A/N: This was a one-shot I wrote back in early 2012, when I was quite taken with the idea of Mordecai and Rigby together. It's been sitting on my hard drive for nearly 2 years, so I thought I would finally post it. My time spent in the RS fandom was short-lived, but I still have a soft spot for the show and it's characters...and I'll always love the thought of a raccoon and bluejay having a thing for each other.
Enjoy reading!
x
"Dude…."
"Yeah?"
Two raw friends lay out beneath the stars.
Under their backs spread strewn patches of chilled grass, cushioning their shoulder blades and soothing the stresses that had built up in their muscles from an earlier workload.
"I was just thinking. About, you know, life and stuff." One of their voices spoke with honesty.
"Really? Same here, kind of." The other's voice trailed off into a distant hum.
"It's pretty confusing, isn't it?"
"I guess it can be, yeah."
"Like, all the things that are expected of you. All the crap you have to take and all the potential rejection. It's exhausting."
"True. Which is why I try not to think about any of that BS."
"Guess I can't really help it sometimes."
"Well stop, man. It's starting to stress me out."
"Okay, okay. I was just trying to make a point."
"About what?"
"I don't know. Just that it's not so bad right now."
One of them, a brown raccoon of small stature, turned his head slightly to his left to gaze toward the frame of his blue-feathered friend. He tried to focus on the horizon's outline in the distance, visible against the bird's silhouette. He finally asked, "What do you mean?"
"You know. Like, here we are, laying out here in the weeds. And for a while I sort of forget that life's supposed to be hard." The bird finished his sentence with a quick toss of a rock he had dug up from the soil beside him. The pebble made a curve through the air above them like a shooting star and landed with a soft plop a ways away.
Rigby partially smiled, "You ever think that maybe it's not supposed to be hard?"
Mordecai threw a glance at his friend and started smiling also. "I guess you could be right."
"Like…maybe people just make it hard, because they think that they have to. And they don't really get that it doesn't need to be that way."
The blue Jay rolled his body over so that he could face his pal. "Wow, Rigby. I never knew you were so whimsical and junk."
"Shut up." The raccoon confuted, avoiding eye-contact. "I'm just sayin'."
Mordecai chuckled a bit and rolled back onto his spine to enjoy the view of the constellations. He began thinking about himself and Rigby: They had been friends for the majority of their lives. They'd grown up together and seen each other through plentiful good, bad, and recently bizarre times. In their 23rd year of life, they had packed their bags and headed out into the world together, finding their way to their current position as groundkeepers at a city park.
They were in an unfamiliar, new town; close to home, but far enough away to feel like they were on their own. They both liked that sense of liberation.
Of the many friends that phased in and out of Mordecai's life, Rigby was the one who never left his side. The one he knew he could rely on for anything. He wasn't sure why, but somewhere deep within his psyche he knew that he could trust the raccoon with his life. Rigby drove him crazy most of the time, getting them both into trouble on countless occasions. They fought and bickered, physically injured and annoyed each other. But regardless, they remained adjacent. They always forgave and forgot. They were closer than normal friends; beyond that of the best variety. Both of them secretly appreciated this fact, although they often neglected to show affection towards it. It was simply something that they both understood and respected.
And so, silently, they agreed to follow where ever the other went. At least until the road they were on beckoned one or the other in a separate direction. They both knew that day would come eventually. Aside from secretly appreciating their degree of friendship, they also secretly dreaded the inevitable.
"So..." Rigby broke the silence.
Mordecai bent his neck a bit to gaze over at the mammal.
He continued, "…You're saying you don't worry about anything when we're hanging out?"
The bird cracked a grin. "I wouldn't say I don't worry about anything. I just mean…yah know…when you're with someone you enjoy being around, things that really bug you seem to matter a lot less. If that makes any sense."
Rigby ran his fingers through the cool lawn at his side. He refrained from replying for a few minutes, almost deciding not to respond at all. But before he let the opportunity escape him, he opened his mouth and let the words fall out, "You like being around me?"
Mordecai had been resting his eyes over the duration of silence, but upon hearing the raccoon's inquiry, he lifted his eyelids to meet the view of the stars again. "Well, yeah man."
Rigby felt something deep inside of him begin to brew. He waited for further vocalization from his friend's virile voice.
"What, did you think that I hated chilling with you or something?" Mordecai finally questioned.
"No…not exactly…"
"Come on, Rigby. We hang out all the time. We're bros."
"Yeah but, I don't know, I thought we just hung out because that's what we've always done."
The blue Jay folded his wings together as he replied, feeling a bit self-conscious as he did so. "Dude, yeah, but I wouldn't always be hanging out with you if I didn't enjoy it."
Rigby grasped some weeds into his fists.
"You're my best friend, man. Stop acting like it's such a shock that I like being around you." Mordecai concluded.
The coon breathed in and out quietly for a while, momentarily playing connect-the-dots with the constellations above him as his mind wandered.
Finally, he sat up and hunched over, bending his knees up towards his body.
