Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was days like these that Secretary Rhys Williams felt they were a burden upon their beloved cousin (and boss), Captain Carter Wheeler of the Invincible II.

Though, logically, they knew this wasn’t true, years of emotional manipulation by the people who were supposed to raise and support and protect you had left Rhys’ self-confidence to be rather fragile.

But even as a kid, Carter was always a straightforward individual. He was unafraid of voicing his opinions, and always willing to stand up for himself and those he loved. Rhys thought it was part of what made him such a wonderful Captain.

He wouldn’t have offered Rhys this job if he didn’t want them there with him - and if they had done something to upset him, he would have told them.

They knew this, logically .

So the racing of their heart and their spiraling thoughts felt a bit like overkill .

Rhys had been drowning in their work when Carter came to see them.

Well… not their work, technically.

They were actually looking over some papers that the head of ADS, Gunther B Gunnerson, was suppose to take care of. But with such a packed schedule, keeping the ship safely in orbit while the team planned on how to land onto their new home planet, he often forgot to do any sort of paperwork regardless of it’s importance. 

It was fine, though! Perfectly fine. Rhys could take care of it!

Just like they took care of some of Mark’s overflowing work. Or Celci’s. Or Burt’s…

Never Mack’s, though. But…

Well, Mack was a whole other can of worms Rhys didn't need spilled and wiggling around their thoughts at the moment.

The point was that Rhys technically shouldn’t have been looking over the papers that they had splayed out on their desk.

They hadn’t had time to put them away though, before Carter stepped into their office.

Carter was tall with short, dark hair and tanned skin, and a singular brown eye, his left socket covered by a sleek, black eyepatch - the results of a childhood accident involving roughhousing and a football, Rhys had been told.

“Hello, Captain. Did you need something?” It felt a little odd calling him Captain rather than his actual name - but they wanted to remain professional. And the pair had decided to keep their familial relation on the down-low.

It wasn’t a secret of course… but if no one asked, who were they to go blurting it out like they were trying to show off?

Being known as the Captain’s cousin was sure to only bring more stress to both their work and personal life (though, if it got other members of the crew to stop whispering around/to them about how handsome Carter was, maybe it would be worth it).

“I wanted to see how you were holding up,” Carter hummed gently as he scanned the papers on their desk. “I was on my way to the mess hall, and thought I’d check to see if you were still here.”

Right. It was lunch time, wasn’t it-

“Oh, yeah, I’m just wrapping up on those papers for ADS so I can get them sent off back to HQ,” Rhys said.

“You mean the papers that Mister Gunnerson should have done last week?” Carter asked, eyebrow raised. “Did he pawn this one off on you?”

“No, I offered to do it-“ Rhys admitted to him sheepishly. “I know he’s been a bit backed up so I figured that I could help lighten his load - it’s only this folder, though!”

Carter pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh.

“Sorry - I know you’ve asked me to stop…”

“Only so they don’t take advantage of you,” Carter reminded them. “Don’t want them to think just because you’re willing to do the work here and there to help that it means they can just not do any at all,”

“It’s not like I do all of their work…”

“How many files has Gunnerson actually turned in himself without some kind of prodding or take over from you or me?” Rhys didn’t have an answer for that, which only made them feel worse.

Gunther was quite reliable when it came to the hands-on part of his job. The paperwork though… Rhys wondered every now and then if he knew how to hold a pen instead of a cigar.

“… this will be the last time. Promise.” Rhys said - though it was more of trying to convince themself. They’d stand firm this time. No funny business from Gunther.

“I hope so,” Carter rubbed his temples gently with another sigh. “Alright. C’mon. We should grab food before it all goes cold.” He said. Rhys wanted to argue for a moment, determined to finish the work they’d started… but something had felt rather off about Carter ever since they’d all woken from cryosleep.

Rhys was worried about him, so if he wanted them to join him, they were going to do just that!

Even though it had been a mutual agreement for them not to discuss their relations with the crew, for the first few days, Carter had treated them as if they were a stranger. 

And that had hurt. A lot.

Rhys had tried to brush it off as a side effect of cryo. Though things had improved, and Carter had even made it well known that he knew them and who they were, something still didn’t feel quite right.

