Summary: Featuring: FLUFF, Lots of talks, Dusty, Domestic Fluff, SELF-INDULGENCE.

30 FUCKING PAGES, MAN (10,4k words)

Warnings: Smut (by the end, especially in the italics), Depression, Alcoholism, and an inordinate amount of Self-Indulgence

FYI: the italics are one long scene/day. The others are scenes from following days, weeks or months as indicated by the subtitle in bold, italic letters.

Music mood: Woodkid - Wasteland | A Sky Full Of Stars (Acoustic Coldplay Cover by Moxi & GX) | Gustavo Santaolalla - De Ushuaia a la Quiaca

Chapter 7: 1 year, 3 months and 2 weeks (AKA: The calm before)

.-

Mordecai was woken up by an arm wrapping around his waist and a large body curling up behind him. He scooted closer and buried his face in the pillow, hoping to get some more sleep.

Brick kissed the back of his neck and settled down, but when Mordecai shifted a little there was the unmistakable feeling of an erection pressed against his lower back.

"Hey," he said, a little begrudgingly. He ran a hand over Brick's thigh. "You're up early."

Brick made a sleepy sound. "Mmh?" he said. Mordecai wiggled his back against Brick's dick. "Oh. Uh, well, it's morning," he said with a shrug.

Ah, Mordecai thought, as he remembered Brick hadn't gotten to finish last night.

He turned around, brushed his dreadlocks out of his face and dropped a kiss on Brick' neck. "I can help."

"Mmh… nah, need to pee."

Mordecai laughed, and just nuzzled against Brick's neck, breathing him in. They dozed off for a little while, lazy and relaxed.

-Two months-

Mordecai's first bad week was the worst one.

Brick had frowned at him for laying in bed without getting up for the most part of the day, for not leaving the apartment, for barely eating, for closing off on himself, for snapping at Lilith and drinking much more often.

He frowned, but it took him days and days of this to say something. He stopped by to check on Mordecai after lunch when he finally snapped.

"Are you gonna get up at all today?" he asked sharply.

Mordecai, who had been trying to pretend he was asleep even if he had been there for more hours he could count, flinched.

"Fine," Brick said eventually, turning around and leaving the bedroom.

After he'd left, Mordecai forced himself to get up and dragged himself into the shower. Showers helped some, but not enough. He was simply standing there, head bowed and trying to convince himself not to sit down on the shower floor, when Brick entered the bathroom. Mordecai didn't look at him, too embarrassed, too angry and tired.

"What's wrong?" Brick asked, also sounding angry and tired. "What's going on?"

"Bad week," Mordecai said.

"Bad week? Bad how?"

"Just - It's-," Mordecai gestured ineffectively. He eventually gave up and huffed in frustration. "Some weeks are bad. Sometimes more than weeks. It'll wear off." Mordecai rubbed at his face. Brick didn't say anything. He gritted his teeth and spat: "It's called depression, Brick. Look it up."

Sounds of Brick moving, and Mordecai could imagine him pacing. "Why? Did something happen?" and now Brick sounded worried, if still frustrated.

"No," Mordecai said with a short, bitter laugh. "To me, it just happens. No reason."

"Just - Mordy, just talk to me."

Mordecai, feeling bone deep exhausted by the whole conversation, just shook his head. "I just did."

"But why can't you-?"

"I can't. Do this. Right now," Mordecai said, trying to be firm, but it came out broken, it came out as a plea.

"I just don't get it," Brick said, plaintive and quiet, and it only added guilt to the great gaping mess that was inside Mordecai's chest. It was a weight being dropped on him, and he could barely stand as it was.

Mordecai leaned his head against the wall and didn't move until Brick finally left.

Fyrestone was as deserted as ever. Brick had no idea why Dr. Zed refused to move to New Haven, but right now that might be a good thing.

"Well, hello there Brick! It's been a while! What can I do you for?" Zed's friendly smile froze a little in place when Brick closed the door to the clinic behind him. They'd known each other for a while, but Brick would never stop being more than a little intimidating in close quarters.

Brick crossed his arms and scowled, but he still fidgeted a little.

"Depression, what can you tell me?" he said bluntly.

Zed hesitated. "You know, I'm not that kind of doctor, son," he said with an apologetic look.

"I know."

"Not that I have a medical license anymore," Zed added.

Brick rolled his eyes. Why Zed insisted on advertising that, he'd never know.

"It's not for me. I just wanna know what you know."

A look of understanding crossed Zed's face, but he didn't ask. If he was right, after all, he didn't want to say anything that Brick could consider offensive about his boyfriend.

"I'm still not that kind of doctor, Brick. Not much I can tell you." Brick kept glaring at him. "Alright, alright, no need to give me that stink eye." Zed scratched his cheek, smearing what looked like traces of clotted blood over it. "I don't know much. Psychiatry wasn't my thing. What do you want to know?"

Brick looked at his feet. "What... is it?"

"We know it's an imbalance, like how your pancreas working wrong will give you diabetes. But we don't know what causes it. We don't really know what causes most mental problems. We can make cybernetic limbs of all kinds, and fix almost anything, but the mind? Still a black box." Zed shrugged.

"I thought it was just being sad," Brick said frowning. "Isn't it?"

"Oh, no, diagnoses aren't made on just one symptom, there are other ones. Trouble sleeping, lack of energy, that kinda thing. If I could log into my old medical data banks, I would show you." Zed scratched his neck. "But as you know -"

"You don't have a medical license, yeah," Brick interrupted. "Anything else?"

"Not really. I'm sorry." Zed took a few steps towards him. "Look, I don't think it's me you wanna talk to. I can't tell you a lot more than that; it was never my thing, so I don't remember most of it. But if you wanna help, go talk to him."

Brick gave him a speculative look.

"Or her," Zed added belatedly and loudly. "'Cause I have no idea who you're talking about."

Brick had assumed he'd have to track Mordecai again, so he was surprised to find him still in his apartment when he came back. Mordecai was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. Bloodwing was perched in his arm, and the bird gave Brick a sharp look when he came in.

"Hey," Brick said.

Mordecai nodded.

Brick pulled off his boots and sat beside him on the bed. He stretched a hand and ran a finger over Bloodwing head. The bird wasn't overly fond of him, Brick thought, but it allowed himself to be petted.

"Can you talk about it now?" Brick asked eventually.

Mordecai dropped his head back and it hit the wall. He sighed. "Don't want to."

"Ok. Ok," Brick said slowly. "Can I talk about it?"

Mordecai snorted. "Sure."

Brick thought very carefully about what he should say. "I don't know what this is. I don't know how it works," he said. "I thought… I thought you were mad at me. When you get mad, you go quiet, and don't say what's wrong until you snap. I thought that was the problem."

"Why would I be mad?" Mordecai asked.

"I dunno," Brick said with a shrug. "Probably something I forgot to do."

Mordecai shook his head. "This isn't about you," he said sharply. "And you can't fix it." Brick gave him a concerned look. "It happens sometimes. This time was bad."

