"Are you still out here brooding?" Benson's voice is loud enough to shout over the crashing waves on the rocks. Mordecai thinks that Benson has really strong diaphragm muscles. Benson swiftly hops from one rock to the other almost effortlessly as he balances a plate in his hand. He sits next to Mordecai and a scent of grilled cheese hits Mordecai's nose. "Not hungry?" Benson asks, a bit surprised. "I'm a little jealous. I wished you'd get this emotional and broody about me once in awhile," Benson laughs and he makes it obvious it's a joke.
Mordecai is quiet. He isn't sure what to say. He had gone inside once, but that was to grab his guitar from its case. He thought that if he was going to look like a cliché loner, he was going to play the part right. "I'm sorry. I promised things would go smoothly today," Mordecai mumbles shame evident in his voice.
Benson gives him a sad smile and places his hand on Mordecai's thigh, "Things are going smoothly. We're ahead of schedule. I just need my tall blue jay to paint the ceilings." He stops Mordecai from rushing up and climbs on him. "Not yet. The paint is still drying. That's why I thought I'd come out and see you now. It's better than watching paint dry," Benson says in an amused tone.
"I'm glad I'm about as boring as drying paint," Mordecai comments bitterly.
"That's not what I meant," Benson shakes his head. He kisses Mordecai and crawls off to give him space because he obviously needs it. He places the plate of grilled cheese between them and sits with his legs pressed against his chest, "You know, what you did to Rigby wasn't too unreasonable. I know you didn't actually mean to threaten to fire him, but it wasn't uncalled for. Rigby needs to learn to grow up."
Mordecai looks out at the coastline and gives it a sad look, "Growing up is terrifying. I'm already 25, but I still feel like a teenager. I'm a 25 year old boy."
"It is pretty scary," Benson admits and he sounds so small when he says it. "I'm a grown man and the idea still kind of scares me. I don't think you ever get over that feeling. You have to just keep going and try to make the best judgment calls you can."
Mordecai frowns. He didn't mean to be such a downer that he'd pull Benson down with him. He places a hand on Benson's and holds it in a firm grip. "Sorry you're stuck with an immature jerk-off like me," Mordecai says with a hallow laugh.
Benson turns to Mordecai and gives with a broad smile. He's blushing and he looks embarrassed. He squeezes Mordecai's hand before mumbling, "You actually make me feel more alive than I've ever felt. You bring out my wild side again sometimes…"
Mordecai bites his lip. He kind of wants to see younger, troubled Benson. It sounds kind of hot.
Benson looks away from Mordecai because he finds himself getting lost in his eyes. He doesn't want to become that vulnerable. He slides the sandwich over to Mordecai and clears his throat, "Uh..um…You should probably eat."
"Yeah, probably," Mordecai just chuckles and takes a bite from it.
There's a long silence before Benson says, "Rigby hasn't left his room, so I think he listened to what you had to say."
Mordecai didn't want to be reminded of that again. He already felt like the bad guy. He was just starting to climb out of that depression chasm. "I feel like I grounded him as opposed to threatened to fire him," he mumbles between bites.
Benson has to stifle a laugh, "You kind of did."
"This is so weird," Mordecai groans and buries his face in his arms.
"I think he learned his lesson, but it's up to you how long you want to confine him to that room. I'll support your decision. It's not too late to decide when you want to let him off the hook. You can let him off with good behavior," Benson tries to explain in a reasonable manner.
Mordecai just nods. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that he did it in the first place. He feels like he overstepped his boundary without realizing it and morphed into this father-figure without thinking it through. He felt too young, but he really wasn't that young when he thought about it.
Benson looks up and across from where Maellard's summer home stood and to another home across from it. It seemed like there was a party going on and he couldn't believe it. It was barely noon. Ugh, rich people. He knows that feeling though. Being handed a ton of cash and blasting through it in a night. He feels awful about it now because he could have saved and invested that money, but he had been young and stupid. When you're young and stupid you don't think about the future.
"What are you looking at?" Mordecai asks as he find the party house across the way. He can't really read Benson's expression so he doesn't really know how to feel about it. It just looked like a bunch of people having a good time to him.
It doesn't even become an afterthought until a lady walks onto the porch screaming, "I'm soooooooooooooooooo caffeinated!" Before walking into the railing and flipping over it, landing hard into the water. When she doesn't surface, Mordecai stands up.
