They had spent the last few weeks like that and so far their arrangement had worked. They had started planning Rhys’ surgery and he’s been on the necessary hormone supplements for a while now. Jack still got too little sleep, but if Rhys noticed how tired he looked, he didn’t say anything.

Jack had come to the conclusion that the quiet in his apartment was unbearable and that the only time he was actually relaxed was in the office where the kid was constantly babbling on about something. The best way he could think to remedy that was to bring the kid back home with him.

Jack was sat at his desk, watching as the scientist he had just been talking to left his office. As soon as the door closed behind him, his head was in his hand and he laid down halfway across his desk, willing himself not to fall asleep.

He startled awake a few minutes later, when the door opened as Rhys returned from his lunch break. Before the kid could properly enter, Jack sat up and made a show of staring holes into the far wall in contemplation. “It’s kinda weird, right?”

Rhys took his time crossing the room and getting back to his desk. “Hm? What’s that?”

“Back on Pandora there was nothing I wanted more than to get out of your head and finally have some peace and quiet. But now I almost miss it. No more snooping around in your innermost thoughts, no more taking over your body, no more manipulating your feelings...”

Rhys was halfway up the stairs before he whirled around to face Jack. “Wait! You what?!”

“Took over your body? Yeah, there were those evil floaty jellyfish that tried to kill you, and you were unconscious, so I figured-”

“No, not that. Well, also that, I guess. What was that about manipulating my feelings?” Rhys’ face started to morph into a mix of horror and disgust and Jack could see his mind go a thousand miles a minute.

Maybe he’d expressed that poorly. “Oh, not what you’re thinking! I was just kidding, and even then, I wouldn’t manipulate you into doing anything you don’t want and especially not that. Well, not magically anyway. Got my charisma and my devilishly handsome looks for that.”

Rhys seemed to calm somewhat at that but he didn’t look entirely convinced.

And that kinda hurt. Not that anyone should trust him with anything ever. But still, he’d thought Rhys’ would have known him long enough. “Seriously, kitten, what do you take me for? As if I’d pull that kind of shit.”

Rhys took a long moment to study his face and whatever it was he found, it seemed to be enough for him, because, even though he still looked wary, he stepped closer, into Jack’s personal space, snaked his arms around Jack’s waist and laid his cheek against Jack’s shoulder. Oddly comforted by the action, Jack wrapped his arms around Rhys’ shoulders, pulling him closer and enjoying the warmth against his chest, as he buried his nose in the kid’s hair.

He could feel Rhys huff into his shoulder. “Those are some interesting priorities. Genocide? No problem. Rape? You can fuck right off with that.”

Jack couldn’t suppress a chuckle at that. “Well. Shanking a bitch is sometimes necessary. I have not yet found a convenient way of incorporating rape into my plans to take over the universe. And even then, I have moral standards to uphold.” Well, that conversation had gotten away from him. He shook his head slightly. “Glad we settled that. But-”

“Right, you were saying how much you miss being in my brain?”

“Don’t get too full of yourself, cupcake. But, yeah, you’re kinda fun to hang out with, I guess.” He shifted to put his chin on top of Rhys’ head. “So, really, what I was trying to get at is: Do you have plans for tonight?”

Rhys pulled back to get a good look at Jack’s face. “Are you asking me out?”

“Uh... no... I just-”

“’Cause I’m free.”

“Well, yes, of course you are, otherwise I would have made you free. So… Hey, that’s convenient. I don’t even have to pick you up, you can just come with me right after work.”

“You sure you don’t want me to go home first? I’m not exactly dressed for any nice places.”

“I think it’s a bit late for buying you dinner first.”

“Fair point.”

---

In the evening, or what passed as evening on Helios, after they called it a day, Rhys followed Jack to a control panel at the side of the room. After a few button presses, the wall opened to reveal an elevator. A different one than the one he took to get to the office every day. “Where are we going exactly?”

Jack was busy punching in a code inside the elevator. “To my apartment.”

“To your… You’ve got an elevator to your apartment in your office?” Rhys asked as he stepped in.

“Well, yeah. What? Am I gonna make the public elevators go up to my apartment? Don’t think so.”

---

Jack heard Rhys make little contemplative noise in the back of his throat as he followed him into the apartment. He turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "What?”

“Nothing. I just… I don’t know. I kinda expected it to be more impressive, I guess.”

“Not good enough for you or what?”

“No! No, that's not it at all. It's just that I wouldn't have put it past you to live in a castle, so this is a lot more reasonable than I expected.”

Jack snorted and shook his head. Even after all this time the kid still instinctively groveled before him. He walked forward, further into the apartment. “Come on then.”

Halfway down the hall he turned around and grabbed Rhys by the collar of his shirt to pull him into a kiss. “Do you insist on dinner or do you wanna skip straight to dessert?”

