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They park the caravan for the night on the outskirts of the sort of bandit-ridden hellhole that Rhys suspects he'll probably be having nightmares about for years to come. It seems that Pandora really goes in for settlements inhabited by humans who excel so much in the scuttling and creeping department that they might as well be vermin, and vermin which are so big and mindlessly violent that they might as well be human. Rhys peers out of the window onto the darkened street. At the far end he sees something moving, but he can't tell exactly what it is, and frankly he'd rather not know. He pulls the curtain shut with a shudder.
“Dibs on not being the person who has to go get gas,” he calls, to the room in general.
Fiona comes bounding up behind him and claps him on the shoulder. “Dibs granted! Me and Sash and Athena are going out, so you can stay here and watch the van.”
“No we're not,” says Athena, looking up from her book with a death glare that makes Rhys physically cower backward.
“Yes we are!” beams Sasha, “Come on, it'll be fun. Girls night out!”
Athena looks at Sasha as though she's just sprouted a new head. “A... girls night out?”
“Yeah,” says Fiona, leaning up against the table and running a hand through her hair in what might be an attempt to seem aloof and attractive – or maybe an attempt to look like a massive tool. If it's the latter, Rhys definitely thinks she's succeeded. “We could, uh... I mean Sash probably just wants to hit the town and stuff, you know, she's young and has seen little of the world-”
Sasha snorts.
Fiona ignores her, “But you and me could totally, y'know, get a coffee or something.”
“Why would I be drinking coffee at nine in the evening?” asks Athena, one eyebrow raised.
Fiona attempts to lean on the table, misses, almost falls over, and then rebalances herself with a grin that is trying very hard to suggest that the whole thing was deliberate. “Right, yeah, ha, that would be ridiculous. I have no idea why I said it. Maybe a drink? There's gotta be a decent dive somewhere in a town this size.”
“I suppose if we could find somewhere quiet I could call Janey. There's no privacy in this caravan. It's... frustrating.”
“Right,” says Fiona, looking a little deflated. “That's... great. I'll just get my stuff together and I can wait outside or whatever.”
Athena shakes her head. “I can't believe this is happening to me,” she grumbles, going to get her boots from the next room.
Sasha turns on Rhys with a grin which could only be described as alarming. “So, Rhys...”
“What do you want?” he mutters, eyeing her warily.
“Why would you think I want anything? Unlike on Helios, people here on Pandora sometimes just talk to people nicely because they're good people, and not because they want something.”
“Wow. That's a really sweet sentiment, Sasha. Incredible.”
“What can I say? I'm a really sweet person.”
“I mean it's ruined a little by the fact that you, you know, literally talk nicely to people to get stuff out of them for a job. That is your actual job. Conning people and taking their money.”
“But I do it so nicely!”
“Yeah, you- oh my god, stop posing. You look like an idiot.”
Sasha pauses in the middle of bending backward over the table and mouthing 'the nicest' while pointing at herself. “Eh. Takes one to know one.”
Rhys grins. “Yeah, alright, fair enough. Seriously though, what do you want? Because if you're going to ask me to come with you for the girls night out... I mean, I'm flattered, but I have better things to do with my evening than watch Fiona flirt at Athena while Athena talks about her girlfriend.”
“Urgh, don't remind me. I'm gonna be stuck with them all night.”
“Then don't go! Tell them you're ill or something. You can fake a temperature super easily, Yvette used to do it all the time back on Helios. I'll show you how, hang on, I need, uh... a thermometer, a lamp... bit of pale powder helps as well if you have it... a glass of water...”
Sasha laughs, watching with amusement as Rhys riffles through his bag. “Rhys, you're not half the asshole you pretend to be.”
“Uh... thank you? I think?”
“Which is why I'm going out. I'm doing you a favour.”
“I don't dislike your presence enough that you leaving for the evening counts as a favour.”
“Aww, you do care. Cute! That's not the favour though. Well, it kinda is. Look, I...” Sasha glances around, eyes glinting, “Where's Vaughn?”