"Oh my gosh, did you see that!?" When it doesn't look like anyone at that party noticed, Mordecai feels like he's about to witness someone's death. He gasps when he hears a loud splash and Benson is in the water, swimming hard and fast toward the fallen woman. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" He sets his guitar down and dives in after. He's not nearly as fast as Benson is though so he can't keep up. By the time he does catch up with him, Benson is already dragging the woman to shore and doing chest compressions. "Dude, is she alive?"
Benson doesn't answer him. He just looks over the woman and looks up at Mordecai, "I have to do CPR."
Mordecai nods and urges him to do it. Why was he telling him? Was he asking permission? To save someone's life? Just do it!
It doesn't take long. With a good couple blows into the woman's mouth, she's coughing up water and making choking noises. She's alive. There's a wave of relief between the two of them. When the woman brushes her long blonde hair away from her face though, Benson is wearing a look of horror.
"V…Veronica?"
She looks surprised he knows her name. Mordecai just watches the interaction between them as if he shouldn't even be there. She's a gumball machine like Benson and she's a woman. She's Benson's age. Mordecai thinks for a second that they could be related, but the way he's gaping at her he really doubts it.
She places a hand on Benson's cheeks and smiles, "Is that you, Benny? I haven't seen you in years."
"Y-yeah," Benson replies and slides away from her, "Let's um… keep it that way, okay?" He walks back toward Mordecai with a shameful look. He's relieved when Mordecai looks like he understands though.
She smiles and waves over at the two of them and calls out, "You're welcome to come over whenever you want to!" She's laying on the sand still, laughing like it's funny to be alive.
Benson grabs Mordecai by the arm and guides him back toward Maellard's summer home, "Don't go over there." His voice is stern and his face is tight.
Mordecai frowns because maybe he just saw a bit of Benson's past that Benson wanted to keep buried for a long time. "Don't worry. I won't," he says and he means it.
-
Benson is really quiet and keeps to himself the rest of the night. He does simple tasks like sweeping the floors. Mordecai is trying to paint the ceilings, but it's really hard to do when there isn't anyone holding the ladder. Mordecai wobbles a bit and feels himself about to fall when the ladder stabilizes again.
He looks down and sees Muscleman holding the ladder steady, "Looks like you were gunna have one nasty fall. You know who else has nasty falls like that?" He asks with an all knowing look in his eyes and a huge smile on his face.
Mordecai sighs. He's grateful he didn't fall, but he could have done without the impending joke. "Your mom?" Mordecai asks as he continues to paint the ceiling, rounding out the paint around the ceiling fan.
"Aw, don't take the fun out of it," Muscleman says with a mock pout. There's a moment of silence before he asks, "So, like you and Benson? Is it true?"
Mordecai cringes. It wasn't like he was keeping it a secret or anything. He hasn't been telling anyone about it either though. He figured MM already knew. When something goes down at the park Mitch is the first one to know. "Depends. Are you going to rag on me about it?"
"What do you take me for? A complete jerk? I'll have you know that I'm an Equal Rights activist," Muscleman explains much to Mordecai's surprise. "Yeah, I know a guy who was in the movement when the bill got turned down. So I get it bro. It sucks."
Mordecai can't really believe what he's hearing. He thought out of everyone, Muscleman would be the one who wouldn't let him live it down. "Thanks, dude," Mordecai says with a genuine smile, "How'd you know?"
"It's flipping obvious, man!" Muscleman throws his hands up in emphasis. When he sees the ladder sway though, he rushes to grab it again and gives the blue jay an apologetic look. "You're actually working. You're trying to impress Benson. I catch Benson alone in his office smiling, but like not just smiling. You can just tell. He's got it bad for you, dude. Don't screw this up," Muscleman says with a warning.
"What makes you think I'm going to screw this up," Mordecai looks down at him with an angry look on his face, "I want this just as badly as he does. If not more. I'm determined to make this work no matter what, dude. Benson is the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Muscleman has this look of awe on his face before it melts into a smirk, "Holy crap, dude. You're going to ask him to marry you, aren't you?"
Mordecai pales. "Wh-what? N-no!" He denies, but it's obvious and written all over his face. What he wants to ask is 'How did you know!?' Muscleman doesn't look convinced so Mordecai looks defeated. "I don't even have a ring," he sighs and dips his brush back into the paint bucket and continues the ceiling.
"I know a guy! He's a jeweler. He sells top notch stuff for really cheap," Muscleman begins to explain.
