SHIELD Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains

:: Try Again ::

If at first you don't succeed, try again.

It was probably one of the things that Robert had learned about Genesis Rhapsodos. The teen was headstrong and just didn't know the meaning of giving up. There were times when Genesis did give up, but give it time, the teen was able to bounce back and conquer a task that proved to be difficult before, and that wasn't the scary part.

What scared Robert was that the kid was a crazy perfectionist.

At times Robert wondered, maybe Genesis had regrets that he wanted to make up for. Regrets that the old man was still trying to find out—but had little to no ideas how to—thanks to the fact that somehow the teen could 'sense' him when he was going to ask about something personal. Yes, Robert understood he was an orphan; however that does not make it a reason to whip yourself if you failed at something.

Rhapsodos for some reason took it hard when he wasn't capable of doing something. Of course, that then lead to him finding out how to do the said deed and with a vengeance, made a comeback, and do the 'failed' skill or task perfectly.

Robert knew it wasn't healthy. So with that in mind, subtly, the old man had devised a way to get closer to Genesis by giving him a balance of appreciation, humility and not to delve in too deep when the situation warranted it.

The boy reacted positively, willing to trust him more. However, he didn't slow down. At this point, Robert tried a blunt approach instead. He plainly asked why Genesis was overworking himself so much.

The teen's eyes looked tired, weary and bitter, "All I've been doing in my life is running. I've been called a failure since I probably existed, and I don't want to waste this new chance I've been given."

"As much as I agree that not all chances come back," Robert implied, "you're going to miss the finer things in life if you don't know where to stop, and look around at the beautiful scenery you might be missing out on."

The poor teen looked like he had been hit with a truck. "Am I turning into a total workaholic?"

"Not unless you slow down," Robert said, but then countered, "If not take the quote 'work hard, play hard' in handling things and you won't miss much."

"The last thing I want is to turn into Sephiroth," the teen muttered, but with a slight fear in his voice.

Robert raised a brow, "Who is Sephiroth?"

The question immediately turned Genesis on the defensive and was completely silent on anything related to it when the old man persistently asked. It seemed like it was Robert who was going to have to try again with a different method to work out what happened to the teen he was determined not to give up.

At the current moment, he wasn't going to get anywhere without a bit of help. Seeing that the only option for that was Hazel, he called the volunteer over.

He could make a truce and set aside differences while he was at it.