Lucy finds Rex out in the desert with his knuckles bloodied from Master Breaking every single thing he comes in contact with.
The exercise is supposed to be the usual thing: venting all of his loneliness, anger, and (no) regret(s) through smashing stuff. He has had it as part of his routine for a while now. But somewhere along the line he spirals. The emotions feel more visceral than usual, more turbulent than when he'd woken up and realized he hadn't disappeared forever like he was supposed to.
He punches a rock. Every injustice he ever endured stacks up higher than the Octan Tower. He hits a mass of scrap. The feeling of isolation in his life even before Undar. He varies things with a kick. How he had tried so, so hard to be special and ended up forgotten anyway.
She never came back. She probably didn't even try. She left him to rot. Punch, punch, punch.
He doesn't know when he started screaming.
So he's already upset. Really upset. But seeing Lucy breaks a dam inside of him he didn't even know he had. Lucy really is the lynch pin to all of his issues. He never would have felt lonely again if only she'd come back for him. But she didn't.
It's almost insulting to have her come after him now when he's in this state.
Big, fat tears start flowing down his chiseled features. His shoulders slump with shame and he digs the heels of his palms into his eyes. The embarrassment at being seen getting so emotional only makes him cry harder.
Lucy doesn't say anything. When he judges that he's stopped sobbing hard enough to look at her, he lowers his hands. She's looking at him with absolute pity and that prompts him to scrub his wrist across his face to wipe away the tears.
She builds a motorcycle out of the pieces he'd scattered with his destructive path and drives them both home. It feels sickeningly familiar, riding behind her like this. She doesn't push him away when he wraps his arms around her waist and presses his torso flush with her back. Her hair tickles his neck and chin as the wind whips through it.
Rex sniffles and unintentionally discovers she smells nice. Of course she does.
She cleans up and bandages his hands in the living room once they're home. Emmet is off being a goody two-shoes helping build the town up and Unikitty is overseeing retrieval of the pieces of Cloud Cuckoo Land, so they're alone. Unless Planty counted, and Rex didn't think he did.
Disinfectant hurts really badly. Lucy has to hold his hands in place to keep him still. Rex tries to do the cool guy thing and stare off into the middle distance like he doesn't care, but it still hurts. He hisses between his teeth and resolves to remember to wear his gloves the next time he decides to do something this reckless.
It's worth it to feel her hands on his, though. He wants more.
After she's done, Lucy looks like she just wants to leave him, but she asks, "Do you need anything else?"
Typical Lucy. Doing the right thing even when she's annoyed as all get-out with the person she's helping.
The words are out before he can think.
"I want you to hold me. Please."
The "please" is silent because Radical Emmet Xtreme Machete Ninja Star Dangervest doesn't say please.
Emmet might have been more self-conscious about demanding Lucy's affection. Rex has long since accepted that he's selfish. If he wants to be held by the woman he loves, the woman who betrayed him, then he has every right.
Lucy's long eyelashes flutter as she blinks with confusion. "Hold you?"
"You know. Hold me. Don't make me say it."
She tilts her head so her sideswept bangs fall over her right eye more than ever. "You want to cuddle?"
He nods once. Lucy gives him a long, searching look. Then she turns away.
Rex's heart shatters. Of course. Of course she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. He curls his bandaged hands into trembling fists and crosses his arms. The tears are back in no time at all.
"What are you waiting for?" Lucy pats her lap as she sits down on the couch. "Come here."
Rex stands stock-still for a moment before flinging himself at the couch. He crunches his body up tight to fit as much of his upper half on top of Lucy's lap as he can. He spills over. No surprise there. He's always been too huge for his perfectly proportioned girlfriend. She even has difficulty leaning down to wrap her arms around him.
His self-loathing is swamped by the sensation of being able to cushion his face against her soft thighs. The familiar scent of her saturating her hoodie. He strokes her waist and her hip with the unbandaged tips of his fingers. She's so warm.
Lucy. Lucy. Lucy.
One of her hands—the one she always keeps sheathed in a glove—is soft and smooth. The other is rougher, harder, more honest about how much of her time she spends building.
Rex can't decide which one he likes better as she rubs the tension from his neck and shoulders. He lets out a pleased noise despite himself when she works out a knot. He's on cloud nine when she starts carding her fingers through his hair. He's absolutely touch-starved.
Unbidden, fresh tears start leaking out of his eyes. Rex curls a hand around her hip and hiccups once.
Stupid, stupid. He's ruining his image by acting like a total sissy. It doesn't help that Lucy's staring down at him like he's a wounded-but-not-quite-dead-yet animal on the side of the road.
"Stop looking at me like that," he says.
"Like what?"
He glares out of the corner of his bleary, red-rimmed eye. "Like I'm pathetic."
"Stop being pathetic, then."
He gives her a wobbly grin, then. She tugs her fingers through his hair again. Even when she hits a snag Rex loves the attention. This doesn't make up for all his time spent alone, not by a long shot, but it feels really nice.
Lucy brushes his bangs out of his face, bends at the waist, and presses a quick kiss to his forehead. Rex feels a red-hot flush spreading like melted butter across his cheeks. He starts crying harder but he's still grinning as he buries his face in the front of her hoodie.