Rhys shrugs. “I think he went outside for a piss. Why?”
Sasha beckons Rhys closer, and drops her voice. “So, are you two actually dating yet, or...?”
He smiles awkwardly, shaking his head. “Oh, uh, no. People always think that. We're just close, I guess.”
“Ok, but, you know how you totally want to bang him?”
“Yeah I- wait, what? No, you have the wrong end of the- no. I don't- I don't know why you would-”
“Ok, but you know how you definitely want to get it on with him?”
“No I- I mean I just said-”
“Yeah but you know how-
“Sasha!” Rhys sighs, dropping his head into his hands and massaging his temples. “Right. You're not going to drop it, are you?”
She shakes her head brightly.
“Right. Fine. Where is this going?”
Sasha puts her hand on his shoulder. “Rhys. Because you actually have moments – moments – of being basically an alright person, and because you gave me a super cute flower – which then kinda exploded but still – I would like to return the favour.” She holds his gaze for a moment, then reaches into her pocket, pulls out a condom wrapper, and tucks it gently behind his ear. “Please, for the love of god, work out your shit with Vaughn tonight.”
Rhys gapes at her for a long moment. “I can't- I can't- believe-”
“Yes you can.”
“... actually, yes I can. Look, I don't know where you got the idea-”
“Rhys,” says Sasha, shaking his shoulder gently and looking slightly frantic, “I can't set Fiona up with Athena because she has a girlfriend and I'd feel super bad, but you and Vaughn are fair game and the level of unresolved tension in this tiny goddamn caravan is driving me nuts! Please, please. Sort it out. I'm begging you.”
“So it's not really a favour? This is just you trying to do some kind of weird self-serving matchmaker-”
“Yeah, yeah, evil pandoran conwoman sets up tall Hyperion douchebag with his weirdly buff best mate. You won't believe what happens next. Just... for everyone's sake, sort your shit out, yeah?”
“I'd love to help, really, I would, but I honestly don't know where you even got the idea that me and Vaughn would... I mean, we're bros. Right?”
Sasha just looks at him.
“I mean... did he say something to you? Because I guess-”
“Aha!” says Sasha, backing out of the door as she speaks, “You wavered for a second there and you are so interested and therefore my job is done! I'm gonna go get Fiona and we are heading out. For a couple of hours. Several hours! You have plenty of time. Thank me later.” She ducks outside. Then she ducks back in and chirps, “There's lube in the right hand drawer over there.” She winks and hops back outside, pulling the door shut behind her. Rhys shakes his head, and tucks the condom into his pocket because... well, alright, maybe Sasha has a point. Not that he's gonna actually... well, it'll be nice to have an evening with Vaughn, anyway. Athena had it right, earlier – there's just no privacy in a tiny caravan, and they haven't had a proper chat in way too long.
Then the door flings back open and Vaughn stumbles into the room as though he's been pushed, adjusting his glasses in mild confusion. Rhys catches a quick glimpse of Sasha, who chirps, “Have fun!” and then slams the door shut.
Vaughn turns to Rhys and raises an eyebrow.
Rhys shrugs.
“I... what exactly is going on?” says Vaughn, crossing the room to plonk himself unceremoniously onto Rhys' lap. “The pair of them kept winking at me. It was weird.”
“Yeah, ha, weird, huh?”
“Not you as well! Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have food in my teeth or something?”
“No! No, it's fine. You're fine. They're just, um, excited about going into town I guess.”
“Really? It didn't look much like a town to me. Well, it did look like a town, but a town with bandits. Lots of bandits. Scary bandit death town wouldn't be my first choice for a night out.” Vaughn frowns for a moment, then glances at Rhys and tuts, “Dude, your tie is wonky again. Did you tie this in the dark, or are you just inept?” He reaches forward and fiddles with the knot, chewing on his lip slightly, brow furrowed.
“Hey, look, it's fine bro,” mutters Rhys, suddenly feeling slightly out of breath, “You should probably leave-”
“No, I'm serious, how do you even go about tying a tie this badly? I'm gonna have to take it off and do it again. Hang on.” Vaughn tugs at the knot, leaning in slightly to tug the tie loose.