"There has to be something you can do."

"Hard to find antidepressants on Pandora," Mordecai said with a bitter smile.

"Then-"

"Then nothing," Mordecai cut off. "It isn't usually this bad."

Brick kept staring at him. "And I'm supposed to do nothing?" he asked.

"This isn't about you."

Brick looked down at his hands. "I think if it was me, you'd do something," he said.

Mordecai's mouth twitched. "Yeah."

"So?"

Mordecai closed his eyes. "Give me a week. If the worst isn't over, we'll see."

Brick shook his head. "Why? Why you gotta try to suck it up?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Mordecai said. "And money. And I… I don't like depending on stuff."

Brick gave him a flat look. "That's stupid."

"We live on Pandora," Mordecai said, undeterred. "Can't depend on things here."

Brick shook his head and looked away. "Fucking stubborn," he mumbled. "A standard week. To the date."

Mordecai tried to smile, but found he was closer to tears. "Thanks."

Brick took a deep breath, trying to stop the feeling his heart was breaking. "How can I help?"

Mordecai couldn't think of anything to say. He shrugged.

Brick, slowly, reached out and pulled him close so Mordecai was leaning against him.

"I'm tired," Mordecai said, frustrated. "It's like being underwater - everything is twice as hard as it should be."

"Then I can-"

"Sh," Mordecai said, scrunching his eyes closed. "I'm trying. Just give me a minute." He frowned. "It's like everything is fuzzy, white noise. I can focus, but it's hard sometimes, when it's something that's not important. I can shoot things just fine, shooting is easy; but when things are quiet..." He shrugged. "But when things are loud, when people argue and talk and talk, it's also… it's nothing. White noise. Brain fog."

Brick nodded mutely.

"And you can't just fix it," Mordecai continued eventually, looking at Bloodwing. His bird had left his arm and was now perched in his knee. "You'll be patient and understanding, and then you won't."

"You're not even giving me a chance."

"Please, I can't even stand myself, why would you?" Mordecai closed his eyes again. "People think love can fix anything. That's bullshit."

"Alright," Brick said, pushing down the need to do something, anything - preferably something that involved punching - besides sitting here and talking. He was actually good at punching. "I don't get how this is supposed to convince me not to get you something that helps. It sounds bad."

Mordecai chuckled bitterly. "It is."

"I just want you to be alright," Brick pressed his advantage. "Love won't fix it, I get that. But why would I just let it happen? I can't make you do anything, but you can't expect me not to care."

Mordecai rubbed his face. "Fine," he said, annoyed. "You win, I'll buy some medication and fix myself."

"Why are you angry?" Brick asked, confused at the sudden change of mood.

"Because, Brick!" Mordecai said. He forced himself to take a deep breath. "Because I can't just… get over it. I can't shake it off. And I know it's stupid, because I can't control it but it still… it still feels like I should. It's all in my head, so why can't I just stop?"

Brick shrugged, feeling utterly out of his depth. He took one of Mordecai's hands and squeezed it, wracking his brain looking for something useful to say.

"I dunno," he admitted. "I don't think you're supposed to." Mordecai snorted. "I mean, you can't just… You can mend a bone after breaking it, but you still need help to do it," he added lamely. "Or if - if anything else fails, you need a doctor to take a look. I dunno."

"Fair enough," Mordecai said, taking pity on how hard Brick was obviously trying. "I knew I kept you around for more than just your good looks."

Brick blinked, then smiled tentatively.

"I am good looking, though," he joked.

"Of course you are; I don't shack up with just anyone," Mordecai said, planting a kiss on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"What for?" Brick wondered.

"Trying to help. Helping. I appreciate it, even if - well, I know I can be difficult," Mordecai said with a self-deprecating smile. "So, thank you."

"Anytime," Brick replied, although deep down he hoped he wouldn't have to have this conversation with Mordecai ever again. "Did you mean it about the pills?"

"Yeah, I did. You're right. But also…" Mordecai squeezed Brick's hand. "If it's hard for me, it's hard for you. And if it helps keep you around for a bit longer, I'm all for it."

Brick frowned. "This isn't about me, you said that. You need to be ok because - because you need to be ok."

Mordecai laughed, a real laugh.

"I'm not just doing it for you, Brick. But yeah, you're right - as usual."

Brick snorted. "Now you're just screwing with me. You love to argue. When have you ever admitted I'm right?" he said with a smile.

"Right now."

Eventually, Brick began to squirm and got up. Mordecai curled up the empty spot he left on the bed - it was warm and it smelled like him.

"Hey, what time is it?" Brick asked from the bathroom.

Mordecai opened his eyes reluctantly and looked around for a clock.

"We have 18 hours of light left," he replied. Part of him wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew Brick would be hungry, so he got up as well.

"Gonna use your shower," Mordecai said as he entered the bathroom. "I'd invite you in, but I don't think we can both fit."

He'd grown used to showering with only cold water during the day cycle. Hot water meant, usually, a long exhausting battle against the terrible water heaters they had in New Haven.

Brick eyed the shower speculatively.

"Nah," he decided eventually. "Plus, shower sex is slippery."

Mordecai laughed. "I think that's the idea."

"Not if you wanna pull a muscle."

"I think you'd be the one pulling a muscle," Mordecai said with a leer.

Brick frowned. "Why would -" he paused. "I said wall, not shower!"

-Five months-

Brick had found that a drunk Mordecai was a handsy Mordecai - and the discovery made him more uncomfortable than anything. He'd also found that a depressed Mordecai drank more - in the weeks before they actually talked about it, Mordecai had ended up blind drunk way too often.

They had a fight over spending money on some expensive Eden-5 antidepressants, and in the end they split the cost - much to Mordecai' charging, who promised to pay him back. The medication helped, though, and so Brick considered it had been worth it.

Things were under control after that, until Roland's birthday.

Mordecai woke up on the couch, as he had at the end of most of his past benders, with a splitting headache and the glare of Pandora's sun on his face. He didn't remember how he'd gotten back to Brick's place, and could only hope Brick hadn't had to carry him.

The look on Brick's face when he came back to his apartment, though, said he had.

"I need you to quit drinking," Brick said, point blank.

Mordecai stiffened. "I'm sorry about the party," he said.

He'd tried to keep track on how much he was drinking - but that had never worked before and didn't work this time either. Before he knew it he'd been slurring, harassing some former Lance commando into having a drunk marksmanship competition and probably passed out in a corner.

"I think you heard me."

Mordecai rubbed his face. "Yeah."

"You can live here," Brick said. "You already live here. But if you start drinking again, you're out."

Mordecai frowned, but swallowed any half-assed excuses.

"Not a drop," he agreed. He knew he should have quit long before hand but…

Brick's frown finally cleared. "Ok." He let out a deep sigh. "I don't want to do this, Mordy. I don't wanna threaten you."

"Can you… can you quit drinking too?" Mordecai asked. "I think it'd be easier."