"Of course you do," Mordecai says with an exasperated sigh, "I want them to be special though, dude."
"We can make 'em special. He can even engrave your names in them and junk," Muscleman suggests.
"Really?" Mordecai asks, a bit more interested now. He climbs down from the ladder and pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles some words down. "You think he can fit this on there?"
Muscleman reads over the words and looks stunned, "Whoa, dude. That's deep."
"Into infinity; my love will never die," Mordecai repeats the words for him, "Do you think he can fit that on there?"
"He'll make it happen," Muscleman confirms and folds the paper into his back pocket.
"How much is this going to cost?" Mordecai asks, a little nervous. He can't believe he's actually going to get rings made. This was a huge step.
"We'll scrounge up a price. If it's too much, I'll make him lower it. He owes me a favor," Muscleman laughs and slaps Mordecai on the back.
"Thanks Muscleman," Mordecai says with a smile. He couldn't believe how supportive people were being about this. They must really care about him and Benson.
"Of course," Muscleman says, "Everyone at the park is close. We're like family, you know? I'd do anything I could to help out."
It was kind of true. The people at the park were a lot like family to him. It was like he lived with them. Everyone helped each other and supports one another. Could that be why Benson loves this job so much? It was more than a job. No wonder Benson would be so heartbroken if he lost his job. It would be like losing family.
"Keep me updated on those prices," Mordecai gives Muscleman a playful punch to the arm before stretching and walking toward the kitchen. He needed a break. His arms were killing him. He turns to look at the room down the hall and frowns. Rigby. He figures now is a good time to check on him. Maybe if he was good he'd let him out and pay him a full day's work. He was feeling generous.
He knocks on the door and calls out, "Rigby? Come on, Rigby. Crybaby time's over." When he opens the door though, it's empty. The room is trashed and the sheets are tied up into an escape rope out the window. A sour feeling twists in his stomach, "Oh no…" Rigby was gone!
Mordecai's first reaction is to tell Benson, but he stops himself. No, this was all Mordecai's fault. He shouldn't have lost his temper like that. He needed to find Rigby on his own and fix this. He just wishes he knew where to look first. He climbs down the sheet and lands in a pile of sand below. Rigby's small footsteps lead off into the distance. Mordecai follows after them. His face drops when he sees them lead to the summer home next to Maellard's. The one Benson told him not to go to.
Mordecai swallows. He knows Benson told him not to, but what was he supposed to do? Leave Rigby there? Heck no! He had to get his best friend! He swore he would be in and out of there. It was a simple mission. Grab Rigby and run.
The bass was so powerful it shook the front door. When he rang the doorbell, no one answered. Probably because it was so loud inside. He sighs and opens the front door, walking in. He gets pushed around by a dozen people before he finds himself in the living room.
People are dancing all around him and there's a sweet smell of candy cigarettes lingering in the air. Probably along with a few off brand things as well. He makes his way farther into the living room and tries to stop a few people to ask if they'd seen a short raccoon around, but was pushed away. He lands hard on the sofa where he makes eye contact with the gumball machine woman named Veronica. He swallows hard. He doesn't like the look she's giving him.
"So, Benny's replaced me with a little boy half his age? That's cute," she says with a smirk.
"Look lady, I'm 25. I'm legal," Mordecai says, but doesn't know why he feels the need to explain himself. "And I'm here to find my friend. He's a short raccoon named Rigby."
Veronica takes a few puffs from her candy cigarette and smirks, "Never heard of them. Then again, there's hundreds of people coming and going from my villa all the time."
Mordecai shivers. All of this was hers? What exactly was she anyway? Why was she so rich?
As if reading his mind, she leans forward lingering close to his face, "I'm a super model, honey. You're kind of cute. I see why Benny likes you."
"Get away from me," Mordecai pushes her away and stands up, "And stop calling him 'Benny.' His name is Benson."
Veronica laughs and it's louder than the deafening bass. He doesn't even know how that's possible. "I suppose you were in grade school while he was famous. Benny is his stage name. Or was his stage name before he quit the stage," she says with a pout. She giggles and gives Mordecai big, dreamy eyes, "Or should I say before I quit Benny. I guess, I'm what caused him to stop performing. I was his muse after all."
Mordecai glares at her. Was she proud of that? Was she proud she ruined his life. Mordecai wants to take her by the throat and make her wish she never met Benson, but he had other important things to do. He needed to find Rigby. "Whatever," he turns away.
