Rhys means nothing. Know why? Because you are nothing. If anyone in this whole god damn building was stupid enough to believe said rumors, or even worse, spread them,” Jack shot a warning glare up at all the people around them, the two women from the elevator that morning let out a faint cry, “then I’ll be dealing with them next. But first, I want you to explain why and tell the truth.”

Hugo was trembling now, his hands still close to his face as he let out a forced, fake laugh.

“H-hey, just because he says it’s not true doesn’t mean he isn’t the one lying. Why do you think I’m the one lying? I’m telling you the truth. We’re sleeping toge-” Not what Jack wanted to hear. So he stopped him by bringing his fist forcefully down into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Hugo doubled over, falling against Jack and the CEO shrugged him off, letting him hit the ground with a hard thud. He gave him no time to recover as his foot went flying into the same spot his fist had just hit. Rhys winced and grimaced as Hugo let out a pained cry, followed by dry, rough hacks for air. Jack dropped down to his knees and pulled Hugo up some by his collar, before ramming his fist into his face.

“Are you joking right now, kiddo!? You going to keep on lying?!” Jack shouted down at him, his eyes wild with anger and knuckles already turning white from how hard he was clenching. He landed another blow to the man’s face as he tried to protest again.

“How dare you try to claim something that belongs to me!” Jack’s voice was so loud, it echoed throughout the entire room and loud gasps broke the crowds silence as he spoke those words. Rhys inhaled sharply and took a step forward, ready to pull Jack from Hugo. He had been hitting him this whole time, over and over, the other mans face already swollen and bloody. Jack grabbed hold of Hugo’s face and made him look over at Rhys.

“See that? That’s mine.” Jack looked feral as he wailed on Hugo, demanding the truth. He was getting lost behind a haze of red when he heard someone calling him back.

“Jack...Jack!” Rhys was on him now, grasping his bloody fist and holding it back. Jack whipped his head around to see who dared to stop him and his face softened when he saw the worried look on Rhys’ face. Jack’s breathing was shaky at best and his chest was heaving as he gasped for air. It took him a moment to calm down and he began looking around at all the horrified looks on peoples faces. He finally looked down at Hugo and let out a stiff laugh.

“You stopped me too soon, Rhysie baby. You can still see parts of his dumb face.” Jack let go of Hugo’s collar and let him fall back against the floor. He stood to his feet and began cleaning the blood off of his hand with the bottom of his shirt. He scoffed as everyone began murmuring and a few people knelt down to see if Hugo was still breathing.

“He’s fine, look, see.” Jack leaned over and collected Hugo up, slamming his back roughly against the nearest wall and held him up by his neck. “Tell the nice people that you’re fine, wallet-head.” Jack smiled wide and squeezed slowly at his throat. Hugo started coughing and weakly pulling at Jack’s hands as he nodded and squirmed against the wall.

“F-fine...I’m f-f-ine,” he barely managed to get out and Jack let him go so he could clap his hands and spin around to look at his employees. “See, look! He says he’s fine! And since you’re in a chatty mood, why don’t you go on and tell everyone the truth, huh kitten?” Jack flashed him a dark look that threatened he would beat him all over again if he tried anything and Hugo flinched. Rhys was still standing nearby, just in case Jack lost control again. He tried to meet Hugo’s eyes as he looked him over. His left eye was completely swollen shut and his face was already black and blue, blood covering every inch that was visible. Rhys wasn’t sure how he was even standing, probably out of pure fear, because at least a few ribs had to be broken. But then Rhys remembered exactly how he had treated him all those years and what he had put him through recently and his pity for the man faded much too quickly. He took a step forward to Jack’s side and very calmly spoke.

“Handsome Jack asked you a question. I highly suggest that you answer him. Why did you lie about you and I sleeping together, Hugo?” The way Rhys spoke reminded Hugo of Jack and it made him shiver. That same calm, viciousness everyone had come to know from Jack was now being heard from Rhys. Hugo weakly held himself up against the wall with one hand as he tried to wipe some of the blood from his good eye away with the other. He managed to clenched his jaw and stare at Rhys for a few moments, a look of utter shame and embarrassment falling across his beaten face as he spoke.

“Because I was...” He trailed off and that earned an irritated sigh from Jack.

“I swear to god, you better speak up now or I’ll make sure you never speak again, your choice” Jack threatened, taking a step towards him.

“Because I was j-jealous!” Hugo cried out before whimpering a bit. “I didn’t understand. Why him of all people? Why some nobody code-monkey from my department? How does he get hand picked by Handsome Jack to be his PA. It didn’t make any sense. It should have been me, I would have been a way better pick.”

Jack had to cover his mouth to try and muffle his laughter, one arm wrapping around his side as he tried to hold it together. Rhys shot him a quick look before turning his attention back to Hugo. He drew his brows together and shook his head a bit.

“So why the rumor?”

“Because I wanted to hurt your reputation...I wanted people to think less of you. That the only way you could get promoted so high up and so quickly was by using your body.” Hugo paused for a moment. He knew where this was going, so he might as well go all in. “Judging from ole Jack’s reaction here, I guess I wasn’t too far off the mark, was I?” Hugo grinned, but only for a moment before a fist wiped the look clean off his face. This time it wasn’t Jack though, it was Rhys.