"Sure," Brick said. He spotted the look on Mordecai's face, sullen and withdrawn, and added: "I love you. You know that."

"Why?" Mordecai asked, small and miserable.

"I like being around you. I like being with you." Brick shrugged. "You get mad when I just jump into things, and when I take your things without asking. I get mad when you get drunk. I worry."

He said it as if it had always as simple as that. As if Mordecai's drinking was just another thing he did that Brick didn't like, instead of a deep character flaw. And that, more than anything, was what made Mordecai really agree to quit.

As it turned out, the shower was (barely) big enough for the two of them. It wasn't comfortable, though, and Mordecai left it after a minute to let Brick shower in peace.

He poked around Brick's bathroom and bedroom, but didn't even manage to find a box of condoms.

"Aw, Brick," Mordecai muttered to himself in disappointment. Well, he knew what his next purchase was going to be: condoms and lube. And latex gloves if he couldn't just swipe a box from Dr. Zed's clinic.

He finished drying himself off and waited for Brick to leave the shower.

"Hey," said Mordecai when Brick finally got out of the bathroom. "So, about that blowjob I owe you."

Brick stopped rubbing a towel against his head.

"Now?" he asked.

Mordecai frowned. "Why not?"

"Uh. I'm kinda hungry."

Mordecai blinked. "Brick, are you turning down a blowjob for food?"

"I ain't turning down anything," Brick replied, pulling up his jeans. "I'm saying: food first."

Mordecai rolled his eyes. "Really?"

"You," Brick said, giving a quick peck on the lips. "need to eat more."

Mordecai sighed and gave in. He looked around the floor for his pants and put them on.

"Coffee?" asked Brick as he disappeared into the kitchen. Mordecai followed, but since he was utterly useless whenever food was involved he only intended to keep Brick company.

"Yes," Mordecai said eagerly.

"Eggs?"

"Nah."

"Should be some cheese somewhere."

"Nah."

Brick glared at Mordecai who only shrugged.

"Alright, I want eggs, so you're having eggs," Brick declared.

Mordecai huffed and gave up.

-Seven months-

Unlike Mordecai, Brick rarely got sick. But when he did it was usually something serious.

Brick had caught a bad throat infection, and after spending two days bedridden, he was already going a little stir crazy - even if he was feeling like crap, could barely swallow, and had spent most of those days sleeping his fever off.

Mordecai guessed he should have known Brick would get clingy when sick. Mordecai would usually curl into a ball and try to hide from the world until the worst was over, but Brick hated to be alone on a good day, let alone when he was sick.

Whenever Mordecai was home and Brick was awake, Brick would either call for him or follow him around like a lost dog, so Mordecai didn't have much choice but to stay in bed with him - not that he minded all that much. There was a certain amount of pride in the fact that Brick wanted him around, in being able to provide comfort.

That didn't mean he didn't get bored, though.

The third time Brick woke up just as Mordecai was trying to sneak away, Brick made a grumble of protest and scooted closer.

"I'll be right back," Mordecai promised, sitting up.

Brick wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back down again.

Mordecai sighed. "Brick, two minutes."

"That's what you said last time," Brick replied. He barely had any voice left and it was almost painful to hear him speak.

He kissed Mordecai's jaw, a little forceful, and slipped a hand under his shirt.

"Nope," Mordecai said, pushing him away. "Can't bribe me with sex. You're sweaty, and not in a sexy way." Brick scowled. "Brick, you can't even stand up. Lie the fuck down and give me two minutes."

"I can," Brick croaked.

"You can't, and you can't talk either." Mordecai sat up and pressed a kiss against Brick's forehead. "And you're burning up. I'll be right back."

Brick made an annoyed sound, but gave up and turned around, pulling the covers up to his neck.

"Love you," Mordecai said with a grin.

Brick huffed.

Brick had dozed off again when Mordecai came back - hardly surprising, since that was what he'd been doing for past two days. Mordecai left the two mugs he'd brought with him on the safe that he used as night table and decided to let Brick sleep for now.

After a while, Brick rolled on his back and threw an arm over his head. He swallowed, made a pained noise, and blinked blearily at Mordecai.

"Hey," Mordecai said quietly. "Want some cold medicine?" Brick nodded. Mordecai reached for one of the mugs he'd brought. "It's warm." Brick shrugged and reached out a hand.

"Sit up," Mordecai said, keeping the mug close. "You're gonna choke."

Brick rolled his eyes a little, but did as he was told. Mordecai handed him the mug and Brick gulped down the contents with a small grimace - the medicine didn't taste great, but it was effective, and a warm drink during Pandora's long, cold night cycle was always nice.

"Thanks," Brick said.

"You're welcome," Mordecai said, a little pointedly. "That's why I was gettin' up, you ungrateful limpet."

Brick smiled and handed him the mug back. He lied down again and gave Mordecai a hesitant look.

"Was kidding about the limpet part, c'mere," Mordecai said, lifting up his arms. Brick scooted close and rested his head on Mordecai's chest.

"'M not ungrateful," Brick muttered.

"I know, I was kidding about that too." Mordecai punctuated that with a kiss to the top of Brick's head. Brick hummed noncommittally. "Brick, c'mon, you know me; I say stupid shit. I like being here to help."

"Not used to being sick," Brick said, a little annoyed.

"I figured. Never seen you get sick before."

"Whataya doing?" Brick asked.

"Reading. Got sick of looking for something on TV," Mordecai said, showing him his datapad.

"Reading what?"

"It's, uh." Mordecai hesitated. "It's a police story." Brick looked at him and made a hand gesture to tell him to go on. "Someone got killed, now they're looking for the killer."

Brick gave him an unimpressed look.

"Hey, could be another kinda crime," Mordecai argued.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know yet. That's kinda the point."

"But who do you think?"

"You don't even know - That's not how it works! If you don't know the characters, it's all the same to you," Mordecai protested.

"Tell me."

"I can just lend it to you," Mordecai said, a little embarrassed.

Brick shook his head. "Tell me," he said, poking him on the side. Mordecai squirmed because that tickled.

"Fine. It's - it's dumb, ok? There is this Colonel in a small town, and no one likes him, and he shows up dead in the church," Mordecai said in a rush. "Two people say they did it, and now they're trying to figure out who it was."

"Ok," Brick said, frowning. "Who?"

"One was the wife, one was - You sure you don't wanna read it yourself?" Mordecai asked again. One thing was to read something that he knew was stupid but still enjoyed, but it was a whole other thing to have to explain it - when he did, all the dumb parts became glaringly obvious.

"Nah, don't like reading," Brick said, nuzzling against his chest.

"Oh, ok."

"You can read it out loud," Brick added.

Mordecai blinked. "You're gonna get bored. It is kinda stupid," he admitted.

"Nah, I like stories."

"But you don't - Fine," Mordecai relented. Brick was probably going to doze off again anyway.

He backtracked to the beginning of the book and started reading out loud. Mordecai felt a little silly, but Brick didn't start squirming or interrupted him throughout the first page.

