Mordecai feels like he's falling. When he opens his eyes, he realize that he is.
There's mirrors and grandfather clocks and tables and chairs all around him falling at different speeds. Colors feel distorted and everything seems so surreal. He can't really move his body either. He's just falling and looking around at everything passing him by.
Mordecai looks down and sees a wardrobe coming up under him. Falling at a steady pace with him. He looks at it for a long while until it opens and sucks him in.
Clothes and fabric flutter around him. He almost feels like he's in an undertone of clothing. His body sinks through and he finally lands on solid ground. Except when he does, he's wearing a blue and white pinafore dress with white tights, black dress shoes, and a black ribbon.
Mordecai looks down at himself and then around him. It looks like a bizarre, old-fashioned house with knickknacks you'd find at a thrift store, except it all looked like a Picasso painting.
"This is weird," Mordecai comments and follows the white and black tiles down a long hallway, "How did I get here?"
"Mordecai!"
Mordecai stops when he hears his name and looks in the directions its coming from. "Hello? Is someone there?" Mordecai calls out.
"Mordecai? Mordecai!"
Mordecai can't make out the voice, but he starts to run toward it. His feet feel heavy like he's running through tar and the walls feel like they're moving in on him. He can't get out in time and the walls crash around him. His body slips downward and he's falling again, except this time the dress he's wearing is causing him to float down carefully.
There's total blackness under him for awhile, until he hears the sounds of crashing waves. He soon notices that he's floating down into raging water and he flails his arms wanting to go back up. The decent is inevitable and he glides down, down, down…
He sees something sparkle in the water and notices that it's a little bottle. As he gets closer, the bottle gets bigger and bigger and bigger. His body slips into the bottle and he's floating in it on the rough currents.
He hears his name again. This time, much louder. "Mordecai! Mordecai!" The voice sounds much more distressed this time.
"Yes? Hello!" He calls out and his voice echoes around him. There's no response. He frowns and looks around him as he's rocking back and forth by unforgiving waves, "What's going on here?"
A bright light appears over the water and Mordecai notices a lighthouse in the distance. Shore isn't too far away. He might be able to swim if he can knock the bottle over. He pushes and pushes with all of his might, but to no avail.
"Please! Stop, I need to get to land!" Mordecai shouts up at the sky.
"What you need!? What about what I need!" The sky shouts back.
Mordecai hears his name again in the distance, "Mordecai!"
"Please, I think someone's looking for me!" Mordecai shouts again.
"What else is new? Someone is always looking for you! No one is ever looking for me!" The sky bellows back and the waves grow rougher.
"That's not true! I'm sure someone's looking for you," Mordecai replies, "You can't possibly be alone!"
"Wanna bet!?" It screams as lighting fills the sky.
"Mordecai!" The shouts get louder.
Mordecai doesn't know what to do. He tries to stay steady now. If he tries to swim to shore now, he'll be sucked under the water and drown. He needs to calm this person down or he won't know what to do.
Another voice is heard from the shore this time. Mordecai is sure he hears it, but he isn't sure what they're saying. He looks back up at the sky and says, "Please, stop! I can hear someone calling for you! You just need to stop and listen!"
"I'm not falling for that!" The sky rumbles.
"You've got to believe me!" Mordecai pleads.
"Never!" The sky twists and turns and the waves rise.
A huge wave comes and knocks the bottle over. Water begins to fill the bottle and after another hit, Mordecai is under. He can see his body slowly floating away from the bottle and he's not sure if he's floating up and sinking down. All he knows is that he can't breathe. He closes his eyes and accepts his fate.
It's cold and dark. He can't see anything. For a moment, it doesn't even feel like he's in water at all. He swears he's flying.
Then, he feels two arms grab him and pull him down. Down further and further until air hits his lungs. No, he wasn't being pulled down, he was being pulled up out of the water. Just long enough to get a lung full of air and he's under again. He feels the arms continuing the pull him until land hits his back.