He seemed uncertain about things, which didn’t help Rhys’ steadily growing anxiety. Carter had always been like another brother to them, and they were missing him. They were missing how things had been before he’d graduated from the Academy and reached the rank of Captain.

Maybe they didn’t actually know him at all. Maybe they were a burden and Carter was actually just too kind to say it.

Rhys swallowed hard and stood up as all those thoughts raced through their head. It felt like their heart might beat out of their chest.

It was too late to back out, though.

Now it was time for lunch.

Chapter Text

It was not, and never had been a very far walk from Rhys’ office to the cafeteria. Despite this fact though, Rhys often forgot to eat unless given a reminder. Like a lot of neurodivergent folk, Rhys often didn’t recognize when they were feeling hungry. Which had led to many, many scoldings from their close family members.

It was one of the many reasons Rhys tried their best to keep some sort of snack in one of their desk drawers. A granola bar a couple hours later was better than having nothing at all… right?

Rhys didn’t care much for the mess hall anyway. It was small - though it made sense for the condensed size of their crew. But small meant everything sounded so much louder. And felt so much warmer. Just the thought of it made Rhys want to crawl out of their own skin.

But the thought of grabbing lunch and then ditching the crew lead table to eat in their office made them feel even worse .

Rhys didn't want any reason to look bad in front of their higher ups. They couldn’t risk losing this job.

It would mean going back to Earth.

And going back to Earth was the last thing Rhys wanted to do.

So twenty minutes of uncomfortability so they could stay would be worth the sacrifice.

…

Okay so Rhys knew that, logically, eating alone wouldn’t get them fired.

That wasn’t the crew lead's say, after all.

It was Carter’s. And while Rhys hoped Carter would be at least a little bit lenient on them, they didn’t want to test their luck in such.

They just had to eat, and endure some small talk, then they could go right back to work and everything would be just fine.

There wasn’t an official seating chart or anything of the sort in the mess hall, but as time had passed, everyone had started migrating to their own small groups to enjoy meals together.

The crew leads, though, sat together at one of the large bench tables so they would be able to discuss what still needed to be done before the end of the work day.

When Carter and Rhys arrived, there was only Mark Iplier, the head engineer, and Mister Burt, who was in charge of the Reactor.

Mark had already dug into his tray while Burt pushed things around with his fork so that nothing touched.

“Afternoon gentlemen,” Carter said as he set down his own tray.

“Captain!” Mark perked up at the sound of Carter’s voice.

Of all the people on the crew, Rhys knew that Mark of all people had it down bad for their cousin.

And that was saying something, considering the stunts they’d seen one of his team members, Danny Sexbang, pull to try and impress his dear Captain .

“Afternoon,” Burt said with a short nod in greeting to the pair.

Rhys gave the pair an awkward smile as they set down their own tray, watching as Mark slid his way over to Carter’s side as they sat themself down.

Mark wasn’t a bad guy, Rhys thought. He could be a bit eccentric at times, and maybe not all of his ideas were winners, but he had a big heart and a palpable passion for his work.

Not to mention, Mark was an animal person, like Rhys.

He even had his beloved dog, Chica, in cryo, safe and sound and ready to wake up when they reached the planet’s surface! Just like Rhys’ cat, Bean!

So that definitely got him some bonus points.

Of all the options onboard the Invincible, Mark was not the worst choice Carter could make if he reciprocated the engineer’s feelings.

Rhys was startled from their thoughts when a tray was dropped loudly onto the table across from them and Gunther fell heavy into the seat beside Burt, muttering something about knuckleheads .

“What crawled up your butt and died?” Asked Mark, since the clatter had interrupted his info-dump to Carter.

“I swear the Space Force sent me children to work with.” He huffed. “ Fuckin Garcia- “

“Didn’t you pick Mister Garcia to be your second-in-command, Gunnerson?” Carter deadpanned.

“ Probably wouldn’t have if I knew he’d give me so much trouble .”

“What, did he mess up one of your precious firearms,” Mark all but taunted the ADS lead. Gunther looked up from where he’d been stabbing at the mashed potatoes on his tray.

“Can it, suck up-“

“Who are you callin suck up-“

“Oh great the two man-babies are already here,” interrupted Celci Kelvina, the lead of Cryo and Medical as she approached the table. “If you two are going to yap like this the whole lunch time, I’ll just go eat in my office.” Rhys had to stop themself from asking if they could join her.