"That's kinda old English," Brick noted. "You don't wanna read it in Spanish?"

"Yeah, it's an old book, but translations are always bad." Mordecai left the datapad aside. "Wanna do something else?"

"No, keep reading. I wanna know what happens."

Mordecai shrugged and continued, honestly surprised that Brick was paying attention at all, let alone keeping track of it. He'd always preferred to read things himself rather than having them read for him, but apparently Brick didn't.

Mordecai stopped at the end of the third chapter to drink from his now cold cup of coffee.

"Why's everyone so weird and stuffy?" Brick asked.

"Old book," Mordecai said again.

"When's the murder happen?"

"Further ahead. But my throat's getting sore," Mordecai warned. Brick gave him a sardonic look. "Yeah, less than yours, but still. Don't you wanna keep reading for a while?"

Brick frowned. "Don't like to read. Words are… messy," he said reluctantly. "They get jumbled."

Oh, Mordecai thought. That explains a lot.

He picked up the datapad. "Let me look around the ECHOnet, I can find an audio version," he said, maybe too eagerly, already thinking of how to work around it.

Brick smiled, looking a little relieved. "Nah, I like your voice," he said.

Mordecai forced himself to stop. Brick hadn't asked for his help - he'd managed so far and Mordecai didn't want to make him feel like he was being coddled or pitied.

"And I like yours, but I can't read the whole thing myself in one go," Mordecai said simply.

"Let's watch something, then," Brick said with a shrug.

"Ok. If you're still interested, I can pick it up later."

Brick dozed off again within ten minutes of a rerun of Alive On Promethea. Mordecai took the chance to sneak away and go get them some food.

Mordecai had been holding one of Brick's hands, twining their fingers and running a thumb over scarred knuckles. He didn't let go of it when he stood up and nudged for Brick to move his chair back.

"What?" Brick asked, confused.

Mordecai sat on his lap and smiled smugly.

Brick smiled back and kissed him. "You like to sit there."

"Of course. Best seat in the house."

Brick laughed, heat already pooling low in his stomach. Mordecai kissed Brick's jaw, his neck, his collarbone. Brick turned Mordecai's face up and kissed him on the lips. Mordecai shifted until he was straddling his legs.

"You never told me if you had a piercing here," Mordecai said, gently tweaking at Brick's nipple.

Brick shifted a little. "I did. Bad for brawling, though."

"Must've looked nice," Mordecai said, dropping a kiss on Brick's chest.

"I'm not piercing it again," Brick warned, though the certainty in his voice wavered when Mordecai slipped a hand down his pants. He shivered.

"I pay my debts," Mordecai said with a grin.

"I thought you said blowjob," Brick replied, quirking an eyebrow.

"I can do that, or you can add it to my bill," Mordecai said with a shrug.

"Bill?" Brick snorted. "This chair ain't comfortable, though."

"Alright."

Brick stopped him from getting up. He closed his hands firmly around Mordecai's thighs - who gave him a surprised look - before standing up. Mordecai's legs wrapped around his waist.

"You like it!" Mordecai said, accusatory.

Brick shrugged. "Never said I didn't."

-Seven months, ten days -

Mordecai wished he had a rakk ale at hand for this. But he had quit, so he'd have to bite the bullet and ask the question completely sober:

"Roland, how do you know when you love someone?" Roland looked at him with the most confused expression Mordecai had ever seen on his face. "I, mean - I mean not just the 'they're hot' or the 'heart racing' kinda love. I mean… long haul?"

Roland squirmed. Talking about feelings had never been his thing. "Why are you asking me?" he wondered.

"Who else am I gonna ask, Lilith?" Mordecai snorted. "She'd laugh in my face and run to tell Brick all about it."

Roland made a face and scratched his neck.

"Maybe, but…" He took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Yeah, you're right. But I'm not exactly an expert here."

"And I am? Why do you think I'm even asking?"

Roland smiled, already more at ease, and he thought about it. That was the thing: Roland might be awkward in most emotionally charged situations, but once he understood what he needed to do, what was asked of him, he would do it to the best of his capacity. And once the nervousness passed, he had a quiet and careful way of thinking about things - as if, no matter how simple the question, it was the most important thing in the world.

"I think, for me at least, it's about where my plans are," he replied eventually. "I'm committed to New Haven, to the Raiders. The people here need me, and I do my best to protect them from Hyperion. Lilith, well… she doesn't see it the same way, but she also cares about this place. She cares about the people here, and she is also a leader to them - even if she doesn't want to be sometimes. And what we do is for the same common goal. We work together, in different things, but for the same end."

Mordecai frowned. That answer was painfully Roland, and didn't help him at all. He had always been, and would always be, aimless, wandering, changing plans and ambitions and goals constantly. He had figured that a long time ago.

"You're not me," Roland said with a laugh. "I know. But that's my take: whatever your plans are, are they on the same line with Brick's? Do you want the same things on the long term?"

Mordecai considered it. "I honestly have no idea. We - we don't make plans. Our plans always change. All the time. We just… do what we do, and go along with what happens."

Roland nodded as he mulled that over. "Well, maybe that's your thing: you don't make plans. I don't really - I like making plans. I like to know where I'm going. I couldn't make it work with someone I'm not sure I can count on."

"No, I do," Mordecai said with a small smile. "I can count on him."

"See, you say that, but the walls of New Haven tell a different story," Roland said with a wry smile. "Brick never, ever followed the schedules or the plans we made."

"Hey, the job got done! But yeah, he's not good at sticking to plans; drives me crazy sometimes," Mordecai admitted. "But neither am I, I guess. I just wing it, most of the time."

"So maybe it isn't about the future for you."

"I just…" Mordecai fidgeted a little. "I've had longer relationships, but… they were kid's stuff. We fought all the time, on-and-off. Ended up bad. That kinda thing."

"Oh. You think you should be fighting?" Roland asked, amused.

"You and Lil fight a lot," Mordecai pointed out with a teasing smirk.

"I think the term is 'bicker'. We bicker a lot," Roland said dryly. He smiled. "Yeah, we do. We also fight, really fight, sometimes. But she's my best friend; we disagree and fight and then compromise. But the main thing is, we like spending time together. The butterflies go away eventually, but she's still my best friend, and I still want to be around her all the time."

Now, that was a much more useful answer, simple as it seemed. Mordecai felt that he should have known this - he was thirty-five years old, for fuck's sake. And yet, he'd never had anyone tell him that before.

"That helped?" Roland asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, that helped. Thanks Roland," Mordecai replied patting him in the back. "I know it was a dumb question."

"Not really. I asked the same thing to a friend once," he said with an easy shrug.

"Really?" Mordecai asked skeptically.

"Really. Well, maybe not asked, but it came up. C'mon, it's hard to figure this stuff out alone."

Mordecai had to give him that. "I don't know, it's one of those things you assume everybody knows. Like, it's so obvious they never even talk about it."

"Can you, uh…" Brick hesitated. "scratch me a little? Or bite?"