“I'm pretty sure they think we're gonna have sex,” blurts Rhys, and then immediately regrets it.
It takes Vaughn a moment to register what Rhys has said; he's halfway through grumbling, “...and why do you tuck it into your pants anyway, dude, what is that abou-” before he freezes, in the middle of tugging the tie free from the belt. “Wait- what?”
“Uh, I shouldn't have- look, forget I said that.”
“No, ok, there are things I can try to forget – like that time you kept staring at my-”
“Jack was sticking his holo-hand through your-”
“No! I don't need to hear about that. Or think about it. Ever again. Wait, he's not here now, is he?”
Rhys glances around. “Uh, I don't think so. I mean, I can't see him, at least.”
“Right,” says Vaughn, taking a deep breath and nudging his glasses back up his nose. “Ok, well, that's something. So.”
“So.”
“Why do Sasha and Fiona think we're... that you and me...”
Rhys tries really hard to look innocent, and to not think about the fact that Vaughn is currently sat on his lap and halfway through removing his tie. “I have. You know what, man, I have no idea. I have no idea why they would think that.”
Vaughn looks... something. Relieved? Disappointed? “Right! Because, me neither bro, I mean, look at you and your,” he waves a hand at vaguely in Rhys' general direction, “you know, the whole super good looking thing you've got going on, and then I'm, uh, me. I mean as if you'd... ha! Ridiculous, right?”
“What? No, dude, you are like, super good looking yourself.”
“You're just saying that.”
“No I'm not! Dude, not even considering that you're apparently super buff – which, y'know, wow – you're hot. Really hot. Even your weird goatee thing is kinda hot and I almost don't want to think that because I believe that all goatees are really stupid on principal but... you make it work.”
“What, seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Vaughn grins shyly, the tips of his ears going slightly pink. “Well, thanks man. Means a lot.”
Rhys smiles back, reaching up to cup Vaughn's cheek in his hand, stroking his thumb gently along his cheekbone. “Seriously, bro, no problem.”
“You're the best, Rhys.”
“No, you're the best,” says Rhys, bringing his other hand up to curl round the back of Vaughn's neck.
“You.”
“You!”
Vaughn slings his arms round Rhys' shoulders. “No, I'm pretty sure it's you, dude.”
“Fine,” laughs Rhys, “We can both be the best,” he says, one hand still stroking Vaughn's cheek, the other now brushing creases carefully out of his shirt.
“So, uh...” mumbles Vaughn, after a moment.
“Mmm?” hums Rhys, leaning in to rest their foreheads together, noses just touching.
“I'm feeling like maybe, potentially, this kind of thing is what makes people assume we're a couple.”
“Potentially,” says Rhys.
“I... can I...”
“Can you...?”
Vaughn clears his throat awkwardly. “So, would it be super weird if I kissed you now, bro?”
“Probably,” says Rhys, as he leans in and presses his lips against Vaughn's.
The kiss is... really nice. Objectively speaking, it's too quick, and clumsy, and both of them are grinning too much to do a lot of actual kissing, but it's probably the best kiss Rhys has ever had. Even if he has to lean out of it after a few seconds and cough slightly. “Dude, you're kinda choking me with the tie here.”
Vaughn glances down at his hands - one is halfway up Rhys' shirt, and the other is clutching Rhys' tie tightly enough to make breathing slightly difficult. He moves both away very carefully. “Oh, hey, sorry, I uh. I didn't notice I was, uh... here, maybe I'll just take your tie off, yeah? I can redo it later if you want me to, uh. Do that.”
He looks back up with such genuine concern that Rhys just has to pull him in for another kiss. This one lasts longer, and when they lean back they're both panting slightly.
Vaughn straightens his glasses up, frowning. “Urgh. They're gonna keep doing that. Maybe I should just...” he moves to take them off, then stops. “No, but then I'm not gonna be able to see anything! Urgh.”