“Miss Kelvina, please, have a seat, we have things we need to discuss. Professionally ,” said Carter, throwing a look between Mark and Gunther. The two grumbled to themselves, but went quiet nonetheless.

Celci took the seat next to Rhys with a small, kind nod in greeting that Rhys returned.

Of the crew leads, Celci was one of Rhys’ favorites. Despite her rivalry and heated exchanges with Mark, she was kind, and cared about the safety and health of the entire crew. Rhys had had to visit her division on a number of occasions due to the declining state of their knees - having been born with severe arthritis, Rhys had known for years that the likelihood they would need to get replacements before they were 30 was high, but they had some hope that they would at least get to see the start of the colony’s settlement before that had to happen. 27, though, wasn’t too bad though, all things considered.

“Where’s Plant Man?” Gunther finally spoke up once the group had settled. As if on queue, Carter’s wrist tablet buzzed angrily. He frowned, tapping the screen to read whatever message he’d received.

“… it seems Mister Packston will not be joining us, as it looks like there was an incident with one of the new plant samples in the plantation.”

“Wow, Mister Perfect had an incident?” Mark scoffed, who’d never bother to try and hide his distaste for Mack. Rhys vaguely knew of the pair’s history - how Mack apparently resented Mark for becoming head engineer when he himself had applied for the position. And something about a rivalry back at the academy.

“One of his team members,” Carter corrected him. “It would seem Mister Massa ate something he should not have on a dare from Mister Robinson.”

“ Again? ” Huffed Celci. “You would think he’d have learned his lesson after the last time! Or that the pompous prick would have been keeping a closer eye on him.”

“Oh but then how would he be able to show us all up by doin’ all his work all by himself,” Gunther scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“ Speaking of. ” Carter started. “ Your work is exactly what I would like to talk to you about. Mister Packston’s absence is irrelevant.” The crew leads paused at this, looks of guilt and embarrassment passing over them.

Rhys couldn’t help but shrink a bit in their seat.

They really should have seen this coming-

Damn it, Car-

“So. Does anyone want to tell me why Mx. Williams has been doing almost half of all of your assigned paperwork?” He asked, hands resting folded under his chin.

It was awkwardly silent for a few long moments. Rhys felt their stomach start to churn.

And then came the babbling - the talking over one another - the excuses - the apologies.

It was going to be a long lunch.

Chapter Text

Rhys was afraid if they didn’t get away from the lunch tables that they’d end up with whatever food they’d managed to shove into their mouth coming back up for a visit.

Carter had let the crew leads go on and on explaining themselves and apologizing but it all made Rhys feel so much worse.

They truly didn’t have an issue helping with the four’s work! It made things easier on everyone, and wasn’t that exactly what they were there for?

“We’ll do better from now on - promise, Captain-“

“Don’t speak for all of us, you ass-“

“Why? Are you not gonna try and stop doing it-?”

“I never said that -“

“I ain’t sure you’ve said much of anything this whole time, Snow White-“

“ Can it Gunther, no one asked you- “

Rhys swallowed hard in an attempt to calm their racing heart. They very gently tugged Carter’s sleeve. He tilted his head to look at them curiously.

“I… I gotta use the bathroom- I’ll be right back- “ they didn't want to worry him. They just needed space.

Just a few minutes alone while everything sorted itself out-

“Alright,” he nodded. “I’ll try and wrangle these guys.”

“Okie dokie,” Rhys stood from the table with a soft ‘ excuse me’ , and made their way out of the mess hall.

Deep breath in… deep breath out… deep breath in… deep breath out.

Everything was going to be alright!

Carter knew what he was doing.

So did the crew leads.

If this was what they thought was best, then Rhys just needed to go with the flow, right? They were all set as long as they did whatever Carter asked them to! 

That was their job.

That was what they were here for.

Deep breaths.

Rhys’ eyes flickered around the hall - they were alone. And there was a water fountain up ahead.

Had they had any water today? More than a couple of sips at breakfast?

Maybe a few sips could help them cool down-

They made a beeline for the fountain. A strong stream of water shut out and Rhys took a few moments to sip.

Cold .

It felt nice against their lips, and the burn they hadn’t realized they’d been feeling in their throat.

Relief .

“Secretary Rhys?”