Mordecai tried not to laugh; he honestly did. Brick's expression clouded over, and Mordecai immediately regretted it.

"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, between kisses to Brick's mouth. "I was surprised, I'm sorry."

Brick still looked vaguely embarrassed.

"Brick, honey, I'm sorry," Mordecai insisted. The endearment felt strange on his tongue, and he wondered if maybe Brick would take it as him being sarcastic. "Yes, I can. And hey, I did ask you to carry me here yesterday; I got no room to judge."

"'Honey'?" Brick wondered, his mouth twitching.

"I'm trying things out, see what feels right."

"And?"

Mordecai made a face. "Can't say I like that one. Too soft."

"I liked 'babe'," Brick muttered, then hissed when Mordecai's teeth sunk lightly on the spot under his jaw. Mordecai ran his tongue over the same patch of skin.

"Like that?" he asked.

Brick nodded. "Gonna look weird as hell, but I don't care," he said, sounding a little breathless.

Mordecai frowned. "Weird?"

"Yeah, red and puffy. But keep going."

"Oh, red," Mordecai said, and snorted. "I can't see it, so I can't tell how much it shows. Guess I'll keep it under the collar."

"I don't mind."

Mordecai gave him an amused look. "You want me to give you a hickey? You just wanna let everyone know you got laid, don't you?"

Brick shrugged, but couldn't hold back a smile.

Mordecai shook his head. He didn't leave a hickey on Brick's neck, but he tried his best on his chest and around his navel - he couldn't see the result without his goggles. Brick seemed to enjoy it, though, and Mordecai could work with that. He would need to get the gauge of how hard he could bite or scratch, and how often on the same spot, before it got painful - but the learning process would be fun.

"I can't believe you don't have condoms, Brick," Mordecai said as he mouthed around Brick's navel.

Brick made an obvious effort to focus enough to reply. "I wasn't expecting this."

Mordecai tutted. "Shame. Could have had my way with you."

"Stop. Talking," Brick said between clenched teeth.

"Tetchy," Mordecai said with a grin. "Try not to buck too much," he added before taking Brick in his mouth.

Mordecai raked his fingernails occasionally along the inside of Brick's thighs. Much sooner than the previous day, Brick muttered: "Close."

Mordecai replaced his mouth with a hand and bit gently on the spot where Brick's leg joined his hip. Brick came, with a long-drawn moan, over his hand.

Mordecai crawled up the bed to kiss him on the mouth. "Pretty," he said softly.

Brick laughed, breathless and relaxed.

-Eight months-

Brick wasn't in New Haven when Mordecai returned from his meeting with the smuggler; he and Lilith had already left for the raid on a Hyperion convoy.

"Where were you?" Roland asked. "I thought you wanted in on the raid."

Mordecai frowned. He did want to be there for the raid -he had been the one to find the intel on the convoy in the first place-, and he was annoyed that he was missing it. But his meeting with the smuggler had had a few hitches in the form of Gettle, a treasure hunter working for Hyperion.

Sadly, Mordecai hadn't managed to kill Gettle; but on the upside, Gettle hadn't killed him either.

"I was gettin' something."

Roland looked expectantly for him to continue. "Getting what?" His expression turned a little dubious. "Do I… Do I want to know?"

Mordecai rolled his eyes. "I can't tell if you're being too straight or too Roland right now."

Roland blinked. "Uh…"

"Never mind," Mordecai huffed. He unslung his rucksack from his back, and from inside extracted a small box made of some semi-rigid material. A soft mewling sound came out of it as he offered it to Roland. "Here."

Roland took it gingerly, as if it was gonna jump at him and go for the neck. There was a zipper over the top of the box - which was made of mesh, he noticed - and Roland opened it and peered inside.

He did a double take. Then he looked up at Mordecai. "You had it in your bag?" Roland asked, dismayed.

"Hey, I was getting shot at!" Mordecai reminded him. "Gettle is lucky I had it on me and I had to get it here safely, or he'd have a bullet between the eyes right now."

"Wait. So, you - you met someone to get a puppy? You met a puppy smuggler?" Roland asked, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

Mordecai groaned. "You're hilarious," he said dryly.

He took the carrier from Roland and looked at the puppy. It was a tiny brown thing, with a black snout. It hadn't even opened its eyes yet - it was only ten days old.

"Didn't take you for a dog person," Roland commented.

"Eh," Mordecai said with a shrug. He carefully rubbed the puppy's nose and smiled when the puppy opened its tiny mouth and tried to suck on his finger. "I'm not really. They're OK, but I like birds. Maybe cats. Brick likes dogs, though."

"So, why are you adopting a dog together?" Roland asked.

"It's his birthday soon," Mordecai replied, immediately nervous by the way Roland had phrased it. "And he always talks about the dog he had as a kid," he added, signaling to his chest.

Roland was confused for a moment, then remembered the dog's paw that was always hanging for the chain around Brick's neck.

"Oh," he said, frowning. "Was that… from his dog?"

"Yeah."

"That's - that's a bit creepy," Roland said.

"A little," Mordecai admitted resignedly. "But he did love that dog - still talks about it."

Roland pulled a face, but he knew better than to try and understand the weird things his friends did.

"I'm sure he'll love it," he said.

"You should have waited for me," Mordecai said as helped a limping Brick climb up the stairs to their apartment.

"I'm fine," Brick said for the third time. "You were still out and we had to go."

Mordecai rubbed his forehead, imploring for patience. "So now you decide to stick to the plan," he said.

"It was your plan."

"Yeah, and my plan had me sniping from the top of the cliff!" Mordecai reminded him. "Lilith and you are both shit at sniping, and I bet that's how the reinforcements got the drop on you."

"We got them back."

Mordecai dropped his head back. "I swear to God, Brick," he muttered.

"What? I said I'm fine," Brick said, annoyed. Mordecai opened his mouth to point out he was, in fact, limping, but Brick kept going: "You weren't here. Where were you?"

"I was doing something."

"Right. And you didn't almost get shot doing that something?" Mordecai didn't reply. "Ha! See? Now stop nagging."

Mordecai opened the door to the apartment and let them in. "Yeah, well, at least I didn't get exploded. I got away easily."

"You weren't raiding a Hyperion convoy." Brick said, sitting down stiffly on one of the chairs. "I assume."

"You assume right," Mordecai replied coldly. He crossed his arms and glared at Brick. "Next time wait for me."

Brick opened his hands and gave him a look that all but said "what do you want from me?". Mordecai sighed and dropped it for now.

"So, what do you need for your ankle?"

"Zed said just to let it rest for now. The swelling should go away with the thing he stabbed me with."

"He should have knocked you out if he wants you to sit still for more than five minutes," Mordecai pointed out.

"Maybe if you sit on my lap," Brick said with a toothy grin.

Mordecai rolled his eyes. "I should sit on your big fat head."

"Kinky. But could work."

Mordecai tried to keep himself from laughing and failed. "Idiot," he muttered affectionately, shaking his head. He turned and headed towards the bedroom.

