Jack was happy as could be, being physical again. Being heard again. Oh, how he'd missed being heard. Being able to move on his own accord, not tied to the stupid kid’s stupid decisions. Not constantly flickering in and out of existence. It was maybe the best thing ever.

He had spent the last few days assessing the state of Hyperion, deeming it completely fucking horrible, and had used the larger part of the day planning improvements and firing people left and right.

As one of his first official acts as the once again CEO of Hyperion, he had allowed the pandoran bandits to get back to their shitty planet with the last piece of their robot. Sure, opening a Vault sounded nice, but he really didn't feel like it, and it wasn't like he couldn't go down and steal their spoils.

His next official act was to put the kid back to his old job. He hadn’t seen Rhys since then and he was glad to finally not have the kid’s voice in his brain 24/7.

---

That night he fell into his old bed in his old apartment, enjoying the feeling of his new body, just the ability to feel anything in general, emotions that were unquestionably his own, and thoughts that came from nowhere but his own mind.

The apartment was quiet. Just his own breathing and the ticking of a clock, slowly grating on his nerves. 
He rolled over and grabbed the gun from the bedside table.

After the shot rang out he dropped the gun back down, rolling onto his back with a contented sigh.

Just his breathing now.

Somehow this was worse.

He got up with a huff, stalked over to the living room and plopped down on the sofa, TV remote in hand. It was marginally better, but not quite what he needed.

No way. This couldn’t be real.

It was, wasn't it?

---

It didn’t get better with time.

In fact it might have gotten worse.

He’d already killed seventeen people that day although it wasn’t even lunch time yet and he was still full of restless energy.

Now that he’d gotten everything back into working order and to a semblance of normalcy, and had killed everyone he could properly justify killing, he was bored and doing work just wasn’t cutting it. Just like his apartment, his office was too big, too empty, and too quiet.

Time to go, find someone new to terrorize. After his return he’d had a constant loop of messages and announcements featuring his face running on every available screen on Helios, but it couldn’t hurt to put the fear of god in his employees in person.

---

After an unsatisfying round of Kick The Puppy Jack made his way back around the offices, through the Hub of Heroism, and he was halfway to the elevator to his office when he froze on the spot as he spotted a familiar glint of Hyperion yellow metal at one of the lunch tables.

And he’d been doing such a good job avoiding the kid.

Not that he had to. It was his goddamn space station, he could be wherever he damn well pleased.
Wherever he pleased just so happened to be as far away from the kid as possible.

But now it was too late. Vaughn was sitting across from Rhys and judging by the way his eyes almost popped out of his head, he must have noticed Jack. And even if he hadn’t, half of Helios had seen Jack stride into the room. He could hardly just turn around and look like he’d made a mistake. No sir.

Ah, fuck it.

He stepped closer and sat down on the bench, sliding up next to Rhys and slipping an arm around his shoulders. “Heya, kiddo. Whatcha up to these days?”

Rhys, who had apparently completely overlooked his friend’s alarmed face, jumped and spat his apple juice halfway across the table.

Jack looked down to his juice covered hand and wiped it on Rhys’ jacket. “Gross.”

After he got done coughing up the part of the juice he’d breathed in, Rhys turned to Jack. “Well, shit. Look who’s still alive. Been a while since you’ve done that.”

“Ah, well, ya know, busy running a space station and whatnot.”

Rhys nodded and shot him a knowing smirk that Jack didn’t approve of.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just… If I didn’t know better I would almost assume you were avoiding me.”

The kid was too goddamn observant. “Good thing you know better, else I’d have to shoot you.”

“Sure you would.” Rhys raised his organic hand and brushed it against Jack’s face, coming away with red fingers. “Do I wanna know?”

Jack rubbed at his own mask, still sticky with blood. “Uh, that would be the head of accounting.” He leaned in to Rhys conspiratorially. “He doesn’t have a head anymore.”

Rhys burst into a startled laugh at that.

Jack noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye, and his head swiveled around immediately. “You there, glasses.”

