The perks of having a robotic arm
If someone told Rhys that one day he would have used his mechanical arm for doing some of the things he was currently using it for, he wouldn't have believed them.
As they say, life is full of surprises and, of course, it was Yvette who started everything.
It was a day like another; there wasn't anything special or exciting going on.
Rhys, Vaughn and Yvette had decided to meet at the café to take a "coffee-break", but there was a problem: they were serving only cold coffee for some unknown reason; Vaughn suspected that the machines were broken but none said anything in fear of making their boss mad – which was understandable given his unpredictable nature.
It wasn't that bad, if only Yvette didn't hate cold coffee.
- At least try it-, Rhys encouraged her, but the glare she shot towards him made him immediately regret speaking.
- Actually-, she said then, - Would you mind holding this for a bit, with your robotic hand?-, she asked, handing her cup to Rhys.
- Um, sure?-, he replied, unsure if he should have asked why.
They started to talk as nothing happened but then, about a couple of minutes later, Yvette said:
- Now you can give me my coffee, Rhys-.
- Ok-, he replied, handing back her cup.
As soon as Yvette took it she took a sip of the beverage inside, and then she smiled.
- I knew it-, she said.
- Oh, I see-, Vaughn mumbled, staring at Rhys' robotic arm with a new interest.
- What?-, Rhys asked, still not understanding, so Vaughn decided to explain it to him.
- See, it's your robotic arm-, he started, - It generates heat, so Yvette used it to warm up her coffee, a very smart move by the way-, he concluded.
- Oh- was all Rhys said, and for some reason that managed to make his friends laugh.
That was only the start; from that moment both Vaughn and Yvette started to use Rhys' mechanical arm for everything.
Rhys didn't mind being helpful to his friends; that wasn't the problem. Actually he was glad he could do something for them, but at that point it looked like he had become their slave.
They even tried to make popcorn, but for some reason it didn't work, which was really a shame; even Rhys would have loved that to work: who would have turned down a chance of being able to make popcorn with their arm? That would have been like an amazing superpower!
- I-is this some kind of j-joke?-, Vaughn muttered, shivering.
- I r-really hope so-, Yvette replied, trying to stay still, but it was cold and even with the covers over her she was feeling cold.
- Can you two please shut up? Somebody is trying to sleep here-, Rhys said from his own bed. He really couldn't understand what was going on with his friends.
- How can you sleep with this cold?-, Vaughn asked.
He had already menaced to write a complain about the heating system, but if things continued like that he would have done it for real, if he didn't die first.
- I said I was trying, not that I was succeeding-, Rhys replied.
Even though the constant chitchat of the other two was annoying, at least it gave him indication of what the problem was, and that made him have an idea. It was kinda stupid, but it could have worked.
- Hey guys-, he whispered to the others, - Are you still awake?-.
- I wish I wasn't-, Yvette replied, and Vaughn just nodded, tired.
- Then come here-, Rhys ordered them.
- Rhys, we don't have time for… whatever you have in mind-, Yvette cut him off. It was clear that she was embarrassed.
- What… no! It's not what you think it is!-, Rhys exclaimed, - Just come here, trust me-.
Seeing that nobody moved he added:
- It's to keep you warm-.
Hearing that both Vaughn and Yvette reluctantly got up.
There wasn't much room for all three of them, but it wasn't that uncomfortable. Actually, it was surprisingly warm.
- How did you…-, Vaughn started to ask, but then he stopped, - Oh-.
- You get it, now?-, Rhys said with a smug smile on his face which none noticed because it was dark.
- Yeah-, Vaughn replied, - I wonder why it took us so long to come up with this-.
- You're lucky me and my robotic arm are always ready to save the day-, Rhys joked.
- Guys, let's try to sleep now, shall we?-, Yvette interrupted them and the other two were too tired to disagree with her.
When Rhys woke up, that following morning, he found his friends still asleep.
He wondered if he should have woken them up, but then he decided against it; it was still early and besides, it was so peaceful and quiet that he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere.
He closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep.
Who would have thought that having a robotic hand had those kinds of uses too.
Author's notes: this story is based on two of my friend's headcanons. The first one is that Rhys' mechanical arm generates heat (which would make sense but it's never confirmed in canon), the second one is that Rhys, Vaughn and Yvette share a room in Hyperion.