Panic .

They lifted their head quickly as one of the engineering team members came their way.

“Oh, good, just the person I wanted to see!” He grinned. Rhys wracked their brain trying to recall the guy’s name - had they talked before? Had Rhys promised to do something for him? Had Mark asked them to do something for the guy? Carter -?

“Sorry- can I help you?”

“You can, actually!” The guy grinned. “I was in the Captain’s office recently for some routine maintenance and I just wanted to mention something I saw,” he hummed.

“Oh? I mean, if it’s something the Captain needs to know about, he’s in the mess hall-“

“No, no, nothing he needs to know,” the guy waved the thought off. “Just something I found interesting!” The more he spoke, the deeper Rhys’ confusion got. They felt a sense of panic as reality set in.

They were alone with someone they didn’t know in the hall of a rather sizable spaceship - someone who intimately knew the details and layout of the ship.

And he was standing quite close.

They felt their stomach begin to turn again, dreading whatever he was going to say next.

“I wanted to see if you had an explanation for this,” the guy brought up a picture on his tablet. It only took Rhys a moment to recognize that it had been taken in Carter’s office - a picture of his desk. Or, more specifically, a picture of the photo frame sitting on his desk.

The photo held a rather fond memory for both Rhys and Carter - it had been taken the day Rhys got officially accepted as a member of the Invincible II’s crew. Their brother, Riley, had taken the picture. In it was Rhys, Carter, and Carter’s dad - Rhys’ Uncle Stan Wheeler. In it Stan was grinning quite proudly towards the camera while Carter had his arm around Rhys’ shoulder, squishing his face into their hair affectionately.

Rhys’ anxiety simmered into deeper confusion.

“… an explanation… for the picture?”

“Yeah,” the guy hummed. “Cuz to me , it looks rather… suspicious~” his tone brought Rhys’ nerves back to life.

“Suspicious how ?”

“Well… you know, none of us remember you from the academy. And you’re in quite a… high and trusted position,” he drawled. Rhys could already imagine all the disgusting thoughts bouncing around in the bastard’s skull. “And seeing as no one knows what your relationship with the Captain is, it looks like, to me at least, that someone might have done some naughty things to get to the position they’re in.”

Rhys really was going yo throw up if this guy continued - both from anxiety and even the thought of being intimate with their cousin-

“Well, you’d be wrong .” Rhys swallowed hard. “And not that it’s any of your business, but the Captain just so happens to be my cousin .” They felt disgusting having to justify themself like this.

“Being cousins don’t change the idea, sweetheart,”

Yeah. Their lunch was coming back up.

“You’re a pig-“

“And you’re in a position to help me so that I won’t spread some unsavory rumors about you and your cousin .” So that was it? He was blackmailing them?

“Seriously?”

“ Very .”

“You-“ before Rhys can say more, the pair are joined by another voice.

“I don’t know what is more brainless and pathetic, that plan you’ve just spouted off, or the fact you thought it would be good to corner the Captain's secretary in the middle of a public hallway.” Rhys watched as the engineer's face paled.

Despite the way their head was spinning, Rhys recognized that voice.

It looked like whatever incident in the Life Support plantation had gotten worked out, because Mack Packston, of all people, had arrived to save the day.

Or, at least, to save Rhys.

They hoped.

Chapter Text

Mack Packston felt as if his brain were about to burst and it was barely half past the lunch hour.

The day had started off like any other - he’d done his best to drown out the annoying drivel of his fellow crew leads and their breakfast small-talk.

Nothing he couldn't handle, of course. He wouldn't be in the position he was today if he let such trivial annoyances get to him.

Things had taken a turn however when he’d arrived at his division to find that his team was behind on their work.

Well. Not behind, technically. 

Technically his team was right where they were calculated to be at this point in the journey. That, though, wasn’t good enough. Right where they were predicted to be was far behind where they should have actually been - if they weren’t ahead in their work then they weren’t putting in the necessary work for them all to succeed.

And Mack, of course, couldn’t have that. His parents had taught him better than to aim so low.

He’d put them to work immediately, and took it upon himself to try and pick up on the slack. It was what a good leader did. And Mack was an excellent leader.

The Captain would see that soon enough, of course. And then, eventually, he’d get the position that he deserved - the position that hard headed buffoon Mark Iplier had taken from him.