He groans and can feel sand under his cheek. "Ugh… What happened?" Mordecai asks in a groggy voice.
"You almost drowned."
Mordecai looks up and sees Margaret looking down at him. He bolts up and backs away. "Margaret!? What are you doing here!?"
"What are any of us doing here?" She asks in a joking tone. She looks back at the sea, solemnly. "I was trying to calm the waves, but not matter how hard I tried…"
Mordecai frowns and understands, "Me too… I caused this mess."
"It doesn't matter who caused it, it's her choice. It's her choice not to let go of her anger. It's her choice to not be at peace," Margaret says with regret in her voice.
Mordecai sighs and stands up. He offers Margaret and a hand to help her up. "Let's try together," Mordecai suggests.
Margaret nods.
They start calling her name together. Louder and louder. Trying to overpower the crashing waves and the rumbling thunder. They call out together in unison.
"…What?" The sky hears their cries and the water settles a little and the lightning stops. She listens and hears them. Both of them. The storm settles. The clouds part and the sky is blue. It's as if there was never a storm at all.
"Did it work?" Mordecai asks.
The air picks up a little and a cloud starts to form in front of them. It morphs into a figure and slowly opens her eyes.
"CJ," Margaret says with a smile.
"Thank you…" CJ says quietly.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry what I did to both of you. You didn't deserve that," Mordecai explains.
"No," CJ shakes her head, "I chose to hold onto that anger and let it affect my life. I'm not mad at either of you anymore."
"Are you okay?" Mordecai asks.
"Mordecai!" That voice again. It was still in the distance. Calling him.
"You better go," CJ tells him and points out to the horizon.
"Are you sure?" Mordecai asks.
CJ nods with a laugh, "Yeah, I have company now."
Margaret smiles and takes her hand.
Mordecai nods in understands and heads out again. Just beyond the beach, there's a forest with a path.
Mordecai isn't sure if he should walk down it, but then he hears the voice again louder this time. "Mordecai!" He can make it out now. It definitely sounds like Benson's voice.
Mordecai feels like he has no choice. Something feels ominous about it, but he ignores it because this whole damn place gives him the creeps. If Benson is somewhere and he's in trouble, he needs to find him.
Mordecai is stopped when he feels tugging on his dress. He looks down and is in shock when he sees a child version of Benson.
"Can you help me? I'm lost," the child asks.
"Benson? Are you okay?" Mordecai asks a bit hesitantly.
"The flowers. I need to find them. I lost my way," he says in a scared tone.
"I um… okay," Mordecai agrees and looks around. There's a small patch of flowers down the way. He takes the kid by the hand and they walk down the path.
When they get to the patch of flowers, the child is ecstatic. He throws his hands up in the air and runs into the field. He picks up the singular pink rose and smiles, "The pink ones are my favorite!"
Mordecai is about to ask if he needs anything else, but the field disappears into darkness. Mordecai takes a step back before he continues down the path. It seems like the forest never ends and Mordecai is about to turn back when he hears sobbing. He follows it to a tree and an older kid version of Benson is sitting with the rose in his hand, crying.
"Hey, are you okay?!" Mordecai asks as he rushes over.
"No," Benson says with a hiccup, "I asked her out and she rejected me! She didn't even give me a chance."
Mordecai feels bad. "It's okay. It'll be okay," Mordecai tries to sooth him.
Benson's lip quivers and he hands Mordecai the rose, "Just take it. I don't have any use for it anymore anyway."
"Uh… okay," Mordecai whispers and reaches for the flower. When Mordecai has it in his hand and Benson let's go, the kid disappears like the last time along with the tree. Mordecai steps back again and looks at the dark nothingness in front of him. His stomach twitches when he realizes that he's seeing snippets of Benson's past. He holds the rose tightly and cautiously continues down the path.
Again, he doesn't see anything for awhile; but he eventually runs into another version of Benson. This time, a teenager. He's standing there as if waiting for him to show up.
