Jace Herondale (uniquetake) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-02-27 15:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | rhys hunt, ryder adams |
Who: Rhys Hunt & Ryder Adams
What: Rhys responds to Ryder's cry for help
When: Sometime after this
Where: Ryder's apartment
Rating: Low'ish [some swearing]
Warnings: n/a
Ryder's skin was humming in the worst way. He'd tried to take a shower, hot and then cold, but that hadn't helped. He hadn't quite gone so far at to burn essential oils or anything but he'd given it some serious fucking thought. He'd paced around his apartment so much that he was pretty sure he'd begin to wear a hole in the floorboards. At least he wasn't heavy footed so the people on the floor below him hadn't been smacking the ceiling or anything.
He hadn't been prepared to see Colbie again, let alone just randomly run into her. He thought it might have been better if he had been expecting her, he'd have had a chance to have prepared himself mentally for it. For the impact of seeing the sister he'd fled from. But fuck, to find out that she'd thought he was dead? What the fuck was he supposed to do with that?
He felt himself groaning, a sharp pain in his ribs that he associated with just before a full moon when the Turning was literally hours away, the buzzing under his skin that preceeded his bones breaking and snapping. Raking his fingers through his hair he was distracted by the sound of the door going and his eyes flashed, feeling them shift before he blinked it away and headed the door.
He could smell Rhys on the other side so he just unlocked it and walked away, hands resting against his neck and fingers digging into the skin to give him something else to focus on.
Rhys had been in the middle of picking up a few things from the grocery store when he'd gotten the texts from Ryder and he'd pretty much dropped everything to go and help him out. It sounded pretty bad from what he was getting from the messages and the last thing Ryder needed was to go full wolf and draw that kind of attention to himself. And well he might not be pack but Ryder and Kira had definitely taken him under their wing and he knew a cry for help when he saw one.
It didn't take him very long to get to Ryder's apartment as being native to LA he knew all the shortcuts and he knew the urgency of the situation so hadn't wasted any time. He was on his bike thankfully so it was a lot easier to get from place to place and it wasn't long until he was outside and then inside Ryder's apartment complex. He took the stairs two at a time and then at the unlatching of the door he let himself in, frowning as Ryder was definitely giving off stress in waves. And he could see a him fighting the change.
Rhys wasted no time in shucking off his jacket and closing the distance between himself and Ryder, reaching up to clasp the other wolf's face in his hand and drawing his attention to him. "Okay, I need you to breathe for me, Ryder, alright? Just in and out, nice and slow, and just focus on my voice and not on what your body is trying to do to you right now. I know it's really fucking tempting to give in but you can't."
"'Cause breathing's done me so much fucking good now," Ryder responded, though he felt something in him settle - even a little - in response to the touch to his face, his world narrowing down in that instant from everthingtooloudtoomuch to just him and Rhys and that seemed to help. He met those mismatched eyes with his own and took a deep breath feeling extremely stupid as he did.
His fingers curled around Rhys' wrists as he leaned forward and down until their foreheads were touching. Ryder closed his eyes and drew his lower lip between his teeth, focusing on the moment, on Rhys being in front of him, on the safety of his apartment. He didn't think about Colbie, or he tried, and he didn't want to think about his fucking parents, in particular his fucking father who had done such a fucked up thing that-
Fuck.
His inwards breaths were harsh and sharp and stuttered as he struggled with his emotions, the confusion and wild hurt, the guilt.
Rhys ignored the biting comment from Ryder as he knew that wasn't really Ryder speaking, it was the struggle against the change and the wolf baying just beneath the surface. He pushed his hands into Ryder's dark hair and worked the strands of hair through the the gaps in his fingers, lightly pressing his tips of them into Ryder's scalp to lightly massage and hopefully relax the other.
"Just focus on right now, Ryder," Rhys coached softly. "It's just you and me, nothing else."
Ryder wasn't proud of the way his head tipped into the touch to his hair and how Rhys just pushed his fingers through the strands like the touch belonged there.
"'s easier said than done," he mumbled tightly, the clothes that he'd hugged Colbie in had been stuffed in the machine and the machine had gone on but he felt like her scent was lingering in the apartment even though he'd showered at least twice since he got home. "I can still-"
It rocketed him back to right after his change, the doctor standing at the bed and looking at him sadly and saying that he's survived but that he'd been Turned. The look on his parent's faces.
He squeezed his eyes closed again, letting Rhys' sent flood through him as he breathed in, trying to let it block out the scent he knew was a phantom.
"Shit- I'm sor- fuck, I'm sorry."
"I know," Rhys murmured sympathetically. "But you gotta help me out here, Ryder. Who did you run into that stirred all of this up?" If he knew that then he might be able to do more than just ground him through touch alone.
He kept up the touch to the other wolf's hair as that seemed to be helping so best to keep it up until he knew that Ryder was calm enough to be given back his personal space. "And nothing to be sorry for. Kira and I told you if you needed anything all you needed to do was call."