“Jokes on you, asshole! Your rumor is about eight months too late. We’ve been dating this whole time!” Rhys spat out with a pleased grin. Jack stepped forward and joined in as well.

“Yeah, and the sex didn’t even start till like three months in and he was already promoted at that point! He didn’t even have to ‘use his body’.”

Rhys froze and looked over at him, his eye twitching a little.

“Maybe an overshare there, Jack...”

“Yeah, I thought that would help but now I see I should have just shut the fuck up.” Jack lifted his hand to scratch at the back of his head and he offered Rhys an apologetic smile.

The whole room was buzzing at this point, everyones head spinning with all the new information they had just received. Rhys watched nervously as his best friend, Vaughn, stepped forward.

“So Hugo’s story was never true. You guys were never seeing each other?”

Rhys smiled weakly and shook his head as he moved to his friends side.

“That’s right. Never in a million years would that happen with Vasquez, come on man. You know that, right?”

Vaughn frowned and quickly hugged his friend, his face buried into Rhys’ suit vest.

“I know bro, I’m so sorry for even listening to that stupid rumor. I should have had your back from the very start!” Vaughn squeezed his friend tighter and Rhys let out a laugh, hugging him back.

“It’s okay bro, really. I know how bad it must have looked. And I’m sorry for not telling you about Jack and I sooner...I wanted this avoid this very situation and that sort of blew up in my face. Vaughn nodded a bit and peered past Rhys, looking at Jack. He winced a bit as Jack’s brow shot up and he scowled a little bit.

“So it’s really true, you and Jack?”

The cybernetic man smiled wide and looked back at their CEO; no, his boyfriend and nodded.

“Yup, I am totally dating Handsome Jack.” Rhys laughed and ruffled Vaughn’s hair a bit and gave his back a pat. Vaughn snapped his fingers up at Rhys and jumped back.

“Oh! Is that why I got hot PA girl as my desk mate?!” Vaughn asked excitedly and Rhys let out a groan, gently shoving his friend away from him.

“You have to stop calling her that, that’s probably why you keep striking out with her!” The two friends shared a laugh as Jack finished up with Hugo and the coding department employees. He explained the situation one more time, just to be sure there was no mistakes and warned that if this type of thing ever happened again, they would be fired...out of an airlock. He had security escort Hugo out of the building, but not before taking his Hyperion employee ID card and snapping it in half in front of him.

“In case there was any misunderstanding, you no longer work here. Buh-bye.”

Hugo begged and pleaded the whole way as he was dragged towards the elevators, asking for a second chance, telling Jack how much he admired him and wanted to work under him. It was actually pretty sad to watch and as everyone did, they realized more and more that he had been lying before. They all felt foolish for believing him and nearly all of them approached Rhys to apologize and offer their congratulations on his new relationship. The crowd herded out as Jack walked over and the remaining stragglers scurried away as Jack shot them dirty looks. Rhys smiled a bit and took Jack’s hands in his, looking them over. He had hurt them in the process of beating the shit out of Hugo. It made Rhys feel bad and Jack could tell as the younger man planted soft kisses across his knuckles.

“So, I guess the cats out of the bag. We’re public, kiddo.” Jack grinned and planted a kiss right on Rhys’ lips, in front of everyone. Rhys felt his whole face go bright red but he closed his eyes and returned the gesture, his hands gently squeezing Jack’s.

“Yeah, I guess we are. Not quite the party I had envisioned, but hey, I can dig it. As long as it means that I get to be by your side.” Rhys smiled warmly and Jack nodded down at him, pulling him in close to his own body.

“Until the moon comes crashing down, Rhysie. I’m yours.”

It was a really sweet and romantic moment and so Jack leaned in to kiss his newly publicly proclaimed boyfriend once again when Rhys pulled away and began laughing a bit.

“Holy shit though, you beat the fuck out of him. I can’t believe you did that! I thought you were going to kill him, jesus.” Rhys went on and on like that for a few moments and Jack just stayed there, frozen in position, eyes blinking. He eventually laughed and shrugged a bit.

“I know, right? I was going to, but someone had to go and stop me.” Jack shot him a playful glare followed by a wink. “No one fucks with the people I care for. I’d take on a whole planet for you if I had to, Rhys...” Jack trailed off a bit and dropped his eyes from Rhys’. Rhys swore if the mask hadn’t been blocking his view, he would have seen Jack blushing. How he could go from savagely beating up a man to an inch of his life to this baffled Rhys. He wrapped an arm around Jack’s waist and gave him a little shake.

“Come on, Handsome. Let’s go get those hands cleaned up, hmm?” Rhys laughed and Jack nodded, the two making their way back towards Jack’s office, hand in hand.

wow, that was way more than I intended to do. But who am I kidding. I can’t write anything short. T____T I hope this is sort of what you were looking for! It always ends in fluff with me, sorry? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#YAY I DID IT #I DID THE THING #rhack #rhack tftbl #tftbl #rhys the company man #handsome jack #rhys x jack #hugo vasquez #tw: violence #tw: blood #idk #I hope that was enough of an ass beating #tales from the borderlands #erinchu writes #skybloodfox

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