"Benson?" Mordecai asks.
"That's me," Benson confirms. He has a candy cigarette in his mouth, his hands in his pockets, and long brown hair down his back. Mordecai isn't sure he recognizes the band name on his shirt. Benson looks Mordecai over and smirks as if seeing him for the first time, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were a fan."
"Uh…" Mordecai says dumbly, "You mean a fan of Hair to the Throne. Yeah, you could say that."
"Cool," Benson responds and drops the candy on the ground before stepping on it on his way over to Mordecai. He's eyeing Mordecai up and down when he says, "You're kind of cute. I like your dress. I'd hang out with you, but I have to get to work after the gig."
"Um…" Mordecai doesn't know what to say. He isn't even sure any of this is real. "Oh, uh… that's cool. I just…" He looks down at the rose in his hand and gives it to Benson, "I heard somewhere they were your favorite."
Benson looks down at it a little shocked before taking it, "Thank you. No one's ever been this nice to me." He rubs the back of his neck and nervously says, "Tell you what. You can walk with me to work and we'll talk later."
Mordecai smiles, "Sounds good."
As they walk, Benson complains about his band members and how they're having 'creative differences.' He says that he loves the crowds, but he hates the posers. He goes on until the park comes into view. "And yeah, the guys say I need to be 100% focused on the music, but I don't see them giving me a roof over my head. The gigs don't pay enough to make a living yet. I just need the extra cash until then. Besides I don't see them complaining about it when I'm the one chipping in to buy broken equipment. It's temporary until we make it big," Benson continues to talk even though they're standing in front of the house.
"We're here," Mordecai informs as he points to the house.
"Oh, so we are. Sorry, you're so easy to talk to," Benson says as he blushes, "You can uh… come in for awhile."
"No, it's cool. I don't want you to get in trouble," Mordecai shrugs.
Benson waves his hand, "Pfft. Whatever. They can go ahead and fire me. I'll find another minimum wage slave labor job anywhere."
"You're needed here," Mordecai says with a nod.
Benson goes silent after that. He looks back at the house and then to Mordecai, "Um… If you say so. I'll see you around."
"Yeah, you too."
Mordecai watches as Benson walks into the house and it fades away from existence. He's kind of scared that he's getting used to this. He continues down the path again until he sees a crowd of people blocking it. Mordecai has to push his way through until he gets to a stage. Benson is performing with his band and everyone around him is screaming and cheering. Benson has long, wild hair and he looks to be in his twenties now. He's beating away at an expensive looking drum set as pyro goes off almost everywhere on stage.
Mordecai has no option, but to stand and watch. There's no way around it. He doesn't mind too much, but he could do without the pushing and shoving. He wasn't really into it because all of this felt like a lucid dream.
Between songs, Benson keeps cracking open new soda cans a drinking them. Mordecai is a little worried about that. Benson is acting too wild and kind of going overboard…even for his band members. The crowd is eating it alive though.
When the set is over, the crowd is screaming Benson's name as his other band members leave the stage. Benson kicks his drum set over and jumps over the mess. He runs to the edge of the stage and throws himself into the crowd. They carrying him around and Benson's body surfs toward him. Mordecai does his best to shove Benson back on the stage, but Benson turns around and takes Mordecai's hand pulling him up on stage with him.
"Hey, babe. I missed you," Benson murmurs out of breath and flushed in the face. He bends Mordecai over backwards and kisses him in front of everyone.
The crowd goes nuts.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," Benson says as he takes Mordecai's hand and guides him back stage.
"What the bloody hell was that!? We can't afford you destroying your kit after every show!" Oggy scolds the moment Benson gets back there.
Benson shrugs like it's no big deal, "The crowd loves it, man. They came to see a show and who am I to deny them of that?"
"Yeah, well, you're costing the band money," Oggy starts to say.
"Yeah, I get to do what I want with my money! And I say I want to give back to my fans! I'm not in this for the fame or money! So shove it, Oggy!" Benson says, getting in his face. He pushes his band member back and wraps an arm around Mordecai's waist as he herds him out.