Rhys slides his hands round Vaughn's waist and tugs him closer. “And what exactly were you planning on seeing, huh?”
Vaughn narrows his eyes. “Well, I got you out of the ugly tie. Might as well go for the ugly shirt next.”
“Ouch! Hey, bro, that hurts. This is a nice shirt.”
“Well, in that case I guess you should keep it on,” says Vaughn, fiddling with the top button thoughtfully.
Rhys gulps. “Wait, you want to- you mean- wow. No, ok, everything I am wearing is horrible and I need to remove it immediately. Right now.”
“Hey, I got your back bro. Let me give you a hand with that.”
Rhys feels as though his brain must have short-circuited at some point during this conversation, because he seems to be thinking about five thousand times slower than usual. It takes him a moment to formulate a response – to be fair, he's pretty busy watching Vaughn undo his shirt, which is. Which is. Very distracting. He tears his eyes away, eventually, and says, “Hey, you have horrible fashion sense, dude. Like, the worst.”
Vaughn huffs slightly, and leans in to kiss Rhys' neck. “Mmm.”
“Just... super horrible.”
Vaughn traces his lips over Rhys' jawbone. Rhys contemplates the possibility that maybe his brain actually has short-circuited – which, given the amount of slightly sketchy tech he has in there is probably actually possible – and maybe he's died and gone to heaven.
Vaughn laughs. “You are unbelievably soppy for a guy who likes to pretend he's suave.”
“Wait, what? Was that... did I say that out loud?”
“One day,” says Vaughn, swinging a leg over so he's now straddling Rhys as he undoes the last few buttons and tosses his shirt onto the floor, “You're gonna be able to be nice without immediately having to pretend that it was an accident.”
“Hey, c'mon, I've done some nice stuff today.”
“Oh?” says Vaughn, rolling his hips ever so slightly. “Like what, dude?”
“I, uh, like... when I...”
Vaughn raises an eyebrow and then tugs his own shirt off – he pulls it straight over his head and chucks it aside with one fluid movement. Rhys doesn't even know where to begin with that, and whatever train of thought he might have been on appears to have been totally derailed, but he's suspecting that he probably had some kind of sentence going on at some point so he mutters, “Uh, I... you... I have...”
Vaughn grinds his hips down with increasingly insistent rhythm. Rhys gives up trying to formulate a sentence and just stares at him, mouth slightly agape, brain pleasantly numb. He feels a warmth in his chest that has nothing to do with the fact that Vaughn is currently half-naked and pressed up against him – ok, well, maybe a little something to do with that - but more than anything it's the fact that it's Vaughn, with his hair all ruffled and his stupid boxy glasses askew and that little frown on his face that he always gets when he's concentrating really hard on something. He tries to say that – or say something, anyway, something like 'I like you,' or 'I really like you' or, 'No, but really bro I like like you,' but it comes out as a stupid muffled whining noise as he drags Vaughn back in for another kiss. And another. And another.
“Uh, anyway,” says Rhys, after a bit, shaking his head in an attempt to focus his mind a little, “I was trying to insult your outfit.”
Vaughn rests his forehead against Rhys', breathing heavily. “Nice, dude.” he mutters, “I appreciate it.”
“No, but, I mean... argh. Because you were saying that I'm wearing bad clothes and I should take them off so I was going to...” Rhys sighs. “That was going to be so smooth but the moment's gone now. I was so close to being cool. So close. Story of my life.”
“Rhys?”
“Yeah?”
“I still think you're pretty cool.”
“Oh. Well. Good. Thanks bro.”
Vaughn giggles, looking flushed and ridiculous and somehow also insanely hot. “Oh, man, this is so weird.”
“Good weird?”
“Dude, of course it's good weird. Just, you know, I didn't think you... I mean I kinda hoped, but... oh, never mind.”
“Right. So... you wanna make it more weird?”
“More weird involves you taking your pants off, right?”
“More weird involves both of us taking our pants off.”
“And our boxers?”
Rhys grins. “You know it, man.”