Vaughn froze where he’d scooted halfway off the bench in an attempt to quietly get away.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Vaughn mumbled some excuses that went completely unheard.

Jack reached out across the table to pinch Vaughn’s cheek. “Don’t think I forgot about my buddy Muscles. You helped to get me back here as well. Not as much as Rhysie over here.” He used the arm still around Rhys’ shoulders to pull him closer and give him a squeeze. ”In fact nowhere near as much as him, but, eh, you tried. So, you get your reward. I hereby declare you... uh... head of accounting and also... assistant vice bunker master. Now get the hell out of here.”

Vaughn scurried off in a hurry and had vanished in the crowd before Jack could finish his sentence.

“Assistant vice bunker master?” Rhys asked with a smile in his voice.

Jack pulled Rhys over so he could rest his bloody cheek on his head, and closed his eyes. “I saw him bunker mastering for the girls. The kid’s good at it. And you never know when you need a good bunker master.”

Rhys continued eating, completely unfazed by his boss being wrapped halfway around him. “Fair enough. He is deceptively good at narrating. Knows his rules. Can calculate damage real quick. I feel like for some of his campaign arcs he bites off a bit more than he can chew, but he's been getting better.”

Jack let out a small sigh. Finally some peace and quiet. And somebody he didn't want to push out of an airlock. “You didn’t answer before. What have you been up to since we got back?”

“Uh, well, ya know, this and that...” Rhys started talking timidly at first, but when he wasn’t interrupted he started getting into explanations and small rants about coworkers, weird bugs, and other trivialities of life.

Jack occasionally made some inquisitive noises, encouraging Rhys to continue talking, as he felt himself relax.

“Uh, uh, uhm. Excuse me? Uhm. Handsome Jack? Sir?”

Fuck. Goddammit. God fucking dammit.

It was a long day for janitorial.
 

---

 
Jack had spent the morning finding the ones responsible for producing and distributing the useless gun that had put the fear of god in Rhys but couldn't actually have killed him, and making sure the worst offenders got a one way trip to space.

After that he spent the rest of the day alternating between restlessly pacing through his office and blankly staring through his computer screen.

Goddammit. God fucking dammit. He fucking hated it, but he couldn’t deny it any longer. He’d gotten used to Rhys’ presence. And now that he was gone there was something missing. Something that made it impossible to sleep or work or do anything useful.

Having wasted too much time already, he left his office early and made his way down to the coding department, where Rhys was bound to get done with his work any minute now.

He took a moment to locate the kid’s desk, where Rhys was still busy typing away at a keyboard, eyes completely transfixed on the monitor in front of him.

Jack rounded the desk until he stood on the opposite side from Rhys, and slammed his hands on the wood with maybe a little too much force, as he leaned forward. “Rh-”

He was cut off by a startled “Fuck! Shit! Bitch!”, as Rhys flinched back violently, tumbling to the floor and taking his chair with him.

Jack leaned a bit further forward to meet his eyes over the desk. “You okay there, pumpkin?”

“Ow.”

Jack chuckled and shook his head as Rhys got back up. “You done?” He asked with a glance at the monitor. ”I gotta talk to you.”

“Uhm, gimme a second. I was just finishing up.”

While Rhys tinkered around on his computer, Jack leaned back against the desk, watched the office around him and barked a the occasional passing worker, laughing at the way they nearly tripped over themselves. It was good to be back.

After a minute or so he heard the telltale sound of a computer shutting down, and Rhys stepped up to his side. “Done. So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Let’s take a walk.” He turned to walk away out of the office, down the hall, towards the elevator, Rhys following suit.

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

Rhys squinted at him from the side. “That’s never a good sign.”

Jack chuckled at that. He couldn’t quite remember when he stopped wanting to murder the kid for saying stupid shit like that.

“I’ve been thinking and I’ve come to the conclusion that you really helped me out down there and that I never paid you back properly. I mean, I did give you your old job back and I hooked you up with the docs, because I’m just considerate like that and I think I made a promise at some point. But I feel like there’s more I can do. So, you are officially promoted.”