The stage ironically leads back down the forest path and the stage behind them vanishes.
Mordecai looks over Benson and frowns. The guy doesn't really look too good on second glance. He's woozy and tired looking.
"Are you okay, Benson?" Mordecai asks with concern.
"Never better," Benson says with a smirk, "I just need a pick-me-up." Benson pulls out a bag of poprocks out of his pants pocket and tears the seal with his teeth.
"Dude, you really shouldn't mix that with soda," Mordecai warns.
"Pfft. What do you know? That's just an urban legend. Besides, it's just a little bit. You want me ready for tonight, right?" Benson says a bit suggestively as Benson's hand slips under Mordecai's skirt.
"No! Why are you acting like such a sleaz!?" Mordecai pushes Benson back and he watches him trip and fall. "Oh man! I'm sorry are you okay?" Mordecai immediately regrets it and rushes over to help him up.
Benson doesn't accept Mordecai's help. He turns away from him and helps himself up. "Is that what you think of me? A sleaz?" Benson asks bitterly. "My band hates me. My fans love me, but would rather tear me apart. And you? Alright, I get it. I know when I'm not wanted."
"That's not what I meant!" Mordecai cries out to him.
Mordecai doesn't have a chance to stop him. He watches the house appear and Benson goes inside, slamming the door shut. Mordecai runs up the porch and opens the door. He doesn't see Benson inside, just younger versions of everyone: Pops, Muscle Man, Fives, Skips. Mordecai doesn't think they can see or hear him though, so he doesn't bother trying to speak to them.
"Did they say if he was going to be alright?" Pops asks with a worried tone.
"I don't know? He didn't look good. He might not be able to come back to work," Skips informs with the shake of his head.
Muscle Man stands up abruptly, "We don't care if he's able to work again! We just want to know if he's doing alright!" He lets out an angry howl and flips the table in the living room and storms out of the room.
"I uh… better go get him," Fives states as he leaves the room behind him.
Skips pinches the bridge of his nose and groans in frustration, "I knew he was reckless, but I didn't think he was stupid."
"Can't you talk to him?" Pops asks with big, watery eyes.
Skips frowns and looks away. He doesn't really do well when it comes to talking and reassuring people. He doesn't like when Pops is sad though either. "I'll see what I can do," Skips grumbles out. He turns to exit the front door, completely phasing through Mordecai's body.
The room fades to black and the only thing Mordecai can see is a door illuminated by light. He walks toward it and through. When he does, it's blindingly bright and the door shuts behind him. Mordecai's eyes widen when he sees Benson laying in a hospital bed
Benson looks still. Almost like he's sleeping. Mordecai is slowly drawn to him until he sees Benson move. Mordecai gasps and takes a step back.
"Why are you here?" Benson asks in a raspy voice.
Mordecai is about to open his mouth when he sees Skips appear next to him. Skips' eyes gaze down at Mordecai as if he can see him. Skips continues over to Benson's bedside and shakes his head.
"As your friend…" Skips starts to say.
"Don't!" Benson shouts, shocking both of them. Benson looks down at his hands, fisting into the white sheets, "We aren't friends."
"If you say so," Skips says in defeat as his eyes grow concerned, "but there's a lotta friends back at the park for you."
"The park? You really think I want to go there right now?" Benson scoffs and rolls to the opposite side of the bed so his back is facing Skips.
"Where else are you gunna go?" Skips asks.
Benson is searching the ground for an answer. He comes up short and just pulls the sheets closer to him, "I'll find a way. I'll go back to the guys."
"The band that kicked you out?"
"Then, my parents!"
"Did they even come see you today?"
It's quiet for a long time.
Benson pulls himself up quickly and glares up at Skips, "Why do you care!? Are you here to rub it in!? I'm done! My music career is ruined! My life is ruined! Does it make you happy to see how much of a failure I've become too!" Benson's words fall flat and his angry tone turns shaky. He buries his face into his hands and cries.