Rhys kissed him once more, before he broke off and lowered his head to Jack’s neck. “Dessert sounds nice.” His mouth latched onto the skin of Jack’s throat and he kissed his way up his neck, along his jaw, and up to his cheek. Jack pulled his face away, causing Rhys to burst into giggles. “Now who can’t let it go?”

God fucking damn stupid kid.

Jack shook his head and made a show of pulling away, turning around, and walking off.

“Hey, hey, hey, wait!” He could hear the laughter in Rhys’ voice, as the kid went after him with a few quick steps and wrapped his arms around Jack’s middle in an attempt to stop him.

Jack let out a dramatic sigh and let his head fall back onto Rhys’ shoulder to look into his eyes. “Yes, what is it, cupcake?”

“Come on.” Rhys pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t be a bitch.”

Jack turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Ex-cuse me? I’ll have you know that-”

Rhys surged forward and cut him off with a kiss.

Jack would allow it just this once.

---

Jack let himself be pulled into the bedroom, before he took control of the situation again, pushing at Rhys’ shoulder and gently shoving him into the wall, claiming his lips in a hungry kiss.
His hands busied themselves with unbuttoning Rhys’ shirt while his tongue was exploring his mouth.

Once the shirt was open, Jack broke the kiss to lick and nip along Rhys’ neck. His hands came up to grab at Rhys’ ass instead, as his hips ground against Rhys.

Rhys’ metal fingers buried themselves in Jack’s hair and his hips canted forward. “This is nice and all, but I was hoping for a bit more.”

Jack’s cock twitched at the thought of a bit more. “On the bed. And lose your pants."

Rhys complied willingly, pushing off the wall and walking around Jack, before making quick work of his belt, stepping out of his shoes and pants and sitting his bare ass on the bed.

Jack stepped to the edge of the bed, parting Rhys' thighs with his hands and fitting snugly between them. He grabbed a hold of Rhys' unbuttoned shirt and used it to pull him into a hungry kiss.

Rhys responded eagerly by wrapping his legs around Jack's hips, rocking up against him, and tangling his fingers in Jack's hair to deepen the kiss.

Jack’s hands locked under Rhys’ thighs before he lifted him up. Okay, listen, his back was killing him, but he made it look effortless and it was worth it. Anyway he was glad when he shuffled up onto the bed, coming to kneel close to the middle, and he could finally set the kid down again.

Rhys took a moment to rid himself of his shirt, throwing it to the floor, and Jack took a moment to appreciate the blue ink sprawling across an expanse of pale skin.

Jack leaned in to kiss along Rhys' throat and chest, following the swirls of the tattoos and the twin scars.

Jack’s hands roamed the exposed skin, gliding over ribs and hips and thighs and back over Rhys' stomach, before they traveled down further, to where a warm wetness had collected, and he went to press two fingers into the tight heat.

Rhys’ hand shot down to wrap around Jack’s wrist, as he pulled his hips away. “Uh, yeah, I’m not really about that.”

Kid knew what he wanted. Jack could respect that. “Sorry.” He swiped up some of the slick fluid and brought his fingers up to run over Rhys’ clit.

Rhys’ head snapped back, as his hips bucked up into the contact. “Yep, no, mhm, that’s better.”

Jack repeated the motion, setting up a slow rhythm. Rhys squirmed beneath him, lacking the leverage to properly thrust up into Jack’s hand. He leaned over to draw Rhys into a kiss and swallow all the little moans coming out of the kid.

Jack repeated the motion a few times, before he withdrew his fingers and instead rolled his hips up against Rhys' crotch and felt him moan into the kiss. He reached out to open the upper drawer of the night stand, from where he retrieved a conveniently placed bottle of lube. He broke the kiss to nuzzle along Rhys' jawline, his free hand moving to raise up Rhys' thigh.

Rhys took the hint. He leaned back on his elbows and raised his knees up to his chest.

“Open up, kitten.” Jack spread the lube liberally on the fingers of his right hand and let them trail down to Rhys' ass, where he slowly circled the tight ring of muscle before starting to slowly insert one finger, startling a moan out of Rhys.

He slowly thrust the one finger in and out, until he felt Rhys relax around it, before he added a second one, repeating the process, drawing small whimpers from the kid at every slight shift.

He worked in a third finger as he felt Rhys relax around him, and started to pump into him.

Rhys gasped and moaned at every thrust. Jack curled his fingers, causing Rhys to throw his head back and drawing an especially loud moan from him. Jack felt a spike of pleasure run through his own body at the sight.

He repeated the action, watching Rhys squirm, trying to push back onto his fingers, and a second later he felt a shiver run up his spine. Yup, this would definitely work.

Jack withdrew his fingers and Rhys whined at the loss. He leaned up to kiss the kid and, with a pat on the flank, murmured “Come on, kiddo, turn around for me.”