Head Engineer .

Mack had worked too hard and too long for such a position. He knew it had to have been a mistake when the assignments were put out. Yet here he was. In agriculture .

If it wasn’t for his lifelong fascination with plant life, Mack didn’t think he would have survived being punished with his second choice of position.

He could still work his way up.

He had to.

A Packston could do no less.

Unfortunately though, it seemed his crew did not hold themselves to the same standards. If he could send the lot of them home and request a new team, Mack would have done so in a heartbeat. But being hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth, he didn’t have the time to spare for such an endeavor.

He would just have to endure.

Today he was enduring an absolute disaster. The members of his crew were always making messes that he was having to clean up - today’s mess was, unfortunately, a familiar one. Of all of his subordinates, Santiago Massa was likely going to be the first one who’s stupidity would get him killed. His interest in what would be good to put into his next salad or sandwich outweighed his interest in living, it seemed.

One wave of projectile vomit and a trip to the medical bay later though he was (perhaps unfortunately) still alive. And Mack was at least an hour set back from his planned schedule

He knew that human laws couldn’t stop him from strangling that nincompoop to death - but knowing now that there was other intelligent (or at least sentient) life out here in space, possibly being put on trial wasn’t exactly how he wanted to learn their laws.

There was still time left to grab a bite to eat, at least. Mack could grab himself something and probably avoid the other crew leads entirely. 

Maybe he owed Santiago his thanks…

No. Definitely not. Not in a million years.

Not with all the paperwork he’d be doing after today’s incident. He didn't trust any of them to fill out a proper incident report - especially not his second-in-command, Tom.

He trusted that man as far as he could throw him. And seeing as Mack would rather never touch the man, wasn’t going to be far at all.

Just the thought of it made his skin crawl, and he started to adjust the velcro on his gloves, itching subconsciously at his wrist to try and make the feeling go away.

No luck. Great. Why did he have to have these thoughts at such inconvenient moments?

He was going to have to detour to the restroom now.

So, instead of taking a left to take the straight shot to the mess hall, Mack took a right. He started to regret such as he heard an unfamiliar voice ahead of him.

Shouldn’t these people be in the mess hall, not out loitering in the corridor?

“To me it looks suspicious~” said the first voice. Mack could practically hear the individual's shit-eating grin.

Great. Gossip.

“Suspicious how? ” Oh. He recognized that voice .

It was the Captain’s secretary, Rhys.

“Well… you know, none of us remember you from the academy. And you’re in quite a… high and trusted position. And seeing as no one knows what your relationship with the Captain is, it looks like, to me at least, that someone might have done some naughty things to get to the position they’re in.”

It had to do with the Captain himself - and a possible affair. Now that was certainly interesting.

“Well, you’d be wrong .” Mack could hear the way Rhys’ voice shook. Were they angry? Or scared? Both? “And not that it’s any of your business, but the Captain just so happens to be my cousin .”

Ah.

Someone close to the Captain for reasons other than their own gain…

Mack could use that to his advantage.

He didn’t know too much about Rhys personally, but they were a fairly easy read. They lacked any sort of confidence or air of authority. They were a follower rather than a leader. Truthfully, there was very little use for them aboard the ship besides being an excuse for his fellow crew leads to avoid doing any real work.

Behind all of that though, was… a gentle, naive soul who craved company. Mack had watched many times as Rhys sat in the crew lead common room watching the others talk and waste their evenings. There was always a sad sort of longing look in their eyes.

Rhys wanted a friend.

And Mack wanted closer to the Captain.

Mack considered the plan he’d begun to form in his mind as mutually beneficial - even if Rhys were never to know the intentions. He doubted they’d be able to comprehend the brilliance of his plan with their unregulated emotions.

As the attempted blackmailer babbled on, insinuating some rather nauseating ideas, Mack knew he needed to jump into action sooner rather than later.

He stepped around the corner and spotted the meek looking secretary glaring daggers at what appeared to be a member of the engineering division.

Go time .

“I don’t know what is more brainless and pathetic, that plan you’ve just spouted off, or the fact you thought it would be good to corner the Captain's secretary in the middle of a public hallway.” Luckily Mack didn’t have to feign the annoyance in his tone. The crew mate tensed up immediately, turning wide eyed to look Mack’s way. Mack glowered at him.