They stumble onto their feet, hindered slightly by the fact that they're both trying to maintain maximum body contact while simultaneously removing the rest of their clothes as fast as humanly possible. Rhys ends up with one sock on and his fly unzipped, being pinned up against the wall by Vaughn, who nips at his collarbone with a little growl, one hand gripping his hips and the other palming him through his boxers.
Rhys leans down for a kiss, and Vaughn leans up, which just about works for a few seconds, until his neck starts to twinge alarmingly. “Vaughn,” he mumbles, leaning back too fast and smacking his his head against the wall. “This isn't going to-” he begins, and then his stomach sinks as a flicker of blue appears in the corner of his eye. The flicker solidifies into the familiar form of Jack, slouched up against the counter with his hands in his pockets. He glances from Rhys, to Vaughn, to Vaughn's hand in Rhys' pants, and his eyes widen. He has time to start laughing, just about, and he looks like he's on the verge of saying something (probably awful, knowing Jack) before Rhys narrows his eyes, mutters, “Oh no you fucking don't,” and slams his head against the wall again. Jack disappears in an indignant fuzz of static.
“Uh, Rhys?” asks Vaughn, peering up at him in concern.
“It's fine. Just felt funny for a second.”
“Slamming your head repeatedly against the wall will do that, man. What was that about? Are you sure-”
“I'm fine, stop fussing,” growls Rhys, leaning back down for a kiss. His neck immediately starts aching again, now also accompanied by a dull throb from the back of his head where it hit the wall. “Shit, hang on, this isn't going to work. My neck's gonna go.”
“Yeah, dude, I... bed?”
“Bed. Right.”
“Right! Ok, gimme... two seconds. Hold this,” says Vaughn, digging into his pocket and pushing his inhaler into Rhys' palm. He stumbles back and strips off the rest of his clothes with a little glare at Rhys, who is eyeing the inhaler with a grin. “Don't laugh, I just, uh, I might need it and I really don't want to be scrambling around trying to find it while we're in the middle of, um, uh...”
“Hey, do you see me laughing?”
“Definitely seeing you smirking.”
Rhys saunters forward, or at least he does his best to saunter with extremely wobbly legs. “Hey, you're cute. I'm allowed to smile. Ok, now you hold this,” he puts the inhaler back in Vaughn's hand, “and,” he fishes around in his pocket and pulls out the condom, “this.” He goes to pull his pants off, and when he glances back up Vaughn is gazing very carefully at the inhaler, and then the condom, and then the inhaler again, and then back at the condom. He makes a quiet wheezing noise, and takes a puff of the inhaler.
Rhys snickers.
“Stop it,” says Vaughn, “stop... oh, this is just what you need. More things to stroke your huge damn ego.”
“Vaughn, what I really need is something to stroke my huge damn-”
“Don't,” says Vaughn, flatly, “Don't you even think about making that joke.”
Rhys sighs, “Fine, fine, whatever you say.”
“I mean, I totally will, uh, do... that... but. Don't.”
Rhys grins. “Yeah, alright. C'mere.”
Vaughn closes the gap between them and slings his arms around Rhys, dragging him over toward the bed. Rhys stumbles, trips, and the pair of them wobble about for a moment, grinning wildly and trying to plant kisses on one another, before they go toppling down onto the mattress.
Rhys laughs, breathless and wide-eyed, as Vaughn trails lazy kisses over his chest and up his neck. And then he stops laughing when Vaughn reaches his mouth and suddenly the kisses aren't lazy at all, but focused and desperate and Rhys is suddenly aware that their bodies are pressed up against one another in increasingly interesting ways. His hips buck upward, and Vaughn whines into his mouth, gripping onto waist almost tight enough to be painful. Rhys feels his stomach lurch in response. He leans into the kiss, and he knows he's grinning like an idiot but he doesn't care. He doesn't quite know what to do with his hands, because he wants to touch everything, all at once – making up for lost time, or something. Vaughn seems to be thinking along the same lines, because he pulls back for a moment and mutters a slightly dazed-sounding, “This is happening, right?”