The kid complied, and with a bit of manhandling on Jack’s part, he ended up on his hands and knees, legs spread and ass on display.

Jack leaned up over him, running a trail of kisses over his pale back, to nip at his ear. “There you go, pumpkin.”

One hand still on Rhys’ ass, he used the other one to lube up his dick, pushing into the contact, before wiping the excess fluid on the sheets. His free hand came up to grip Rhys’ hip and he aligned himself with Rhys’ hole. Rhys pushed back against him and the tip of his cock easily slipped into the loose entrance, drawing moans from both men.

Jack pushed in deeper, gradually meeting resistance but not having any problems bottoming out. He let out a hiss at the heat surrounding him and took a moment to lean his forehead against Rhys’ shoulder. “How's that for a bit more?”

He felt Rhys twitch back, trying to make him go in deeper.

“Yeah, uh, that, that's gonna do it.”

“Thought so, pumpkin.“ Jack leaned over to kiss and nip along Rhys’ neck. His hands went to Rhys' hips to hold him in place as he pulled out almost all the way before thrusting back in, startling moans out of both of them. He didn't lose any time setting up a quick pace, idly mouthing and kissing along Rhys' jaw, neck and shoulders. His hand came around to pick up some slick and rub along Rhys’ clit.

Rhys seemed to be torn between pushing back into Jack’s cock and bucking up into his hand, not getting anywhere as a result.

Jack’s free hand curled around Rhys' waist to lift him up.

On the next thrust after the change in angle, Rhys threw his head back, his mouth hanging open noiselessly and his breathing coming more uneven.

With the combination of rubs and thrusts it only took a few more moments until Jack felt Rhys tense underneath him, his body curled up, his crotch pressing firmly into Jack’s hand, and his hole clenching around Jack's cock that was still buried in him, a cry muffled by the pillow he was pressing his face into, yet still clearly audible in the bedroom, before going lax and pliant in Jack's hands, only barely holding himself up on his elbows.

Jack only got three more thrusts in before following suit, spilling buried deep within Rhys.

He felt the tension drain out of his body, bonelessly falling forward, his head coming to rest on Rhys' back wordlessly.

After the tension left Rhys' body, he only sank down a bit, Jack still splayed out across his back.

Jack dragged his fingers through the additional fluid produced by his boyfriend's orgasm and kept idly playing around there, only stopping when Rhys started to flinch away, the pained hiss still muffled by the pillow.

Jack pulled out and was quick to bend down and lap up his own release trickling out of Rhys.

Rhys was shaking somewhere between pain and pleasure, and wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when Jack lowered him back down.

Satisfied with cleaning up his boyfriend, Jack slumped down on his back on the bed next to Rhys. Rhys shimmied over to put his head on Jack’s shoulder and sling his arm and leg across his torso. After a few more deep breaths he leaned up to press a soft kiss to Jack’s jaw, just below the edge of the mask.

The kid dropped his head back onto Jack’s shoulder, running his organic hand over Jack’s chest and subconsciously humming under his breath. Jack wrapped an arm around him, drew him closer and buried his nose in his hair. He let his scent and the melody wash over him and drifted off soon after.

---

He woke up to Rhys wriggling out of his arms.

His first instinct was to pull him closer.

There was a whisper in his ear. “Jack, I gotta pee.”

Jack let out a growl but reluctantly he let him go. Rhys slipped out as soon as he could and Jack curled around his pillow instead. He heard Rhys’ steps move away and dimly wondered whether he had bothered to tell him where the bathroom was the night before. Probably not.

Jack stayed in bed a few more minutes.

The kid was a lot softer and more cuddly than he would have given him credit for. With a glance at the clock- nope that was still broken. He pulled his ECHOphone from the side table to check the time there. And indeed he had slept twice as much as he usually did nowadays.

Which meant that, yay, his theory was right. But it also meant that, shit, his theory was right.

He was still too tired to think about the implications of that or to get out of bed for that matter. But his stomach kept growling at him and Rhys hadn’t returned, so unwilling as he was, he still rolled out of bed and dragged himself to his kitchen to make breakfast.

He had time to make too many pancakes, carry them to the living room, start up a console and play a few levels around his breakfast before a pouty Rhys joined him in the living room and draped himself over the empty space of the couch dramatically.

“What’s up, cupcake?”

Rhys lifted the arm that was lying across his face, to shoot Jack a miserable look.“Remember how I said this place was reasonable? I lied.”

“You got lost on your way to the bathroom?”

Rhys pushed his feet against the armrest to propel himself forward, as he gradually scooted along the couch where he could eventually rest his head on Jack’s thigh. “And back to the bedroom. And the kitchen. And the living room. You’ve got entirely too many rooms here.”

Jack smiled and ran his fingers through Rhys'  hair. “You listed a grand total of four.”