"Hey, Mordy, can you get me some water? The sun was mean out there." Brick called after him.

"In a minute," came Mordecai's impatient reply.

He came back with his hands behind his back, and stood in front of him, looking like he was a bit nervous. That immediately piqued Brick curiosity and he sat up straighter.

"Whatchu got there?" he asked, trying to peek behind Mordecai's back.

"I got you something," Mordecai said, moving back a step so Brick could see what he was holding. He was fighting back a smile.

"Me? Like, just me, or both of us?" Brick asked. His eyes were bright and excited.

"Uh, mostly you. But I guess it can be for both of us."

"What is it?" Brick prodded.

Mordecai held out a bundle of cloth. Brick blinked, then tugged at it.

"Careful!" Mordecai admonished. He put the bundle in Brick's hands. It didn't seem to weight anything. Brick stared at it, then at Mordecai, then carefully squeezed the cloth to find whatever was inside - and something moved.

He frowned, but pulled the bundle close and unwrapped it, and finally found the tiniest dog he'd ever seen at the middle of it.

"It's really young," Mordecai said. "Not a lot of dogs on Pandora, but I found a guy from Hollow Point who knew where to get one."

Brick was staring, unmoving, at the squirming puppy in his lap.

"Brick?" Mordecai said, beginning to get uneasy.

"It's so tiny," Brick whispered, his voice catching.

Mordecai crouched down by him and when he looked at Brick's face he found his eyes had a suspicious shine to them.

"Brick, are you crying?" he asked in disbelief.

Brick rubbed at his eyes hurriedly. "What? No! No." He carefully picked up the puppy, cradled it, and it looked even smaller when swallowed by Brick' massive hands. "It's - it's so small."

Mordecai smiled. "Yeah. It's less than two weeks old, the guy said."

Brick nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Do we -" He cleared his throat. "do we have stuff for it? Food?"

"Yeah, I got some. We need to bottle feed it for a while."

Brick turned to look at him, his lip trembling slightly, as if Mordecai had hung the stars in the sky.

"Happy early birthday, Brick," Mordecai said, pushing down the need to laugh nervously.

Brick dragged him for a kiss with a hand on the back of the head.

"Also, I have a question," Mordecai added when Brick pulled back. "Kind of a late question."

Brick's eyebrows shot up. "Ok."

"Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" Mordecai asked with a grin.

Brick threw his head back and laughed.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"More of a 'hell, yes'," Brick corrected.

"Wow, you're one of those?" Mordecai asked.

"One of what?" Brick asked, opening one eye.

"One of those guys who goes completely useless for a half an hour after coming," Mordecai said with a smile that dared Brick to prove him wrong.

Brick grinned and stretched. "Not completely."

He deftly swung a leg over Mordecai's hips and loomed over him with a hand on each side of his head. Mordecai's look of titillation was impossible to miss.

"Ok," Mordecai said, slow and mischievous. He slid his fingers over Brick's arms, his touch featherlight, barely even there. Brick shivered. "Really? I thought you liked scratches."

"I like a lotta things."

"Good answer."

Slowly, Brick traced the line of Mordecai's jaw with his nose. Then, still painfully slow, he touched it parted lips and nipped at it.

Mordecai hummed. "What are you doing?" he wondered.

"Stalling."

Mordecai laughed. "Stalling for what?"

"Half hour," Brick replied with a grin.

Mordecai groaned, first in annoyance, then in pleasure when Brick caught his earlobe in his mouth.

-One year, two months-

Mordecai always took longer to wake up - sleep was hard for him to find, way too often. When he finally woke up, he liked to lounge around the bed for a while, meanwhile Brick would get restless before too long.

No matter how much Mordecai complained about Dusty sleeping on the bed with them - "you were the one who decided to get her" Brick would remind him -, he'd usually cuddle with the puppy and play with her for a while, until the rattle of food in her bowl would get Dusty's attention and she'd bolt, all puppy excitement and clumsiness, towards the living room.

"She eats as much as you," Mordecai said once.

"'Course. If she ate as much as you, she wouldn't eat at all," Brick countered.

Mordecai loved it when Brick and he got up around the same time, because that meant he'd find a cup of coffee for him on the table when he finally peeled himself from the sheets. It also meant he'd be presented with a lot more food he was willing to eat - but he could deal with that, so long as there was coffee.

Brick handled food. Mordecai had never had any talent for it unless you counted burning everything. Although, to be honest, Brick wasn't patient enough to make anything much more elaborate than pasta, so they mostly had take-out. Mordecai despaired over Brick's lack of concern for cleanliness. Not that he was a neat-freak, his things were always a mess, but honestly: how Brick could live with a thick layer of dust covering every single surface was beyond him.

Bloodwing was mostly found around the balcony whenever Mordecai was at home. Blood hadn't taken a liking to Dusty, but he hadn't been as jealous as Mordecai feared. His bird was something of an only child. But Blood had warmed up to Brick somewhat, eventually, so maybe he'd warm up to Dusty as well.

Dusty loved chewing Mordecai's shoes and socks, almost never Brick's.

"That's cause your feet smell," Brick said whenever Mordecai grumbled about it.

"Your feet smell. If she chewed your socks, she'd get sick," Mordecai countered, wrinkling his nose.

They never got proficient with endearments, really. They never found ones that fit well enough.

Brick was good at pretending not to notice when people flirted with him and didn't think much of it. Mordecai flirted as a challenge, or as a way to tease, but got nervous under genuine attention - much to Brick's amusement.

"Good to know it wasn't just me who got you to freak out," he commented the first time it happened.

"You were never obviously flirting with me, and that was the whole problem," Mordecai reminded him. "And I told you freaking out is what I do."

Mordecai side of the bed was the one closest to the window. Brick's was closest to the door. Mordecai had figured the best way to stop Brick from snoring was not to let him sleep on his back. Brick had figured the best way of pull Mordecai out of a bad mood was to joke mercilessly until he was relaxed enough to ramble about what was bothering him.

Brick was impulsive. He often didn't pay attention to what other people were telling him, especially perfectly reasonable warnings, and he took Mordecai's things without asking all the time. Mordecai was moody. He often sulked and didn't say what was wrong until prodded, and then he wouldn't shut up about it. It took him ages to let things go, and he could certainly hold a grudge.

Brick's anger was explosive, but brief. Mordecai's anger was cold and slow.

Brick was still figuring Mordecai's silences - the moody ones, the peaceful ones, the thoughtful ones, the dangerous ones. Mordecai was still figuring when Brick, who was usually hilariously blunt, was actually only saying what he thought others wanted him to say.

"We're gonna be late," Brick said suddenly.

Mordecai glared at him. "If you stop now, I swear I will kill you," he growled.

He had no idea how much time had passed at this point, but seemed like an eternity of being slowly driven crazy - kissed and bitten and teased - and it had left him lightheaded and painfully hard. Brick hadn't touched his dick once and hadn't let him touch himself either - at most, he'd managed to rub himself breifly against Brick's side before Brick moved away.