Skips looks broken when he sees Benson crying. He doesn't really know what to do other than sit down and pull Benson into a hug. He can feel Benson sobbing against his shoulder and he tries to ease him by rubbing his back. "You haven't lost everything," Skips starts to say, "Everyone at the park really does care about you. We're here to support you and get you through this, but you gotta start trying from now on. There's an empty room you can stay in until you get back on your feet."
"Why are you doing this for me?" Benson asks in confusion, "I've done nothing, but cause a mess."
"Actually Benson," Skips says with a smile, "You've brought us all closer."
Mordecai feels really unstable and he notices it's because the tiles under his feet are falling away. He falls through the floor and the tiles flash around him like tv monitors. Blinks into Benson's memory. Benson trying and failing at tasks. Getting angry and throwing rakes and other various equipment. There's some where Skips is with him and helping him, showing him what to do. The tiles flash by quickly until Benson is sitting proudly at his desk for the first time with his clipboard.
Mordecai smiles at it, but isn't able to linger on it too long before his back collides with something hard.
"Mordecai?" Rigby asks as he looking down at Mordecai. His face twists into laughter as he points at him, "Dude, what are you wearing? Come on. We'll be late for our interview."
Mordecai can feel the grass under his fingers. Things actually feel real and solid for a moment, but he's still wearing the dress. He looks around before slipping out of it and tossing it into the nearest bush. He rushes into the house and follows Rigby up the stairs.
Benson is waiting for them in the doorframe of his office, "I hope you're not going to make this a habit."
It clicks in Mordecai's head. This is their interview. This is the first time he's actually met Benson. So, all of this was him going through Benson's memories.
"No way! There was this thing and it made us late and we tried to get here as fast as we could and… Well, tell him, Mordecai," Rigby says frantically, giving him center stage.
Benson is tapping his pen against his clipboard, rather irritated. He's looking up at Mordecai expectantly.
"Benson…" Mordecai whispers as he takes a step forward. He takes Benson's hand into his own looks down into his eyes, "I forgive you… For everything you've done in the past. That stuff doesn't matter to me. I love you for who you are now."
Rigby just looks at his friend with his mouth practically hitting the ground. Rigby throws his hands up in the air and walks out of the room, "That's it! We screwed up the interview."
Benson doesn't move. He's searching Mordecai's eyes for a long moment and then watches Rigby leave. When they're alone, he takes Mordecai into the room with him and shuts the door.
"Mordecai?" Benson questions a little carefully, "Is it actually you this time?"
"What?" Mordecai asks.
"This is going to sound crazy, but… I've been on this weird journey," Benson says as he leans against his desk, "I was dressed in this ridiculous rabbit outfit and I was walking through this forest. And… it was like I was going through all of your memories. I kept calling out to you, but it was like I was invisible… or another person." Benson laughs and places his clipboard down, "What am I saying? It sounds crazy when I say it out loud."
"No!" Mordecai shouts suddenly, "No, I've been through something similar! I've gone through all your memories too!"
Benson looks scared and swallows, "A-all of them?"
"Everything," Mordecai nods.
"No… No, you weren't supposed to see everything!" Benson shouts, panicked.
The house starts to shake violently. Mordecai reaches out for Benson and pulls him close to his chest. "This doesn't change anything," Mordecai states, "It doesn't change how I see you!"
A large hand crashes through the window and grabs the two of them. They struggle and scream until they see the beast that has them. It's Veronica clad in a queen outfit. The world shifts around them into a purple haze. A courtroom appears under them and she tosses them on the stand.
Mordecai is determined to not let go, but thorny brambles twist around Benson's limbs. Mordecai holds on with desperation as the thorns cut into his arms.
Benson locks eyes onto Mordecai and whispers, "Just let go."