Rhys, meanwhile, looked a mixture of relieved yet uncertain.

“Mister Packston-“ the engineer began.

“ Save it .” Mack cut him off. “I hope you understand how unprofessional your actions have been. Attempting to blackmail a member of the Lead Crew? Tell me, what was your goal here? Perhaps an attempted mutiny?” He watched as the engineer’s eyes widened. “Or was it simply an attempted power play against someone vulnerable.” 

“N-no sir-“

“ Why try to play stupid? I believe you’ve dug yourself a deep enough hole as it is.”

“Yes, sir-“ the man flinched as Mack reached forward for the numbered patch on his chest, tearing it easily off of the (typically unnecessary) velcro. “Sir-“

“I’ll need this for my incident report. And I suggest, unless you would like for me to add insubordination to said report, that you move along. ” Mack started the man down. He could see the panic setting in on his face. Mack did his best not to smirk at that - even in his lower position, he still held great authority over a good portion of the crew.

Imagine what he could do when he would finally work alongside the Captain.

Or even as the Captain himself .

Surely Captain Carter would jump at the opportunity to offload his work onto someone else, just as his crew leads did. And from there, convincing the admirals that he deserved such a rank would be an easy breeze!

Mack would finally be at the top, right where he belonged. Where his dear mother always told him he was meant to be.

It was a perfect plan. And as the pitiful excuse of an engineer quickly scampered away, Mack was prepared to set it all in motion.

He looked to Rhys, who stared at him dumbly with wide eyes. They shuffled on their feet, wrapping their arms around their middle whilst they looked away from Mack, presumably embarrassed.

“I…” their voice cracked. They took in a deep breath. “Thank you,” they managed to squeak out. “I really hadn’t been expecting all of… that…”

“Has he ever bothered you before?” Mack asked, feigning curiosity.

“No- no, I’ve never talked to him… I don't even know his name...”

“I see. Well, once I’ve made my report, it won’t ever be necessary for you to learn such.” Mack looked down at the patch in his hand again.

It was simple enough. He could have remembered it off the top of his head - but what was the fun in that? A missing patch would be the engineer’s reminder that he’d made a grave mistake.

“You’re… you’re actually going to make the report?” Rhys sounded confused.

“Of course,” he huffed. “It’s my job to make sure this ship keeps running, and that includes removing any filth .” He tucked the patch into his pocket for later. He looked at Rhys again.

Friend. He had to be their friend . What would a friend do?

“Do you feel alright, Secretary Williams?”

“I… I think so…” they chewed on their lip.

“Shall I walk you back to the mess hall? Your office?”

“Oh- uh- okay-“ they nodded, tone uncertain.

“You have my word I won’t be trying anything, Secretary Williams. I am simply making sure you don’t run into him alone again.”

“Right,” they nodded again. “Um… my office. I’d like to get back to my office.”

“Of course. Lead the way.” Mack motioned towards the empty hall. Rhys hesitated before doing so, and Mack fell into a slow stride beside them.

This would be worth it , he told himself. All of it.

Chapter Text

Once back in their office, Rhys has to take a few minutes to process all that had just happened. Their hands shook as if their nerves had been dunked into an ice bath.

None of it made any sense .

Their head felt as if it was spinning relentlessly, endless scenarios and what if’s racing through their mind until all they could think about was…

Mack.

Of all the people who could have stepped in, it had been Mack.

Rhys, admittedly, had never been particularly fond of Mack. He had left a rather sour first impression upon them when they had arrived onboard the Invincible II. At the time they had been separated from Carter, and Mack had taken it upon himself to figure out why they were there instead of just asking them.

He’d become rather irritated when Carter and Mark swooped in to save them, making a comment about how they should have better things to do than to get in the way of the hardworking members of his crew.

So Rhys had taken it upon themself to avoid him at all costs, only exchanging a few words when bringing him paperwork, or if they were ever caught alone with him in the crew lead common room (which, luckily, didn’t happen often, as Mack usually kept to himself and his cabin).

As far as Rhys knew, Mack didn’t even remember that they existed more than half of the time.

And yet…

His words echoed through their skull.

Mack had defended them. Not only that, but he’d shown concern about how they felt and what would happen to them after.

He was actually going to file a report .