"Seriously, please," Mordecai tried once again.

"Please, what?" Brick asked with a wolfish grin.

"Do something," Mordecai replied, a little desperate.

"I'm not stopping you," Brick pointed out. He had pushed Mordecai's hands away a couple times, but he wasn't restraining him in any way.

"I know," Mordecai whined, but didn't move his hands from Brick's arms. He was still curious about how long they could drag this out and what exactly Brick had in mind.

Brick hummed with a smug expression and kissed him, sliding his tongue deep in Mordecai's mouth. Mordecai moaned loudly, too far gone to care anymore. He put a hand on Brick's hip and dug his nails - hard.

Brick inhaled sharply and Mordecai could feel the twitch of his dick, getting hard again.

"Finally," he grumbled.

"What, you can do better?" Brick asked.

Mordecai didn't reply. He dragged Brick down and sucked impatiently at the spot right under his ear, and used his other hand to stroke him, a little rough, until Brick was fully hard again.

Brick nudged his legs apart with a knee and rolled his hips against Mordecai's, who shuddered with relief at the contact, the much needed friction. He squirmed a little to adjust the angle, arched up against him, and kept one hand on the small of Brick's back, alternating between pulling him closer and raking his nails over it.

Mordecai panted and whimpered, turned into a quivering mess by the long buildup and now, finally, the steady, sure movement of Brick against him.

" Amor, por favor," he babbled, trying to thrust against him and pressing opened mouthed, sloppy kisses on Brick's neck.

"What?" Brick asked with a smile. Mordecai didn't have the mental capacity to wonder if Brick knew what that meant or if that was just a lucky guess.

"No pares," Mordecai said. "Nunca. Te quiero tanto, te adoro, please, don't stop" he said, trying catch Brick's ear with his mouth.

Brick laughed breathlessly at the mix of languages and he picked up the pace.

"Look at me," he begged.

Mordecai opened his eyes and did his best to maintain eye contact, even if it was scary just by the sheer intimacy of it -but he got a thrill of seeing Brick's eyes, how he focused on him right back, how his expression changed every time Mordecai panted or moaned which must have been what Brick saw on his face as well - until he could feel the unrelenting force of his orgasm threatening to singe him, to drown him, and he closed his eyes and threw his head back, and came with a shuddering moan.

Brick buried his face in his neck and rutted against him, hard enough to make the bed creak, until Mordecai gained enough control over his muscles to slip a hand between them and stroke him, off-beat with Brick's own rhythm, and Brick came, stifling a groan against Mordecai's shoulder.

Mordecai held him close with slightly trembling arms.

"Holy shit," he muttered and laughed. "That was good."

Brick laughed as well and mumbled something.

"What?" Mordecai asked.

Brick made an effort to make his mouth work properly. "Good, 'cause I can't do that again," he said, his face still pressed against Mordecai's shoulder.

Mordecai laughed again and nuzzled against the side his head.

"Was impressive," he admitted. "Te quiero," he added, closing his eyes. It felt different, it felt heavier - closer to his heart and therefore more frightening.

Brick made a questioning sound.

"Love you."

"Love you too," Brick said, smiling.

-One year, three months, two weeks-

Mordecai had come back to New Haven during the final hours of the Pandoran long night after yet another reconnaissance trip. Hyperion seemed to be increasing the pressure on the Highlands. Even Overlook was looking worse for wear, and the town had never been much to look at in the first place - even before the destruction of the arena around a year ago.

Mordecai had collapsed on the bed and fallen asleep unusually fast. With Hyperion increasing its presence on Pandora they were finding themselves more and more busy lately, and not only fighting on the offense any longer.

Brick, meanwhile, had been out on a train raid with Roland. He'd gotten back home much earlier, and he got up only a couple hours Mordecai had gotten home. Mordecai blinked blearily at him.

"Sleep," Brick whispered, trying to slip out of bed as quietly as he could.

Mordecai rolled over and buried his face on the pillow. When Brick came back from the bathroom and started getting dressed, Mordecai woke up again.

"Where are you going?" Mordecai asked, his voice grouchy and slurred.

"I'm up. I came back a while back. Just sleep, Mordy,"

"Haven't seen you in days," Mordecai complained. He splayed a hand over Brick's back. "Get back here."

Brick smiled, lied down on the bed and gathered Mordecai close. Mordecai tucked his head under Brick's chin and threw an arm over his chest.

"Everything went alright?" Brick asked.

"Yeah. Hyperion's still swarming, but I didn't get any trouble." Mordecai frowned. "They're building everywhere."

"They haven't moved east yet," Brick said. "The sands are the same."

"How was the train robbery?"

Brick grinned. "Fun. I punched a constructor to pieces."

Mordecai snorted. "Of course you did."

"We found a lotta food, though. That was good," Brick said, frowning at the ceiling. Supplies had been running low in the past few months: Hyperion kept destroying settlements, and a lot of refugees had found their way to New Haven.

Mordecai, sensing his mood, kissed his chin. "Got me anything nice?" he joked.

"Nah. Sorry, hon."

Mordecai wrinkled his nose. "'Hon'?"

Brick shrugged.

Mordecai looked at him in the eye. Brick looked back, still frowning, still worried. Mordecai wanted to tell him it'd be alright: they always won. But the platitudes were getting old and things kept looking pretty much the same.

"Wanna fool around?" he offered instead.

Brick snorted. "Romantic."

"If you want romantic, you should have brought me something," Mordecai countered.

Brick lifted his head and spotted Dusty, stretched out at the foot of the bed. He stood up and picked up the puppy in his arms. Dusty woke up when Brick touched her, wagged her tail like crazy, and licked Brick's fingers playfully. Dusty was all long awkward limbs lately, still growing to her full size - which wouldn't be all that big by the looks of it.

Brick dropped Dusty on the living room floor and closed the door to leave the puppy outside. Dusty whined and scratched at the door from her side, trying to be let back in.

Mordecai had kicked the covers away and stretched out his arms.

"C'mere," he said.

Brick pulled off his shirt and his pants. He crawled over the bed and smiled when Mordecai's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him down.

Mordecai was, as usual, sleeping in one of Brick's t-shirts. It was so big on his thinner frame that it always looked like it was about to slip off of one shoulder. Brick pressed a kiss to Mordecai's exposed clavicle while he ran a hand over Mordecai's stomach.

While they kissed, Mordecai raked fingernails over Brick's back, just hard enough to sting, to burn, and Brick hissed softly against his mouth and arched up against his hands. Mordecai dug his nails a little harder until Brick slid a leg between his own and rocked against him.

Mordecai hooked a leg over Brick's hip and ground against him, sinuous but insistent.

"Think I know what you want," Brick muttered with a smile.

"I can beg if you like," Mordecai offered, and only partly joking.

Brick hummed as he considered it. "Maybe."

Mordecai's mouth twitched. "Please," he said, biting softly along Brick's neck. "please, fuck me into the mattress?"

