1. Obsession
Mordecai was completely and utterly obsessed with Benson. There was so much he didn't know about the gumball machine and was learning something new every day. Sometimes he would merely sit and watch the man, concentrated on his every action. He was obsessed.
2. Soft
Sometimes it was hard to believe that the man made of glass and metal could be so soft.
3. Quiet
Whilst others feared the bellowing, rage-filled Benson, Mordecai feared the quiet side of him, for he knew that this was when there was truly something to worry about.
4. Music
Whilst others marvelled at Benson playing the drums, admiring his skill, Mordecai listened intently to the raw emotion being expressed. He knew that each beat was a word, and when played together, they made thoughts Benson would never tell.
5. Prank
Glancing at the time, Benson gave yet another sigh. Walking into the bathroom, he examined himself in the mirror, his eyes focused on the worried face staring back. The gumball machine forced a smile to mask his nervousness, glancing down at his watch again. 10 minutes. Mordecai was 10 minutes late.
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. Returning to his arm chair with shaking hands held firmly in his lap, he waited. The sound of footsteps in the hall made the man's heart race, his eyes darting towards the door. Holding his breath, he waited for the sound of knocking.
The footsteps passed and the sound of keys, followed by a door opening down the hall made him slump back into his seat, the breath he had been holding was released in another sigh.
He glanced at his watch again; 15 minutes.
"I knew it," he grumbled, standing up. "I knew it was too good to be true."
Walking towards his bedroom, the gumball machine shrugged off his jacket.
He should have known, why else would Mordecai ask him on a date? It must have been a prank. Rigby would have been in on it too, no doubt. He imagined Mordecai sitting in the park house, laughing. The raccoon would be by his side, of course, joining his best friend as they poked fun at Benson's eagerness. Perhaps they had filmed his reaction. Maybe they were watching it, enjoying his embarrassment. Why else would the blue jay ask him on a date?
Throwing his jacket to the side of the room, he then made his way to the kitchen to prepare a microwave meal. He had barely opened the freezer before the sound of knocking from the front door interrupted him.
He froze for a brief moment; a sense of hope was rising within him.
Abandoning his frozen meal, he made his way towards the source of the noise, all the while attempting to contain his eagerness. Opening the door, his heart practically leapt upon seeing the blue jay standing before him, a handful of flowers in one hand and an apologetic smile on his face.
"Sorry I'm late."
6. Loud
Benson had been in such bliss that night that he had not given any thought to how loud he might have been. Even the morning after, he hadn't given it much though. That was, until he went to check his mail in the morning and saw the looks that his neighbours gave him.
7. Morning
Benson's head was pounding. What had he done last night? The thick pillow underneath his glass dome did little to ease the pain. Even through closed eyes he could sense it was morning, the warmth of sunlight soaked his frame and illuminated the room.
He groaned in pain, rolling over to turn away from the direction of the window, pulling the blanket further up his body. Opening his eyes slowly, he prepared himself for the blinding light. He had been more than surprised when, instead of a bare, sun-soaked wall, he was met with the face of a familiar blue jay. His stomach dropped. It was far too late to stop the scream that left his mouth. Mordecai's eyes shot open in shock; a yelp of surprise left his own mouth upon seeing Benson. The two jumped back in opposite directions, both falling off of the bed and landing on the floor with a thud, their legs still tangled in the mess of blankets.
8. Secret
Keeping their relationship a secret was never easy, especially at the park. For Benson, it was hard to have some uninterrupted "alone time". For Mordecai, it was hard to get away from Rigby and the guys without attracting unwanted attention, though neither really complained. After all, sneaking out for a late night visit always made it worth it.
9. Margaret
It wasn't until Benson and Mordecai had started dating that Benson had officially met Margaret. No matter how much she smiled or stopped for a friendly chat, Benson could not shake the utter loathing he had for the robin. Perhaps it was because he knew that she was the only thing that could tear them apart.
10. Audrey
Mordecai had thought of Audrey as a lovely, kind lady. That was, until he and Benson had started dating and she became his greatest fear.
11. Girls
Benson liked girls. Mordecai liked girls. Neither considered themselves gay, yet, when the two were together, it felt as though nothing could be more right.
12. Choices
There had once been a time when Benson had to choose between his love and his work. Luckily, he had managed a way to keep both, though, to this day, he never revealed what his answer would have been otherwise.
13. Video Games
Mordecai hadn't really known what to expect when he had invited Benson to play video games with him, but he definitely didn't expect to be beaten so easily on the gumball machines first try.
14. Hanging Out
When Benson had been invited to "hang out" with Mordecai, he expected to be taken on some wild night out when the two would get into some sort of life-threatening trouble, as always. He had been more than surprised when he turned up at the house to find Mordecai waiting for him on the couch with a blanket, a bucket of popcorn, and the movie "Shy Guy".
15. Family
Benson had been reluctant to introduce Mordecai to his family. The blue jay had never known why, until he sat at a table and had dinner with them. As the gumball machine's mother and father shouted at each other and his sister continued to question him, Benson couldn't help but send an apologetic glance to his boyfriend.
