Chapter Text
Good Mythical Morning was over. Rhett and Link were no longer a duo. They were just Rhett. And Link.
And Rhett was heartbroken.
Since Rhett first heard of Lacuna, he'd been intrigued. It had become one of his layers, and he dove into the research. Every few months he'd check in, and he knew it had gotten better, more advanced, in the last few years. But he never thought he'd have a reason to get part of his memory erased. No one had ever hurt him this deeply.
His first impression of the small and unassuming office was that it was not the kind of place you'd expect to find the latest technology. But he could tell he was in the right place. As he entered the lobby, everyone at the small company greeted him with the same sad smile. They wanted to be friendly, but they knew why he was here. He wasn't okay.
A tear slid down one cheek and he wiped it away, uncomfortable with the idea of crying in public. When he looked up, though, he was consoled by the realization that every other person in the lobby, every client in the nondescript office, was crying too.
As he approached the front desk, a young girl in a lab coat handed him a clipboard, and when he filled it out she led him back to see the doctor.
The back office was brightly lit and painted a stark, clean white. It took Rhett's wet, tired eyes a few moments to adjust as he walked in, but he stumbled into the seat the doctor offered him.
After talking with the doctor for five minutes, Rhett saw his face fall.
"Mr. McLaughlin, I'm sorry. I don't think think we can help you here."
"What do you mean?" Rhett broke in. "You use tangible things to get at memories, and I have plenty of documentation. Old photos, all the videos we made..."
"I see you've done your research, Mr. McLaughlin." The doctor was clearly impressed. Most of his patients sought him out on short notice, as a desperate option. "Look, I hate to turn you away, but I'm afraid it's impossible. From what you've told me, this person, Mr. Neal, you see, his life has been so entwined with yours that this procedure...it could kill you. Would kill you. If you'd known him for just a few years, or if your relationship weren't so close, maybe we could go forward with the procedure. But even then it would be risky."
"I don't understand. I read that you can erase marriages and dead pets and everything."
"Mr. McLaughlin, there are... well, there are a few types of person we simply can't erase. Most parents, for example, can't be mapped in a person's mind, because a parent's influence has been so engrained in the mind itself, in the person we become, that to take it away, to remove those memories, would be to remove the person."
Rhett grimaced as more tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Mr. McLaughlin, Rhett, I can't remove Mr. Neal from your memories. He's too deeply a part of who you are."
Rhett stared back at the doctor, comprehension dawning on his face. He would have to live with this pain. There was no way out.
"This doesn't have anything to do with the level of your feelings for him," the doctor continued gently. "We've successfully performed the procedure on lovers before."
"We, we're not --," Rhett began, but stopped before going on. There was no use trying to correct the doctor. There was no reason to pretend anymore.
Rhett didn't hear anything else the doctor said. He could focus only on the urgent memories forcing themselves on him, of the sound of Link's laughter, of their last fight. He could hear only the ticking clock on the office's wall.
When the doctor stopped talking, Rhett stood, unfolding himself from the chair, moving slowly and then jumping slightly at the twinge in his back.
He floated home in a daze, ignoring the honking cars as they dodged him. Home, he thought darkly to himself. This motel room wasn't home. But it would have to do for a while.
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Rhett could trace the beginning of the end. Years ago, when they were writing for Season 1 of Buddy System, they had gotten so close, to their dreams and to each other. They were at the height of their careers, facing the biggest moment in their long history. They had been buzzing with creative energy, writing dialogue and music and new characters and the commercials that made them feel like their old selves again.
But right now the two of them were fighting over a song about making tough decisions. Link had thrown around several ideas, but Rhett kept coming back to the only one he offered. They'd always known it led to a better product when they challenged each other, but Rhett was digging in his heels. Link had finally had enough.
"I get that you like this idea, Rhett, but it doesn't make any fucking sense!"
"What the hell do you mean, man? Of course it makes sense! Bad things can happen even when you're trying... Are you even listening to me?"
"I'm listening but I can't believe what I'm hearing. How are we going to do a song about killing whales, man?! This is ridiculous. I can't freaking believe you."
"What do you mean you can't believe ME? I'm coming up with ideas for our big project! For THE big project. When we finally get to be as creative as we want. When I finally get to be as creative as I can. And now you're not on my side anymore? NOW you think my ideas suck?"
Link was screaming now. "This is the big project, Rhett, yeah! Are you trying to tank it?"
That's when the mug went sailing across the room and crashed against the wall, shattering into hundreds of black and orange pieces. Rhett stormed away, leaving Link standing alone, staring in shock at the pieces of the mug that had just flown past him.
Sure, they'd made up. In many of their interviews promoting the Buddy System series, Link made a point to say that one of his favorite songs in the show, and a song the fans were really liking, was "A Whale is Gonna Die." He always mentioned that it was Rhett's idea, and they played off the tension as an example of their creative process. "Rhett got it and I didn't!" Link would laugh.
But neither of them recovered from that day, not really. Their partnership, the trust in each other's ideas, it was still there, but Rhett never forgot about the day Link didn't trust him. And Link never forgot about the day Rhett had gotten violent. Or the moment he insinuated Link was holding him back.
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As Rhett's long body hit the creaking queen bed in his motel room, he felt lost. What could he do now? He'd gone to Lacuna as a measure of last resort. He couldn't imagine living without the memory of Link. Of their friendship throughout their childhood, in college, as husbands and fathers. But he couldn't imagine going on like this.
Rhett knew he should have been concerned the doctor would say this. After all, he and Link had been friends, best friends, and something more, some undefined thing, for nearly forty years. There were a few years in school when they weren't around each other much, but those had been far outweighed by years of nearly constant contact.
The doctor didn't even know about the last two years. When Rhett's life had been turned upside down. When Link had been the only one there for him.
And then he wasn't.