Mordecai heard the rustle of grass and opened his eyes, noticing his friend's change of position. He turned his body so that he lay on his stomach, elbows supporting his weight. He eyed the raccoon's back, which was facing him.
"Rigby?"
"Sorry, man." The smaller male's voice cracked.
Mordecai raised an eyebrow, "Sorry for what?"
Rigby turned around, wearing a sentimental smile, "For asking a stupid question."
The bird grinned at his buddy, "It was pretty stupid." He laughed as he spoke.
The raccoon lay back down in the vegetation and Mordecai rolled over onto his back again as well. This time their heads rested within inches of the other.
They both still held their smiles intact, appreciating the moment.
"Dude, check that out." Rigby pointed towards a red-tinted star. "That one looks like it's on fire or something."
Mordecai fell into a peaceful fixation on the red dot. "That's probably mars."
"Looks awesome." Rigby decided in a contented voice.
They lay side by side for several more minutes, which seemed to pass by in gradual increments.
The cosmos scattered overhead were hypnotic. The two friend's eyes darted from one star to another, exploring the heavens and feeling greatly insignificant compared to it all. It set the vibe for the uncertain, but imminent fondness they were both feeling for each other.
Perhaps this fondness had always been there, but had lain dormant and unnoticed.
Whatever the case, their previously expressed feelings of friendship began to swell into something warmer.
In somewhat of an accidental fashion, Rigby's eyes trailed over to Mordecai.
To his surprise, the bird's eyes did exactly the same towards him.
Their gazes locked.
Rigby's pupils dug deep into his friend's stare, while Mordecai's throbbed with confusion and peppered fear.
They were trying to express something to each other that couldn't be voiced.
The raccoon felt his cheeks begin to burn. He silently thanked God that the darkness concealed his obvious flush.
Mordecai pretended not to understand the context of their shared gape. He didn't want to admit that he liked the sight of Rigby's face so much, but the organ heavily pounding in his chest pumped the truth through his veins.
Another minute like this and both of them were sure to implode.
Wait.
Were they moving closer?
Why?
What were they doing? Where were their minds?
Rigby closed his eyes, reassuring himself that this would happen and none of it would turn out to be a deluded dream.
Mordecai's eyelids lowered as well, but rather to ensure that what might happen would be pure illusion.
The space between them grew thinner and thinner…..
Until….—
The sounds of popping water pressure began serenading the field.
Both of them were suddenly showered by sprinklers.
They yelped and jumped up, sprinting out of the downpour towards the groundskeeper's house, located numerous yards away.
When the two young men reached the front porch, they stopped and began shaking themselves off.
"Ah man! Did Benson change the sprinkler system again? I swear I set it to come on at 11:00!"
"Dude, it's like 11:03." Rigby said, gazing through one of the windows of the house as water dripped from his fur.
"Oh." Mordecai looked through the same window, noticing a clock hanging on the wall inside. "Guess we lost track of time."
"Yeah…." His friend's voice quivered a bit.
The Blue Jay glanced down at Rigby, watching as he miserably rung out his tail. The ringed pattern had become matted and vague. It made Mordecai want to re-arrange the fur back into its proper, recognizable design.
He then looked down at himself and grimaced. He was soaked to the bone as well, which wasn't particularly comfortable paired with the cool evening air.
He shivered, but couldn't help but feel a smile creep across his beak.
Rigby was grumbling to himself when he heard Mordecai snickering under his breath.
The raccoon looked up from the puddle forming at his feet as his friend burst out in laughter.
"Dude," Mordecai heaved between cackles, "we just got our asses handed to us by the sprinklers."
Although Rigby had previously been in no mood for wise cracks, seeing the bird outwardly laugh made him forget that he was cold and wet.
"Yeah man, I feel like we just crawled out of the F'ing ocean! What the heck kind of water system did Skips install?"
"You know what we should do? We should totally set it to stay on all night so it floods the lawn and we won't have to do any yard work tomorrow."
"More like no yard work for a month!"
The two comrades partook in a shared hysteria, holding onto their sides.
When their amusement subsided to a few minor chuckles, they both looked into each other's faces.
The water dripping off Mordecai's chin made Rigby want to reach up and wipe it away. He had to refrain from doing so.
The Blue Jay all of a sudden reached down and socked his pal gently in the arm with his fist. "Come on, dude. Let's get inside before we catch a cold or something."
The raccoon rubbed his arm, although the punch hadn't hurt. The physical contact had been a congenial sensation.
As they walked towards the front door, Rigby smirked and rushed ahead of Mordecai, shoving him forcefully out of the way so that he could be the first to enter.
Mordecai felt a twinge of annoyance, but soon realized Rigby had only done it to return the physical touch.
He smiled to himself as he shut the front door behind him, watching the raccoon dash up the flight of stairs and into the bathroom, no doubt to grab a towel.
"Loser." He stated out loud.
The implication of the verbal put-down was coated with sincere affection.