Brick burst out laughing. "Why you always gotta say it that way?"

Mordecai shrugged. "I like the mental image."

Brick slid away from him and opened the drawer on the night table by his side of the bed. "Why? Getting swallowed by a mattress?"

"Being fucked so hard I melt into the mattress," Mordecai corrected.

Brick chuckled. "Alright, what did you say when you were with women, then?", he asked as he crawled back, a condom and a tube of lube in hand.

They had long since breached the subject of their past flings and relationships, but Mordecai still got a twinge of anxiety when Brick asked about the ones involving women - even if there had never been any hints of discomfort from Brick.

(There had been more than hints of discomfort from other people before him, and it was a hard thing to forget.)

Brick's expression was one of curiosity and faint amusement at his hesitation.

Mordecai pushed down the nervousness as best he could. "It didn't always come up, but have you ever heard of "pegging"?" he said with a wry grin.

"Not really."

"Oh. Well, it's basically the same, but with them wearing a strap on."

Brick frowned. "A strap on… what?" he wondered, then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh."

Mordecai laughed but didn't comment. Sometimes it was really painfully obvious that Brick wasn't much into women.

"If you can shake off that mental image," he said, sitting up. "I think we were in the middle of something."

"Does that even work?" Brick asked, still kneeling on the bed, still looking perplexed.

Mordecai sighed. When Brick got curious about something there was no dodging the questions.

"Yes, it does. But I prefer the real thing." Brick gave him a look that said he thought Mordecai was full of shit. "I do! Now, can you quit stalling or do I have to beg again?"

"Wouldn't hurt your chances," Brick said.

"Hey, you asked," Mordecai reminded him, taking the condom and the lube from Brick's hand. "Don't get squeamish about the answer." He opened the condom wrapping.

"Squeamish?" Brick repeated with a laugh. "I don't get squeamish. You get all jumpy."

Mordecai didn't argue, because he knew it was true.

He kissed the skin around Brick's navel, biting into it gently, and smiled when Brick hummed in response. He rolled the condom onto Brick. Mordecai slid his arms over Brick's shoulders and kissed him while pulling him down to the bed again.

Brick helped Mordecai push down his boxers. He heard the sound of the tube of lube being uncapped and he bit and sucked Mordecai's neck while Mordecai twisted around himself awkwardly. When he was done, Mordecai smeared the rest of the lube on his fingers over Brick's dick.

Brick kneeled between his legs and dropped a kiss on Mordecai's chest. "OK?" he asked.

"Yeah," Mordecai replied with the impish smile that Brick loved.

Brick sometimes thought he'd ever stop finding him beautiful.

Mordecai dug his fingers onto Brick's arms, and Brick knew not to move until the grip relented.

"Breathe," Brick said in a low voice, kissing Mordecai's clever mouth. "I got you."

"You always do," Mordecai replied, aiming for teasing - only something much deeper, much sweeter, seeped in between the words.

The grip on Brick's arms eased off. Mordecai exhaled slowly as Brick moved, and then nodded for him to keep going.

"Faster," he said after a moment.

Mordecai's fingers dug into Brick's arms again, and Brick's immediate reflex was to stop. "No, don't stop," Mordecai said, shaking his head. "Keep going."

He clawed at Brick's arms, at his thighs, at whatever he could grasp, to get him closer somehow, even if there was no distance to be found. Brick thrusted harder, shifting the angle slightly, and Mordecai threw his head back.

"Ah! Yeah, don't stop," he panted, and raked his fingernails over Brick's chest and back.

Brick hissed again. "It's been a while."

Mordecai nodded. "Busy lately." Brick chased those words with a couple harder thrusts of his hips. A loud moan escaped Mordecai, and he jammed a fist in his mouth to smother the sound. "Please, please, don't stop."

Brick grinned at him.

Brick's thrusts were coming faster and the rhythm was getting off kilter. He searched for Mordecai's eyes, who pulled him for a kiss. Mordecai wrapped a hand around himself and stroked, hard and fast, and he came with a gasp, his mouth open under Brick's.

Brick closed his eyes and pumped a few times, desperate and urgent, before he came as well. Mordecai tittered on the edge of overstimulation, only this close of discomfort, and he shivered when Brick pulled out. Bricks head dropped on Mordecai's chest as he caught his breath back. Mordecai smoothed a hand over his head and hummed contentedly.

Brick rolled off him and collapsed on his back.

"That good, huh?" Mordecai teased. He knew Brick's afterglow period was far longer than his.

Brick mumbled something unintelligible.

Mordecai reached around for some tissues to clean himself up, and as he was doing that Brick dropped his head on Mordecai's chest and curled up by his side. Mordecai gathered him close.

"Love you," Brick mumbled against his chest.

"Love you too," Mordecai replied with a soft smile.

They dozed off like that, but Brick soon woke up again; he'd had enough rest for the day. Mordecai, though, was fast asleep. Brick slipped from under his arm, trying not to jostle him. He picked up his clothes on his way to the bathroom.

When he came out again, Mordecai had curled on one side and had pulled up the covers over himself haphazardly. Brick walked to him as quietly as he could and rearranged the blankets so they didn't leave half of Mordecai exposed to the cold night air.

Brick picked up his boots and left the room quietly. Dusty was busy chewing up a skag bone under the table, but she dropped it and ran towards Brick when she saw her owner again. Brick picked up Dusty and rubbed her belly on his way to the kitchen to get them both breakfast.

Dusty had chowed down most of her food and Brick was halfway through his cup of coffee when he heard the first explosion.

Brick froze and left the cup on a counter, listening intently. For almost a full minute there wasn't anything to be heard, but he made his way towards the balcony anyway. The second explosion hit so close he could feel the ground shaking. When he opened the door and stepped outside he heard the first screams, confused and terrified.

One of the Raiders who must have been on guard duty by the looks of it, ran down the main street, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Hyperion is here! Hyperion is here!"

.-

Notes:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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I admit, I'm a little displeased about the fact that Lilith didn't show up here at all. I love writing her.

In case anyone's wondering (though I doubt it, after that cliffhanger sorry not sorry): yes, I'm making Brick dyslexic and, yes, Mordecai read Agatha Christie's "The Murder at the Vicarage" to him, because I sort of took the fact that Mordy's favorite TV show is Downton Abbey and ran with it. He finished reading the book eventually, but Brick wasn't too crazy about the style and themes so I guess they moved on to other authors afterwards.

Spanish Translations:
Amor, por favor = Love, please
No pares = Don't stop
Nunca. Te quiero tanto, te adoro = Ever. I love you so much, I adore you

[*The difference between "te quiero" and "te amo" is a subtle one, but both mean "I love you" in English. "Te quiero" is a little more casual, usually (though not strictly) used in a platonic way, but honestly it depends on the context (and culture, in my country the verb amar is often used in a platonic way) more than anything. That being said, a romantic "te amo" is a bit of a scary declaration imho - you don't say that to just anyone. I'd equate it more to "I'm in love with you".]