"Is talkin' 'bout it really the smart thing to do?" Ryder asked, his accent slipping out thick as molasses as he breathed through the conflicting sensations of fingers in his hair and the twisting pulse of the wolf inside his chest. "Ain't never been real big on that." He preferred to just... work out until his feelings went away. It wasn't the healthiest way to handle things but then he'd been a little preoccupied trying to just get by without having to consider emotional health.
Rhys snorted quietly. He wasn't a big talker himself but he knew from experience that sometimes when the wolf was at your door that sometimes it helped to get what was going on in your head out in the open and then the people around you could help you get through it.
"Surprisingly yeah," he confessed with a smirk.
Ryder looked displeased with the thought of having to talk but Rhys knew this whole... werewolf thing better than someone who'd only been doing it on their own for a year and a half or however fucking long it had been.
He drew away carefully, just need a bit of space but he regretted it immediately because he wanted to be back in that touch.
"Well, shit," he drawled. "I- uh-" He pushed his fingers through his hair, trying to mimic that touch that he'd just stepped away from though it wasn't the same. "Saw my sister."
Rhys dropped his hands as Ryder stepped away from him and tracked the other wolf very closely as he knew what signs to watch out for and if needed he could meet him wolf to wolf and keep shit from getting messy.
"Your sister?"
"Mmhm," Ryder muttered. "Y-yeah, she- uh- she's in LA." He nodded his head, starting to pace again. "AIn't seen her since 'fore I was..." he paused, deciding to pick his words very carefully here, "targeted."
Rhys' brow knitted with confusion when Ryder said something about being targeted. "Targeted?" There were several ways to take that but he figured he'd ask considering it was always better to clear shit up.
He continued to track Ryder as he paced.
Ryder just nodded. "Yeah- I- my Turning wasn't an accident. I got- picked to try and- y'know that don't even matter. I just- After it happened and I got told, I heard some shit I didn't like and ran away." Not that his parents had minded all that much. "Figured I'd get back in touch with my sister once I- once I had this whole fuckin' thing figured out and since I fuckin' clearly don't got it under control yet I-"
"And she surprised you?" Rhys asked. "Which is why you were caught offguard and all that shit came rushing to the surface?" It made sense. Familial connections were some of the strongest in the world and nothing could make you wolf out quicker than family especially family you weren't expecting to see.
"Y-yeah," Ryder muttered, hand clapsing the back of his neck again as he leaned against the counter that separated his kitchen from his lounge in the open-set apartment. "I- fuck, I wasn't ready to see her. And no fuckin' way was she ready to see me."
Rhys rounded on Ryder and passed his hand over his back before his own replaced Ryder's at the back of his neck where his grip was firm, present, and his thumb moved out to stroke over the skin. "What happened? Did it go badly?"
"No," Ryder mumbled, body swaying into the touch of Rhys' hand without his conscious permission. He could feel how his body relaxed under the touch, the firm pressure and physical reassurance. Ryder was not a physical person; he liked his space, but there was something about the way that Rhys - and Kira, to be fair, but it was different with her - made him feel that he almost wished he was. "It just- fuck- I ain't- I-"
His head hung down and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes again. "My dad took my turnin' bad. Seems like he fuckin' told my sister I'd died."
Jesus fucking christ. No wonder their reunion had been shocking and unexpected if she'd gone a long time thinking her brother was dead. That would be enough to break somebody. "No offence Ryder but your dad sounds like a total asshole." Rhys definitely wasn't one to mince his words or beat around the bush when something needed to be said.
His touch remained as solidly as Rhys did beside Ryder.
Ryder snorted, the sound slightly hysterical. "That's puttin' it politely," he agreed. "He's a piece of work." He rubbed his hand over his eyes before he returned it to the counter where he was bracing himself, breathing through the turmoil. "I just feel so fuckin' guilty 'cause she's been grievin' this whole damn time."
"Woah, woah," Rhys hurried to say as he put both hands rather firmly on Ryder's shoulders and used that grip to turn him to face him more directly. "Don't put that shit on yourself. You're not responsible for the crap your father has pulled and the fact he lied to your sister." He actively sought out eye contact. "You hear me? Don't be carrying that crap, Ryder."
"No but I coulda reached out to her earlier, or somethin'," Ryder protested, "shit, I shoulda expected him to pull this kind of fuckin' bullshit too, ain't like he wasn't keenly aware this is all his fuckin' fault in the first place."
Rhys was quiet and still as Ryder protested, steadfast and firm, not really offering anything during the time where Ryder clearly needed to get stuff off his chest. "First off, you were kinda distracted let's be honest. Coming to terms with being a werewolf, that shit isn't easy and for all you knew she could've been feeling the same way as your parents so quit thinking about the what ifs. That'll do nothing but drive you insane."
He was confused though about how his being targeted would be his dad's fault.
"Col- she's always been- y'know, like me. We- never agreed with that anti-super sentiment yanno? She'd- I'm sure she'd have- But I wasn't safe to be around her. I nearly shifted in the hospital after it happened an' shit." He shook his head, "Just feel like such an asshole."