16. Artistic
Benson couldn't help but feel a little curious when he had accidentally stumbled across one of Mordecai's sketchbooks. Admiring some of the blue jay's drawings, he couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face when he flipped the page to find a drawing of himself.
17. Slacker
Benson smiled at the two wings wrapped around his waist, the blue jay they were connected to was still waking up.
"Can't we just not go to work today?"
Benson chuckled lightly at the familiar behaviour.
"Come on, don't be such a slacker."
18. Haunted
At that moment, his own fear was nothing. It was the terror in Benson's face that would leave him forever haunted.
19. Question
The group hadn't questioned the suggestion of the sudden camping trip. Rigby hadn't questioned it when Mordecai had suggested the two get their own separate tents. No one had questioned it when Benson had apparently forgotten his tent and decided to share with Mordecai instead.
20. Hair Dye
Benson picked up the empty bottle of hair dye, examining it carefully.
"Mordecai?" he called, walking towards the bathroom.
He stopped upon seeing the blue jay in the doorway, his beautiful blue spikes replaced by blonde bangs.
"I lost another bet."
21. Fire
The sight of fire engines racing past had been enough to alert Mordecai. The loud sirens pierced his thoughts as he silently prayed that they would continue down the same road, and not make a turn into the street he knew so well. The moment he saw the wheels turn, the blue jay broke into a sprint, racing towards the sound of chaos.
He could smell it now; the smoke. It consumed his senses and burned his nostrils. Making a sharp turn, his eyes caught the sight of the all too familiar block of apartments and he froze. The flames of red and orange danced on the building, blurring as the chaos below faded into distant murmurs. His heart sunk as he stood paralysed, his eyes now burning from the tears that he could not hold in. He wanted to do something. He wanted to move. He wanted to be brave. He wanted to run into the burning building without a second thought and save the man who meant so much to him; but he couldn't. Instead he stood in shock, praying with all his heart that the gumball machine would be alright.
22. Celebration
Benson stared out of the window, watching as people and buildings sped past.
"So, where exactly are we going?" He asked, turning to the blue jay beside him.
"You'll see."
The gumball machine sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. He had been given the same answer over and over again and was beginning to grow anxious. Whilst Benson always enjoyed spending time with his boyfriend, Mordecai's ideas of "fun" were sometimes a little too wild for his liking.
"Chill out, dude. You'll find out in a minute." The sight of a large crowd of people quickly caught the blue jay's attention. "Look, we're practically here."
Benson's eyes widened as the sight. Balloon of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple were scattered throughout the streets, hovering above the large crowd. Everyone was cheering in celebration as couples embraced, their colourful striped shirts brightening the once dull street. The word "PRIDE" seemed to be printed on every surface, watching over the groups as men kissed other men, and women kissed other women. To say that Benson was surprised would be a massive understatement. He hadn't even noticed that, in his shock, Mordecai had already parked on the car.
The gumball machine quickly turned to his boyfriend, his eyes wide in shock.
"What exactly am I doing here?"
"We," Mordecai smiled, passing him a striped shirt, identical to the ones worn amongst the crowd, "are celebrating."
Quickly pulling the shirt over his head, the blue jay practically jumped out of the car, not even trying to hide his excitement. Benson laughed in disbelief, putting on his own shirt and following the blue jay into the street.
"You're unbelievable."
Mordecai smiled, pulling his boyfriend closer, his wing around Benson's waist.
"I know."
23. Fired
"You're fired."
The words still lingered in the air. Mordecai kept his head down; he hadn't dared to look to the gumball machine beside him. He didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes; this job meant everything to him. A quick glance at the wrinkled lollipop before the two gave Mordecai the chance to see that he too kept his gaze averted. The stern expression he usually maintained was now replaced with something that Mordecai could only describe as remorse. Maellard did not want to fire the two, he had actually valued them as employees; they were productive workers. Above everything though, his son valued them. They were his friends, and so, it hurt Maellard more than anything to be in this position.
"I'm sorry, but we can't have," he stopped, unable to correctly phrase his worries, instead gesturing towards the two, "Well, we can't have this happening in the workplace; especially between an employee and his superior."
He stopped again, raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. Letting out a sigh in defeat, he continued, "You have until tomorrow afternoon to gather your belongings and find new accommodation. I'm sorry."
No longer wanting to be in this situation, he left the two, dreading the fact that he would have to be the one to inform the other employees of the situation. It was only once the two were completely alone that Benson finally broke down, quietly sobbing next to the blue jay.
24. Sorry
There were millions of things he could have said, but all he really wanted to say was sorry.
25. Fight
The two hadn't noticed they'd been walking towards each other until it was too late. They both stopped upon seeing the other. Their eyes met; both were sad and filled with longing. Sure, they'd had fights before. Each time they had made up in the end, though, as their eye contact broke and they continued in their separate directions, Mordecai wondered whether this would be the end.
26. End
Silence filled the room as both men finished yelling, their bodies hot with rage as they stood before each other. Their eyes locked, both with sorrow and regret. It had been said. Everything that had been boiling up inside the two had violently burst out in the form of insults and rants, and no amount of apologies could ever take it back. This was the end.