"Tell me," Veronica shouts over the bass again, "Was it me who tossed poor Benny into depression and lead him to overdose on poprocks and soda?" She smirks and it's wicked and purposefully mean. She wants his attention and she knows she's got it.
Mordecai wants to hit her so bad, but knows there were bigger guys at this party that could hand his ass back to him as a bloody pulp. Mordecai doesn't want to think about a younger version of Benson living at the house at the park. He doesn't want to think about him sobbing alone on his bed, popping bag after bag of poprocks in his mouth as he downs it with soda. He doesn't want to think about how either Pops or Skips or someone else had to find him choking on his own vomit and rushing him to the hospital or something. He can't take the images in his mind.
When Rigby finally shows his face, he has a group of guys he's just met and smirking at Mordecai. When he sees Mordecai's face though, his mission to make his best friend super jealous went on a stand still. "Dude?" He rushed over to Mordecai's side and nudged his arm, "What happened?"
Tears are threatening Mordecai's eyes and he doesn't feel like crying in front of all of these random people he's never met. He holds his hand out to Rigby and Rigby takes it. He's happy because he doesn't think he has the strength to drag Rigby away from the party right now. "Come on, dude. Let's go," Mordecai mumbles and guides them out the front door. They slowly make their way back to Maellard's.
"Did something happen back there?" Rigby asked, a little scared to know himself.
"Why did you leave!?" Mordecai asked with a strained tone, "I told you not to leave your room!"
"You were being unfair!" Rigby countered.
"Unfair!?" Mordecai asks, hearing his voice crack. "How is this for unfair," Mordecai shouts, smacking Rigby so hard across the face that his own palm stings.
Rigby looks more surprised than hurt. "Mordecai…" His face softens because he realizes Mordecai has tears streaming down his face. "Dude, I'm… I'm sorry!"
"Too little, too late," Mordecai seethes through his teeth.
"What happened to you, Mordecai? You used to be my bro. Now, you're just…" Rigby motions and looks like he doesn't even know what to make of him, "different."
Mordecai wipes the tears away and shakes his head. "You know what, Rigby? Are you going to continue acting like this until your 30 or even 40? Are you going to be a little kid the rest of your life? Look at us, dude. We're adults. We're 25. Are we ever going to grow up? Are you ever going to make the effort to?"
Rigby scrunches his nose up in disgust, "Ew. You sound like my mom."
"Your mom got tired of your BS a long time ago, dude. All you got now is me and that house at the park. That's it! And you know what, I'm getting tired of your crap too. Make a decision now. Come back with me and make an attempt to be a civil being or turn around right now and go back to that party," Mordecai says, pointing at the home with the huge party going on inside.
"So, that's it? You're just going to abandon me too?" Rigby asks with a hurt look.
"I care about you, Rigby. I want what's best for you, but I can't control what you decide to do. It's your life, dude."
Rigby makes a calculating look at his feet and looks up at Mordecai with big, glossy eyes. He frowns and takes a step forward, "I just went to that party to get your attention. I didn't want to make you mad. I wanted you to stop being so angry at me all the time, but I keep screwing stuff up. I don't know if I'm ready to grow up yet, dude."
Mordecai holds out his hand for Rigby and smiles when he takes it, "You don't have to be ready yet. Just promise you'll make the effort. It'll seem like you're a screw up now, but we all make mistakes. Everyone makes mistake, but wise men learn from them." They start to walk back toward the summer home and Mordecai feels a little bit more at ease at the fact that he didn't have to drag Rigby back with him.
"I know you're mad at me, but can I still sleep with you guys tonight? This house is super creepy at night and makes a lot of noises," Rigby says with a shutter.
"As long as I don't wake up to your foot in my face," Mordecai grumbles.
"Heh. Deal," Rigby agrees. "Is it too late to hold the ladder for you today?"
"Psh. No way. You're like the best ladder holder. I could barely get any work done without you," Mordecai chuckles, pushing Rigby a bit playfully.
Rigby bursts into laughter and rushes toward the sliding door on all fours, "Last one there has to sniff Muscleman's armpit!"
"Ew! No way," Mordecai runs up the stairs and pulls Rigby back by his tail, sprinting inside the house first, "I win!"
"No fair!" Rigby screeches and tackles Mordecai to the ground. He attacks with his fingers and attempts to tickle Mordecai to death as punishment.
"Ah ha ha! Dude, stop it!" Mordecai laughs and tries to get Rigby off him.