Their whole perspective of him felt as if it had tipped over sideways.

On the one hand, they weren’t completely blind to the fact that most of the crew seemed well aware of Mack’s overinflated ego. He wasn’t Mister Popular by any means.

On the other, the way he’d acted in the hallway was… well, they’d say it was almost sweet , but they knew better than that. No, it was… kind. In his own way. Mack had done something that wasn’t for his own personal gain.

Which in and of itself, Rhys knew wasn’t the greatest feat, but there was something about the action that made them feel… funny?

Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all? Maybe they had just caught him on a bad day when they’d met?

It was a nice thought, at the very least.

But it didn’t quite help to calm their nerves.

It was like a weight had been placed in their chest as they thought about the interaction over and over, analyzing any detail they could recall. No matter how hard they tried though, they came down to one rather annoying conclusion.

Mack had looked quite attractive when he was defending them.

Which felt like the last thing they should have been thinking about, all things considered. It was unbelievably frustrating and utterly terrifying at the same time - the opposite of what Rhys needed at the moment.

With all their worry about Carter, and now all the other crew leads having been called out for their mishandling of paperwork, Rhys had enough fuel to keep their anxiety burning. 

But of course the universe would see this as the most opportune time to put this on them as well.

It could have been worse, of course. Mack doing something nice for them was probably the most preferable route. However the feelings that were quickly beginning to bubble up due to said action were not . They had never had any luck in relationships and something like this was sure to get their heart broken again.

Rhys screwed their eyes shut and took in a deep breath. And then another.

They had to calm their racing thoughts - they had to tell themself that it had been nothing more than a passing interaction. It was nothing to get worked up about.

Mack was just doing his job as a lead. He probably would have done it for any of the other members of the crew… right ?

Rhys wasn’t special .

They had to remember that .

It was a fact their mother and father had drilled into them for years. Something Stan and Carter had been helping them to work past.

Yet, it was the only thing that stopped the speeding thoughts.

Rhys wasn’t special.  

They took in a couple more deep breaths before they opened their eyes, staring numbly down into their lap. How many times had they been in this position before, emotions overwhelming them only to fall back into such bad habits like listening to what their parents said?

They had to do better. For Carter… for themself?

For whatever the future had in store for them.

Deep breath .

Rhys lifted their head and glanced at the time. They’d been sitting there nearly ten minutes lost in their own thoughts. Lunch was almost over.

Crap .

They should probably message Carter and let him know that they weren’t returning to the mess hall.

Chapter Text

Rhys lies awake that night staring up at the vast void where the ceiling of their cabin should be - and probably was, though they couldn’t see so with lack of light and their glasses. Something heavy sits in their chest threatening to crawl out their throat and ruin their freshly washed blankets.

No matter how hard they tried, they could not get the hallway incident off of their mind. The worry about what might follow was driving them crazy.

What would be expected of them now that the incident report had been filed?

Both Carter and Mark had been appalled by the engineer’s actions, and swore they would take care of the situation as soon as possible.

But neither of them had said what they’d needed from Rhys, if anything at all.

Was Rhys going to have to write their own recounting of the incident? Were things about to get legal? Would they have to go to court? Testify? 

Would everyone have to know what happened ?

Their throat was on fire, and no matter how hard they tried to swallow down the feeling it continued to rise. Their eyes started to water from the painful sting, so they sat up quickly in hope of calming it. They massaged their throat, internally chanting to themself that everything was alright.

They were okay.

Everything was okay.

They were going to be fine .

The burning sensation slowly faded until all they were left with was a dull ache at the top of their throat.

Rhys needed a glass of water. And maybe an alka seltzer .

They turned on their bedside lamp and picked up their glasses, giving themself a moment to adjust to the change in light. They took a moment to check the time - ten past two in the morning. They’d been struggling to sleep for just under four hours. Great.

Standing up felt like they were moving through jello, limbs heavy from lack of energy.

Rhys just needed to get to the common room kitchen. Then they could come right back to bed.

With a soft huff Rhys put on their glasses, and made their way to the door of their cabin.

Mark had set up the living areas to house groups of eight - save for the Crew Lead Commons, which consisted of only the five crew leads, Carter, and Rhys.