“It definitely-” Rhys starts, and then pauses, shocked at the sound of his voice – at how husky it is, how weirdly loud the words feel. He clears his throat. “It, uh, definitely seems to be happening.”
“Yeah,” says Vaughn, who also sounds pretty spaced, “Yeah, it... yeah.”
Rhys clears his throat again. “I, um, I feel like this is going to happen really really fast if I don't calm down about it.”
“Calm?” says Vaughn, with a nervous laugh, “Yeah I am not calm. At all.”
Rhys kisses his nose, running a hand gently along his back and trying to calm his breathing a little. “It's fine, bro, I got you.”
“Yeah, yeah, no, it's fine. It's fine! We should...” Vaughn goes red – or, well, redder than he already was, in any case – and nudges the condom into Rhys' palm, hand trembling slightly.
Rhys frowns. “Vaughn? You alright, buddy?”
“Alright? Rhys, come on, look at us! Alright? I'm better than-” Vaughn pauses, clearly aware that he's sounding slightly hysterical. “Uh. Wait.”
He sits up abruptly. “Just give me a minute. I need to... I need to just...”
“Vaughn, hey, what's the matter? Do you want your inhaler?”
Vaughn shakes his head. “No, dude, it's not...” he shakes his head again, staring up at the far wall.
Rhys reaches out to take his hand, because then hesitates, not sure exactly whether that's allowed. Vaughn being upset is normally fixable with a hug but this is... different. And he is really, really worried that he's messed it up. And his stomach keeps doing weird somersaults of a decidedly less pleasant nature than the ones that were happening a few minutes ago.
“Ok,” says Vaughn, after a moment, “Ok, so, this is really nice.”
“That's... good?”
“Yeah, but. But I feel a little- I mean I'm not sure I-”
“Vaughn,” says Rhys, “Bro, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, I... shit, seriously, you don't need to-”
“No, I mean, I want to, I just,” Vaughn gazes down at his hands with a little sigh, “I just didn't think you liked me at all, and then I find out you do and then we're naked and it all feels like some kind of weird dream, you know? I mean. Good. But I feel ... I don't even know, man. I'm sorry.”
“What? No, dude, you don't have to feel sorry! If you don't want to-”
“No, no, I want to, of course I want to. I just said that!” Vaughn actually laughs, then, but his voice still sounds shaky and Rhys just wants to hold him but he doesn't want to push any boundaries so he just lies back still and quiet, mouth dry. Vaughn sighs. “You have no idea, do you?”
Rhys blinks. “About what?”
“About,” Vaughn waves a hand vaguely, “Me, us, about how long I've... man, I can't believe Yvette never told you.”
“You told Yvette?”
“Of course I told Yvette. She's my best friend.”
“So am I!”
“It was about you, Rhys.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.”
When Vaughn laughs this time it sounds a little more measured, a little more how it should do. “You're an idiot.”
“Yeah I'm... I'm not about to argue with that one.” He hesitates a moment before adding, “You want to hug it out?”
Vauhgn nods, and Rhys tugs him down into a hug. They stay like that for a while, hands entwined, noses touching, pressed up against one another and breathing softly.
Vaughn buries his face in Rhys' shoulder.
“... you alright there bro?”
“Yeah. This is just... really nice.”
Rhys curls one hand into Vaughns hair. “Yeah, it is.”
After a minute or two, Vaughn sighs.“Hey, I'm sorry man, I really flaked out on you there.
“What?! No, that's not-”
“I kind of did, Rhys.”
“Hey, no, you... no, dude. You didn't flake out! We're here, right? Having a bro hug. That's good stuff, man.”
“A... bro hug?”
“Well. Kind of. I mean. Like, a naked bro hug, admittedly, but still. You're here, I'm here, hugs are occurring. It's all good.”
Vaughn raises an eyebrow. “Bro hug? That's what you're going for?”
“Uh, and I mean, I like you. You know that, bro?”
Vaughn smiles. “Yeah.”
“Good.”
“And, Rhys?
“Yeah?”
“I like you too, bro.”
Rhys grins. “Heh... nice.”