Chapter 17
Time seemed to stop as Jack stared at Rhys’ porch, waiting for the shock to catch up to him before his feet met the pavement and he ran to Rhys’ front door, his heart beating out of his chest as he balled up his fist to slam it on the wood.
“Rhys!” Jack probably pounded on the door harder than necessary, his chest heaving. “Rhysie, I’m coming in!” He reached down to turn the knob and let out a barely audible whine when he found that it was locked, resorting to slapping his hands on the door.
“Come on baby, let me in! Please, Rhys, open up for me.”
Jack leaned against the door, his forearms flat against his surface as he hung his head in between them. His body sagged as he realized just how bad everything turned out to be, and how desperately he wanted it to be right. From the other side of the door, he could hear Rhys hiccuping in between nearly silent soft sobs, and Jack imagined that he was probably leaning with his back against the door, flesh and blood arm lifted up to muffle himself.
“Rhysie, please. I ain’t mad, pumpkin. I was just surprised!” Jack slapped his hand on the door again. “I’ll get on my knees if I have to! Just open the door for me, Rhys!”
Let it be known that Handsome Fucking Jack was not above begging when the situation called for it.
The CEO waited for moment and heard Rhys sniffle from the other side, followed by a watery “No, go away.” that just about broke Jack’s old, withered heart in two. Jack whined and exhaled deeply through his nose, heart stuttering in his chest as he tapped his against against the door, finding a steady rhythm in a series of short knocks.
“Let me in, pumpkin, pleasepleaseplease. I’ll do anything right now, Rhys, I swear to god. Do you want the moon? I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down for you.” If the situation were different, Jack would have allowed himself a smug smirk at his own reference, but at the moment his lips were stuck between a frown and being worried between his teeth, growing ever more tender by the second. “Or a promotion? Just to talk to you, Rhysie. I’ll make you Chairman. Executive! I’ll make you the goddamn CEO if it means you open this door. Hyperion’s yours.”
Jack thumped his forehead against the door and swallowed around the lump in his throat. Fire raced through his veins, but oddly enough he felt himself shivering, cold sweeping across his skin and leaving gooseflesh in its wake. Rhys was silent on the other side, and for a moment Jack thought he might have left. His stomach turned at the thought and his throat tingled, like vomit was forcing its way up from his own, stupid anxiety.
Then, there was a click, the turning of a lock.
To Jack, it sounded like an angels’ choir.
He straightened up before he tripped through the threshold, hands finding purchase on the door frame, and he took in the sight of Rhys. Jack trailed his eyes up, from the shine of Rhys’ shoes to the wrinkles in his collar, and then allowed himself to look at the man’s face. His eyes were rimmed with red and already looked to be swollen, which just added to the puffy appearance of his face. His cheeks were pink and blotchy, covered in tear tracks that went all the way to his chin and down his neck, accompanied by droplets on his shirt. Like he had guessed, Rhys had been using his flesh arm to muffle his noises, evidenced by the fact that his sleeve also had tear stains. The manager’s hair was tousled and unkempt, like he couldn’t stop running his hand through it, and Jack only want to tangle his fingers in the mess to pull him closer.
“You’d give up Hyperion for me?” Rhys said finally, voice drenched with uncertainty.
Jack didn’t answer.
“...Don’t make me regret opening this door.”
The CEO reached out for Rhys, hand held high and going towards his head.
“Jack?”
Rhys looked so lovely when he cried.
Jack threaded his hand through Rhys’ hair and tugged him forward, his other hand coming up to cup the man’s face, his thumb rubbing across the apple of his cheek and smearing dirt there. Jack kissed him.
He kissed Rhys with a gentle fervor that sent shivers down Rhys’ spine, his head tilting to the side as he pulled the manager closer to him. Jack angled his lips just right and moved them against Rhys’, spurned on as Rhys began to kiss back with a soft sob against his lips. Rhys reached for Jack and clenched his hands in that awful yellow sweater, certain he would rip the material, and clung to him like he was providing him with life. The kiss was slow, gentle, and with enough pressure to make Rhys gasp as Jack softly bit into his bottom lip.
It was over much sooner than Jack would have liked.
Rhys found himself and pushed Jack away, using the leverage he had by clenching his hands in his sweater to keep the man away from him even when Jack tried to chase his lips. Fresh tears welled up in his eyes as his chest began to heave again, and Rhys heard static in his ears as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
“What are you doing.”
Jack trailed his thumb across Rhys’ cheek again, following him even as Rhys turned to the side.
“Kissing you.”
Rhys desperately tried to ignore the way Jack’s eyes seemed to devour every last detail of his face, and found himself shrinking under the attention.
“Why?” He finally asked, voice quiet and trembling.
“Because I need to.”
Rhys laughed, the gesture clipped and short, humorless at best, and he covered his mouth with his metal hand, his eyes going up to the ceiling to avoid Jack’s gaze.
“I’m being serious here, Rhys.” Rhys scoffed again and shifted his feet. He allowed Jack to put his other hand on his hip, if only so that the Robotics manager could be selfish for a moment and let himself relish in the feeling and implications of the gesture. Before he knew it, Jack’s hand on his cheek moved to cup his jaw instead, and he was turned to face him.