"Which is fair enough," Rhys agreed. "It might not seem like it right now but you made the right call, for you and for her. " He squeezed Ryder's arms and ducked into his eye line. "Trust me on this, okay?"
Ryder looked up, turning his head as Rhys moved to get eye contact and he got caught up in it for a moment before he cleared his throat and nodded. "Maybe, I just- fuck- didn't think I'd be runnin' into her on the damn street."
Yep. That would definitely be a shock. "I can see how they would have shocked the crap out of you." Definitely not the best place to have a reunion with your sister who was completely in the dark and who thought you were dead.
"But at least you know she's here now so the next time you can be more prepared."
"Well, we swapped numbers so next time I run into her it's gonna be pre-prepared. Provided she ain't representin' herself in court on account of tryna kill our dad." Ryder grumbled, only half joking.
Heh. Rhys had a feeling he was going to like Ryder's sister especially if she was willing to go to war for him with their dad. "I mean she'd only be in court if they could find a body and pin it on her. I might know a couple people who can help her out with that." Mostly joking but Rhys did actually know some folk who could get rid of a body.
"Might have to take you up on that," Ryder snorted. "Though ain't sure y'all wanna go to war with the MAGA fucktards my dad runs with."
"MAGA?" Rhys repeated as he'd never heard that particular acronym. He smoothed his hands up and squeezed the side of Ryder's neck as it seemed he was calming down which was good, really good.
"Yeah, y'know, make america great again? Or, the more commonly known MAHA, which is like, uh, make america human again?" Ryder tipped once more into the touch, finding it disturbingly soothing.
"So, what? They're like the KKK for supernaturals?" Seemed the closest comparison he could pull from the recesses of his mind as he was doing his damndest not to focus on just how close he and Ryder were and how the other wolf felt good under his hands. That wasn't what this was about. Ryder needed a friend and Rhys was there as a friend and not as well, something else.
"How did you miss the platform the president got elected on?" Ryder asked, slumping forward further so his forearms were bracing him on the counter, still leaning into the touch, working on breathing in and out which was much easier with the sensation of fingers against the skin of his neck and the overwhelming scent of Rhys distracting him from the phantom one. "It's a sentiment my dad got behind."
Rhys lifted his shoulders. "I try to ignore what Mister-My-Cheeto-Fuckface does." He knew that the current president was firmly against supernaturals and had used it as a means to end to stir up enough anti-supernatural sentiment to get himself elected. Disgusting if you asked him but it was done now and Rhys was going to focus on taking care of his.
He brushed his thumb over Ryder's skin. "That fucking sucks, man."
Ryder hummed, snorting. "Yeah, I wanted to ignore it, kinda hard when my dad was the fuckin' poster boy." His shoulder dropped a little, and then he reached up, gently curling his fingers briefly around Rhys' forearm, silently thanking him for the comfort. "I just- thanks for comin', man."
"Hey, anytime," Rhys offered with a smile. "Like I said you need anything you call and I'll come." He was glad that he'd been able to help because he might have been born the way that he was but he was familiar with the struggle for control.
Ryder tipped his head to look at Rhys. "Yeah, I'm not-" he rubbed his hand over his face and reluctantly moved out of Rhys' space, moving to the fridge and pulling out a carton of juice. "I- I would offer you a beer but I don't have any. But... you've probably got stuff to do anyway, right?" Which sucked, it would be nice to have company for a little longer.
Rhys stepped back and allowed Ryder his space, arms folding across his chest as he braced his back against the nearby counter. "Nah, I can hang around for a while. " Whatever he had planned could be rescheduled, no big deal. It was clear Ryder needed the company and Rhys wasn't about to bail on him.
"Really?" Rhyder felt his expression shift upwards, hope crossing his face like an excited puppy before he cleared his throat and turned away quickly. "Uh- but I still don't got any beer, so if y'all're wantin' a drink I got water, soda or juice..."
Okay that was adorable though Rhys kept that thought to himself and resisted the urge to tease Ryder though it was clear he was amused. "Uh, soda, I'll take a soda." He pushed away from the counter and wandered through the apartment to make himself comfortable in the living room.
Ryder poured himself a tall glass of juice and then snagged a soda from the fridge when he put the carton back before he trailed into the lounge, sitting down on the couch and holding the soda out.
"I- Thanks, again, man. I just- kinda like it here and the landlady kinda has some weird thing for werewolves so I didn't have to pay the additional deposit for 'monthly damages'."
"Yeah?" Rhys asked as he leaned forward to take the soda. "That's pretty cool. Not a lot of landlords or landladies will do that. I mean I have an additional deposit for 'monthly damages' but my landlord is a ball buster so go figure."
He cracked into the soda and took a sip. "It's a nice place as well."
"There's a reason I have two jobs to pay for it," Ryder responded with a dry chuckle. "But it's well placed." He leaned into the cushions and stretched his legs out in front of him, head tipped back into the cushions as he looked at the ceiling.
It shouldn't have felt so nice with someone sitting next to him in his space, but it did. And he wasn't completely sure how to process that so... he decided he wouldn't.