They each had their own single bed cabins with a small ensuite bathroom. The cabins all connected to a shared hallway that led to the common room, which was a circular area for them to relax in after work and to share meals. It consisted of a small, sectioned off kitchen and a combined sitting room/dining room. 

And, unfortunately, Rhys’ room was at the end of the joined hallway, which meant they’d have to make it past the other six cabins to get their water, and then again to come back. They wondered for a half a moment if it would be worth it, but as their stomach rolled, they knew they couldn’t turn back.

They’d rather be told off for being up late than for making a mess of the floors.

Closing their door softly behind themself, Rhys began the trek to the common room.

Celci’s room to the left.

Burt’s room to the right.

Gunther’s room to the left.

They paused as they noticed a faint glow from beneath one of the doors.

Mack’s room on the right.

It wasn’t much of a surprise that he was up so late - he’d have to have pulled dozens of all-nighters to get his department as far ahead as he had. But Rhys couldn’t help but wonder what exactly it was that Mack was doing.

Did he ever take a proper break ?

They felt the sudden, surprising urge to knock on his door.

No. No. Bad idea. Very bad idea. If he didn’t like to be disturbed when he was awake and on duty, Rhys imagined he just might throw them out the airlock if they did so while he was in… whatever state he was currently in.

They shuffled away from his door and continued past the last two doors, Mark’s room on the left, and Carter’s room on the right.

The common room was unlit save for the faint glow of the coffee maker coming from the kitchen. Rhys followed that glow, eyes ever so slowly adjusting to the dark. They could see the vague outline of the communal fridge, tugging the door open and bathing the kitchen in a fresh white light that made them squint.

With a new source of light they managed to locate a clean glass, filling it with water.

They were about to return the water jug to the fridge when a voice spoke up behind them.

“ And here I thought I was the only one who stayed up so late into the night. ” They tried not to jump out of their skin as they whipped around to look at Mack. He watched them with a raised eyebrow. “Though I take it by your expression that it was not intentional.”

“I- uh- no-“ Rhys fumbled for their words, like their brain had been put on scramble, but fell short of anything that felt coherent. They swallowed gently. “ Just… heartburn .” They said.

“I see,” Mack stepped further into the kitchen.

It was the first time Rhys could recall seeing him in something other than his uniform. Usually if he ever joined the crew leads in the sitting room he remained in his work attire.

But here he was, at two in the morning in a plain grey t-shirt and… red plaid pajama bottoms.

Huh.

Rhys had half expected them to be grey, too.

Mack navigated his way to the counter, opening one of the cabinets to grab himself one of the mugs.

“Shouldn’t leave the fridge open like that for too long,” he said as he shuffled things around, grabbing the electric kettle, and a small tin from beside it.

He was making himself tea? This late?

Rhys slowly closed the fridge, drowning the room in darkness once again. They stayed there for a moment letting their eyes readjust, slowly finding the outline of Mack as he maneuvered around the countertop.

“… what about you?” They find themself asking before they can stop themself. Mack only gives them a questioning hum in response. “Why’re you… up?”

“ Work .” He said, confirming their suspicions.

“At two in the morning?”

“Yes. Problem, Mx. Williams?”

“No… no, I just-“ they paused. Why were they asking him? It had never mattered before. And he was probably more annoyed than touched by the worry in their tone. “I was just… curious.” They said.

“Mm.” He makes no other noise as he shuffles around. Rhys wants to say something else but the words catch in their throat, and an almost agonizing wave of heat crawls up their throat again.

Right. Alka seltzer.

They mutter a goodnight to Mack, and shuffle past him, cup held in both hands.

“Sleep well,” he says in a soft hum that makes Rhys’ heart feel fuzzy. They swallow hard both to stop the reflux and to collect their words.

“ You too ,” they manage to say before they continue on, a little faster this time. If Mack notices them speeding away, he says nothing, and Rhys feels somewhat grateful.

They find the small first aid kit at the far end of the sitting room, and feel around it blindly to find the familiar small bottle that would help to soothe their aching throat.

It’s quite light when they pick it up, so they make a mental note to mention it to Celci so she could bring more back tomorrow from the medbay.

Mack is still in the kitchen and Rhys can faintly hear the water coming to a boil in the kettle. They wondered for a moment if he would get any sleep that night.

They hoped he would.

They hoped that they would, too.

Rhys had a feeling tomorrow would be a rather long day.