“Because I need you to understand that I want you, that that kiss in the garden caught me by surprise and that I would like nothing more than to try it again and press you into the grass.” Rhys whined and tried to turn his face away, but Jack’s grip was tight against his skin. “Because I need to show you that I can do this emotion thing even though I have problems and commitment scares the hell outta me. I have three constants in my life: my brother, my daughter, and my company, but I want you to be there too. I just-”
Jack pulled Rhys close, encouraged by the fact that he offered no resistance, and leaned their foreheads together. He nuzzled Rhys’ nose and cheek and slid his lips across Rhys’ without making true contact, delighting in the needy sighs Rhys let slip as his brown and blue eyes closed.
“I don’t know how or when it happened, but you did something to me, and it makes me want to be with you.”
Jack placed lingering kiss on Rhys’ lips, simply pressing their lips together without a sense of urgency. Rhys could feel a tingle run down his spine at the motion, and found himself leaning in to the kiss, prompting Jack to wrap his arms around Rhys’ waist and tug him close. Rhys sighed heavily into the kiss, his brows furrowing as he pulled away again, refusing to look at Jack.
“You can’t just-” Rhys gulped and shook his head minutely. “You can’t just kiss me and confess and expect me to cave in. I- I don’t know where I stand with you, Jack. One day you can’t stop smothering me and the next, I’m nothing more than the dirt on your shoe.”
Jack tightened his arms around Rhys’ waist and scowled, though it was more at his own dumb, idiotic self than Rhys.
“I panicked! I can admit that. I friggin’ panicked. I didn’t know what to do and I was scared. God, I was terrified, and you were throwing me for a goddamn loop with your legs and your laugh, and the way your eyes light up when you’re working, and-”
The CEO groaned and scrunched his eyes shut, leaning forward to rest against Rhys’ forehead again.
“And the way Angel talks about you, how you treat her like a normal fucking person, and how you deal with this mess named Jackson Lawrence.”
Rhys was silent again, his lithe body shaking every so often with a swallowed sob, but his hands were still curled in Jack’s sweater and he was tugging rather than pushing. Rhys sighed, weary and tired, and shifted against Jack, slotting their lips together in a chaste kiss. He exhaled against Jack’s lips, eyes closed and not seeing how Jack’s bore into him, memorizing every last eyelash and mole across his cheeks.
“You confused me.” Came Rhys’ voice, soft and trembling.
Jack cringed at the accusation. “I know.”
“I’m still unsure of where I stand.”
“I’m trying to fix that.”
Rhys pulled away to look Jack in the eyes, reaching up with his cybernetic to cup Jack’s face.
“You hurt me.”
“Lo siento, mi amor.”
“Don’t you pepper Spanish into this, you jackass.”
Jack couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at the remark and leaned in to kiss Rhys’ cheek, moving along his cheekbone until he was within reach of the man’s ear. He whispered softly to him, arms pulling Rhys in more.
“I said, I’m sorry, my love.” Jack nuzzled along the length of Rhys’ neck, gently kissing the skin he could reach. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t mean to. I-”
“It doesn’t matter what you meant to do. What matters is that your actions hurt me, Jack.” The CEO in question could feel Rhys’ throat vibrate with his speech, and how it bobbed when Rhys swallowed. Jack wanted to kiss and bite every bit of the man’s neck until it was purple, but settled with peppering kisses back up towards Rhys’s face as he cupped his cheeks and placed another light kiss on his lips.
“I realize that now, and I’m sorry, Rhys. Let me make it up to you, let me do this right. Let me try.”
Silence reigned again as Rhys met Jack’s eyes and worried his bottom lip between his teeth, willing himself to not back down and look away again. The man’s eyes were intense, shades of green and blue boring into his own mismatched eyes, pleading. Rhys’ stomach flopped as he realized that he had the most powerful man in the city practically begging on his hands and knees for him, and that that very same man was hopelessly, foolishly baring his heart for someone like him. His heart skipped and Rhys tightened his hands in Jack’s sweater.
“You have a lot of work to do.”
Jack’s face lit up with hope, the expression looking surprisingly innocent and pure on the man’s face, and a light flush swept his dirt-smudged cheeks.
“A lot of time to make up.”
“I know, pumpkin, I know.”
Rhys pursed his lips together for a moment and stared Jack down. For his credit, the CEO’s hope didn’t diminish.
“I hate you right now.” Rhys said finally, lips tugging downwards as he dropped his eyes to the yellow fabric in his hands. “But I want to fall in love with you again.”
Jack’s mouth formed a small smile, his eyes slowly falling shut as he leaned against Rhys and pulled the man to him, lining their bodies up and relishing in the feel of Rhys wrapping his arms around his back. The slightly taller male buried his face in Jack’s neck and exhaled deeply, relaxing in the hold. He sighed into Jack’s neck and spoke, his words soft and muffled.
“You have one chance, Jack.”
“I know.”