"There you two are! I was worried sick!" Benson cried out when he saw Mordecai and Rigby burst through the door and start playing around on the ground. "I saw the sheets tied up on the window sill! What happened?"
Mordecai makes a surprised noise and gathers Rigby's flailing limbs together. He stands up with Rigby in his arms and gives Benson a sheepish look. "Oh, uh… Sorry about that. Yeah, Rigby tried to run away…"
"RIGBY!" Benson shouts and it shakes the house. His face is pure red and he looks like he's about to go Super Saiyan on Rigby's ass.
Rigby screams and buries himself into Mordecai's chest, fearful of his life.
"Everything is cool now. I talked to him and he's gunna cooperate," Mordecai tries to explain. He needed to calm Benson down before he tore Rigby in two.
Benson calmed down a little bit, but he still wanted answers. "Where did you two go? I couldn't find you anywhere. I only found your guitar by the rocks. After what happened today, I was scared that you drowned," Benson looks shaky now and Mordecai knows all that rage was just fueled by anxiety.
"Rigby," Mordecai asks, "Can you give me and Benson some space?"
Rigby uncurled on himself and hops out of Mordecai's arms. He eyes Benson wearily as he walks by him and scurries back into his room.
"Now, what—" Benson tries to start, but is cut off by Mordecai who is embracing him in a tight hug. Benson isn't opposed of it, he's just really confused by it, "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, I just…" Mordecai whispers against Benson's shoulder, feeling his warmth so grateful that this guy is well and alive in his arms. He's tearing up at the thought of possibly not getting the chance to even meet him. He breathes in the scent of bubble mint and engraves it into his memory. He just wants to stay like this forever and keep Benson safe in his arms.
"Are you crying?" Benson asks cautiously. He pulls away just enough to see the tears in Mordecai's eyes, "Holy crap! You are." He guides Mordecai's head back to his shoulder and runs his hand up and down the back of Mordecai's head in a comforting manner, "Are you okay?"
"Life's so short, dude," Mordecai says in a shaky tone, "I wanna spend the rest of mine with you."
Benson feels his eyes own eyes tearing up. What's gotten into Mordecai all of a sudden? Where was all of this coming from? "It's… It's okay, Mordecai," Benson tries to reason, but he's kind of scared himself. He isn't really even sure everything is okay right now. He isn't even sure why he even said it was. Maybe to reassure himself?
Mordecai pulls away and holds Benson's shoulders tightly. He looks deep into Benson's eyes with a determined look on his face before kneeling down on the ground, "Benson."
Benson gives Mordecai a concerned look, "Mordecai… What are you…?"
Mordecai is holding Benson's hand tightly and places a kiss on his ring finger, "I… I know I don't have much to offer, but…" Mordecai feels that crippling anxiety reach his limbs again, but he'd be damned if that stops him now. "That doesn't change how I feel about you," Mordecai tries to say.
"Get off the ground, Mordecai," Benson gives him a nervous laugh, "You look like you're about to…" Benson's face falls. Oh god…
"Will you marry me?" Mordecai asks, the words leaving his lungs like it's his last breath of air.
Benson is silent. It's like his whole body forgot how to work and function. Did Mordecai just ask him that? Large tears start flowing down his face and they're landing on Mordecai. He wipes them away due to embarrassment and he can't even get a response out because he's so overcome with emotion.
"I… I know I don't have rings yet, but… Muscleman knows a guy… a-and… um…" Mordecai stammers because Benson isn't answering him. He's so nervous and silence is deafening, "You don't have to say—"
"Yes!" Benson blurts out with a huge smile on his face. He's never been this happy in his life. He throws himself at Mordecai and wraps his arms around the blue jay's neck, "Holy crap! Yes! Yes!"
"Y-yes?" Mordecai asks and is surprised that he's suddenly holding Benson in his arms. He feels the large tear drops soaking into his neck and he just smiles. Geez, for being such a hardass Benson was such a softy. "Oh good. I didn't think you'd say yeah because it's so soon and I don't have rings and… God, I'm such a slacker," Mordecai sighs and feels really ashamed all of a sudden.
"I can't believe you asked me," Benson whispers in his own awe. "I don't care about rings," Benson pulls away and wipes his eyes free of his tears, "I care about you."
This warms Mordecai's chest and he leans in to capture Benson's lips with his own. He's figure out all the nitty-gritty details later. For right now, Benson is happy and that makes him happy.