Rhys looked over to him with raised eyebrows. “Promoted to what?”

“Well, whatever you want to be, really. I was thinking personal assistant to the CEO.”

“That... No. Yeah. That sounds good.”

“Great.” Jack shot him a wolfish grin. “You start tomorrow.”
 

---

 
At 9am on the dot Jack’s office door opened. He watched as Rhys pocketed the keys Jack had given him the day before and walked forward and up the stairs, only to stop in front of Jack’s desk.

“Hi.”

Jack made a noncommittal grunt in response. He stood up and gave Rhys a once over, noting his more relaxed attire. “I had a desk set up for you,” he said with a nod to the side.

He gave the kid some time get himself set up at his new workspace, busying himself at his own computer, before he stepped over to him.

Rhys looked up and made a weird face that had Jack raise an eyebrow at him.

“I just remembered the last time we were in an office together.”

That thought had crossed Jack’s mind as well, and maybe he was hoping for a repeat performance, and if the kid thought that was the entire reason why he requested the kid’s presence up here then he was totally okay with leaving him in that belief.

“I also remember the first time we were in an office together.” Rhys’ hand went up to cover his cheek.

Goddammit. “Oh, will you let it go?”

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

Damn fucking kid. Why did he have to look so cute while being a dumb shit? “Do you wanna get thrown out of an airlock? ‘Cause you sound like you wanna get thrown out of an airlock.”

Rhys’ face was a mix of amusement and caution, like he only just remembered that it was Handsome friggin’ Jack he was currently teasing. “No. Do you want to throw me out of an airlock?”

“I’d rather not, so you’d better shut up now.”

Rhys stood up from his chair directly into Jack’s personal space. His hands went up to rest on Jack’s shoulders and he tilted his head. “But speaking of which, if I remember correctly, you said something about making my dreams come true.”

A grin spread over Jack’s face. “Well, the specific dream I was talking about there revolved around a certain surgery. Which is totally something I can make happen, but I feel like right now you’re referring to something else.”

Rhys rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “Well, yeah. Obviously I don’t mean the surgery. At least not right now. Although I’m gonna come back to you about that. But I’m pretty sure you said something about making the rest of my dreams come true as well.”

Jack’s hand snaked around Rhys’ waist. “I don’t remember saying that, but it does sound like something I would say.”

Rhys had looked like he wanted to complain again, but he seemed to be happy with the end of that sentence. He leaned in to brush his lips against Jack’s cheek. “So, I’ve had a look and apparently you’re not expecting any interruptions for at least an hour.”

“I like where this is going.”

There was a sudden stinging pain in his cheek and he shoved Rhys away by his shoulders. “I like this significantly less.”

Rhys looked to the side with a sheepish grin. “I had to, okay?” He tried to lean in to kiss Jack’s cheek, but Jack held him in place.

“Stay away from my face.”

“Hey, better I get the biting out now rather than later when I have something else in my mouth,” Rhys said with a wink.

Jack’s hand went up to rub at his flushing cheeks. The kid just had to be unreasonably hot, didn’t he? He pulled Rhys into a kiss by the neck of his shirt, minimizing the access Rhys had to his face.

He cold feel the beginnings of a grin against his face. “Shut up.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“I’ve lived in your brain. I know exactly which stupid joke you were gonna make,” he growled against Rhys’ lips.

Rhys pressed himself against Jack’s front and Jack took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. The kid was nice and warm and pliant in his hands and of course just as he thought that, Rhys took a hold of his hips to push him against the edge of the desk, his mouth coming down to press along Jack’s throat, and well okay, this was happening.

There was a cold hand possessively grabbing at his ass and a slightly warmer one snaking down the front of his pants and Jack felt a heat pooling in his groin.

He brushed his hardening length against Rhys’ front and for a split second he was confused when he didn’t feel a corresponding hardness before he remembered and let himself enjoy the friction.