“Exactly. Way too many.”

Rhys perked up and turned on his palm monitor. Jack continued playing, but watched out of the corner of his eye as Rhys read something and a frown formed on his forehead while swore up a storm under his breath.

“What’s wrong, cupcake? News from the doctor? Something gone wrong?”

“Nah, just some scheduling problem. The guys down in R&D have something to show. Apparently it's urgent. We gotta go.”

“No, we don't.”

“But-”

“Office is closed on Saturday, baby.”

“Satur-?” He brought up a different screen with a flick of his wrist. “Right you are.” He let his arm fall down the side of the couch and smacked his face back into Jack’s thigh. “Why am I awake?”

---

Wasn’t the kid supposed to be a nerd? Jack was pretty sure the kid was supposed to be a nerd. Yet here he was and he’d never even heard of Astroidvania. But Jack had to believe that there was still hope for the future of this world, so he most graciously showed the game to him and they had not yet stopped playing.

While they were waiting on a loading screen, Jack felt Rhys staring at him from the side. “What?”

Rhys took some time to look him over more openly before a small smile settled over his face. “You look a lot better.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I always look impeccable”

“Obviously.” Rhys shook his head and turned back to the TV.

“And what do you mean by that ?”

Rhys just smiled.

With a growl Jack pushed him over and pinned him to the couch, leaning over him, his hands on Rhys’ chest.

After a second of shock, Rhys grinned and brought his hands up to tangle them in Jack’s hair and pull him into a kiss.

Jack was so fucked.

---

Weeks passed like that. A lot more actual work got done in Jack's office and afterwards they would both head to Jack’s apartment and usually ended up in bed. Because that was what this was about. That was the only reason he even brought Rhys back here. Totally. Jack would fight you on this.

Except, Jack guessed, they were only human. One of them at least.

Jack paid the delivery lady and carried the bag of takeout over to the living room.

“Ah, there you are, handsome.” Rhys stood up from the couch, where Jack had parked him, slid out of his shirt and pressed up against Jack. “You mentioned something about dessert?”

“As good as that sounds.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Rhys' jaw and pushed him back a bit. “I'm gonna have to decline.” With a liberal swipe of his arm, Jack cleared all the clutter off the table, put down the bag, took out the boxes of takeout and set them down there instead.”I'm actually hungry.”

"Okay then. Dinner first." Rhys made to put the shirt on again.

Jack grabbed the discarded shirt and dropped it behind the sofa. “Nope. Too late. No takesies backsies.”

Jack ignored the way Rhys rolled his eyes at him and instead sprawled out across the couch, his legs spread, and stretched towards the coffee table, where he just so managed to grab a hold of his fork, and attempted to stab at his food like that.

Rhys swatted at his chest, to stop him from doing so. “Jack, you can’t eat like that.”

“Hell yeah, I can,” Jack responded, sounding slightly strained from the stretch and the effort of not falling off the couch.

With a disappointed click of his tongue, Rhys settled himself between Jack’s spread legs.

Jack gave a victorious chuckle, but let out a small ‘oof’ when Rhys draped himself across his chest. “Well, now I definitely can’t eat.”

“Too bad.”

Goddamn, stupid kid always knew how to get what he wanted.

Jack shimmied up the couch to lean on the armrest, so he could eat properly and so he could reach the remote that had taken a dive off the table when he had made place for their food, all the while making sure that Rhys could still comfortably lean against him.

“Tch, you suck.” Rhys shook his head as Jack turned on the TV, movie already selected and queued. Preparation was key after all.

Rhys snorted in inelegant laughter when the title screen flickered across the screen. “Really? A Rom-Com? Isn’t that a bit cheesy?”

Jack turned to the side with what definitely wasn’t a pout. Kids these days… “I will have you know that this is a classic.” He glanced down at Rhys, who didn’t look convinced. “Shut up and eat.”

In their slightly awkward position, Rhys’ elbow alternating between digging into Jack’s ribs and hips, they managed to finish their meal, before Jack laid back down properly, hugging Rhys tightly to his chest.

Two thirds through the movie Rhys got up on his elbows and looked down at Jack. “You’re being really sappy, you know that?”

“Um, excuse me? I am not!?”

“Yeah, you are.” Rhys leaned up to kiss the corner of Jack’s mouth and the scar running across his cheek.

Well shit. How was he supposed to argue against that ? “Hmpf.”

Rhys let his head drop back down against Jack’s chest. “I like it.”

---

When the credits rolled, Rhys turned over and slumped against Jack, his back pressed to Jack’s chest.

Jack turned his head to kiss the kid’s jaw. His arm came up to wrap around Rhys’ torso, his hand gently stroking the intricate patterns of the tattoos on his chest. He heard a faint humming emanating from Rhys as he felt his body grow heavy with sleep.

Yup. This might just be an arrangement he could live with.