Jack made a move for Rhys’ pants but was batted away by a metal hand, before it began to fiddle with his belt and zipper.

He leaned his head to the side to give the kid better access, bucking up when Rhys’ fingers closed around his clothed erection. ”There we go. That’s nice, kitten,” he purred into Rhys’ ear, while the kid was still licking and biting at his neck and stroking him.

Jack opened his eyes, that he didn’t notice closing, as he felt Rhys pull his hand back out of his pants. He was about to complain when Rhys pushed them down instead, along with his underwear.

Rhys kissed a trail along Jack’s throat, skipped the mess of clothes that Jack called an outfit, and settled on his knees. He pressed some kisses against Jack’s hips and nuzzled into his pelvis.

Jack had to take a steadying breath as Rhys looked up at him from the floor, hard cock brushing against his cheek. So this was where this was going, huh?

Rhys steadied himself, taking a hold of Jack’s bare thighs.

Jack tried hard not to flinch back at the cold metal, and ended up getting distracted when he felt Rhys trail light kisses up the inside of his thigh. Jack felt heat pool in his stomach, eager to feel Rhys' lips on his cock. The kisses continued higher up until Rhys nuzzled his face into the crook where Jack’s leg met his groin.

He pulled back slightly to look up at Jack. His breath was hot against the tip of Jack’s cock and Jack did little to suppress his full body shudders.

"Hey there. What are y- ah~” Jack let out a bone rattling groan as he felt Rhys finally lick a stripe up the underside of his cock. Yes, good, great, perfect.

Rhys grinned up at him with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes “What’s it look like?”

“Fair enough.” At the back of his mind he was dimly aware that a simple action like that shouldn't have him as hot and bothered as it did. However, he was currently preoccupied cooing praises at Rhys, encouraging him to repeat the motion two more times, liberally coating Jack’s cock in saliva, eliciting a constant stream of moans from Jack.

He gasped when he felt Rhys take the tip of his cock into his mouth, suddenly enveloped in that wet heat. His hips thrust forward instinctively, but were swiftly stopped by a metallic hand. Jack growled at being denied and instead settled for fisting a hand in Rhys' hair, pulling his face towards his crotch. 

Rhys went with the motion but more slowly than Jack would have liked. He took his time licking down the shaft, taking it inch by inch until the tip hit the back of his throat. 

Jack felt Rhys take the rest of his length in his organic hand, before he pulled off and started bobbing up and down, setting an excruciatingly slow pace. He tried again to buck up into the slick heat, but found his hips still pinned against the desk. His attempts at pulling at the back of Rhys' head proved equally fruitless, as Rhys used his metal arm to consistently keep himself at the exact distance he wanted to be.

Jack felt another wave of heat roll through him and had to suppress a whine at his lack of control.

After a while Jack started breathing heavily, feeling the beginnings of what might just be the slowest orgasm he's ever had.

Finally Rhys relented, bracing his metal arm against the desk, and essentially giving Jack free reign to do as he pleased.

Jack used the hand fisted in the kid’s hair to pull him down, while he thrust up into him, chasing his orgasm with only the vaguest thought about the kid’s safety at the back of his mind.

After five quick thrusts he came with a shout at the back of Rhys’ throat.

Jack threw his head back and clenched his free hand around the edge of the desk, as the other one was still buried in Rhys’ hair.

He felt Rhys’ throat constricting around his throbbing cock, while Rhys struggled to swallow the hot liquid shooting down his throat.

Rhys pulled off and took some time to lick him clean, before he got up, grabbed Jack’s chin, and pulled him into a kiss.

“Damn, cupcake,” Jack breathed against Rhys’ lips. “Need a hand?” he asked, as his hands were already traveling down Rhys’ front.

“Nah, I’m good. But you owe me.” Rhys gave him a wink before he turned around and walked towards the elevator.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Lunch break.” Rhys gave him a shiteating grin as the elevator doors closed with a ding.