"No! No, I'll never let go of you, dude!" Mordecai shouts and tries to pull Benson back in. Mordecai watches as their hands slowly slide apart until their fingers are grasping for dear life.
"I'm not worth it," Benson whimpers as tears prick at his eyes.
"Yes, you are," Mordecai nods and feels his insides twist when their fingers finally slide apart. "Benson!" Mordecai cries out as he watches the thorns completely overpower Benson.
They twist and turn line vines, covering him in a deadly cocoon. White flowers bloom from it, but slowly seep red and drip with color with what Mordecai can only assume is Benson's blood.
"Such a shame," Veronica says with a coo, "and he was so cute."
"Why are you doing this!?" Mordecai asks desperately.
"Why do you want to be with him anyway? Look at all the terrible things he's done. What he's done is unforgivable!" Veronica shouts angrily. She slams her fist down like a gavel. "And you! You took him away from me! He left me for you," she continues with a roar.
"He's done bad things in the past. I'm not going to defend him on that, but…" Mordecai explains, but pauses to look over at the thorn bush with the dripping roses, "He doesn't deserve this."
"Silence!" She screams and suddenly an army of card soldiers form around them. They're all holding weapons and aiming them at Mordecai. Veronica holds her hand up to stop them, "This one deserves a special sentence." She flicks her wrist and a guillotine appears in front of Mordecai. "Destroy the sympathizer of my enemy," she says, "Off with his head!"
"No! Just… give me a second to explain! Please!" Mordecai begs as the soldiers are already grabbing him off the stand.
Veronica looks bored for a moment before stopping them, "Fine… amuse me."
The soldiers look at one another before dropping Mordecai on the ground.
Mordecai breathes and gives the ground a determined look before standing back up. He looks up at the woman and continues, "but I've done bad things too!"
Veronica laughs and places her fist to her cheek, "You're not helping your case."
"That's the thing though. We're human. We do bad things sometimes. We have flaws and we make mistakes and we learn from them. Sometimes we even hurt people we don't mean to. We change and we grow. We aren't the same person we once were," Mordecai tells her, "That's what I learned about that forest of memories. Yeah, all of those people were Benson, but they aren't at the same time. They're different people we used to be. We branch off from those people and become someone better and stronger and wiser. And… I think that's why we grow apart from some people. Sometimes we branch off into different directions. People we were once compatible with… we just aren't anymore because we've become someone else. At the same time though, if you can't and aren't willing to grow with them and change too… Well, you're just hurting yourself. Sometimes… sometimes you need to let go of your anger and your hate because it turns you into someone you aren't. Sometimes you just need to let go of the people who hurt you and forgive them. Forgive them because you've made mistakes too."
"I've heard enough," Veronica says with a bored tone.
"Wait."
Everyone looks back as two doors open and reveal Margaret and CJ. They walk down the aisle hand-in-hand. They smile up at the woman above and outstretch their hands.
"What is this?" Veronica asks as if it's some kind of joke.
"These are the two girls I've hurt," Mordecai confesses as he gestures to them in shame.
"Sh. You've said enough," Margaret says in a calm voice. She turns back to Veronica. "We choose the roles we play in our own life. That's all we can control. We can't control other people. Getting hurt is the worst feeling in the world, but we can't dwell on it for too long otherwise it'll consume us. If we don't allow others to make mistakes, we don't allow ourselves to make mistakes either. Then, we end up not choosing. We choose not to fix it. We choose not to be happy. We choose to stay in a pit of despair," Margaret explains.
"Yeah," CJ pipes up, "and then no one is hurting you except for yourself at that point. You can blame it on others all you want, but you're the one not allowing yourself to move on. You decided to play the evil queen and you don't have to."
Veronica looks offended as she stares down at the two women, "But he was the one that hurt you!"
"Yeah," Margaret says as she looks over at CJ, "and sometimes bad situations lead you to good ones."
"And other bad situations," CJ adds as she motions over to Mordecai, "allow you to relate and empathize with others who have been in the same boat."
"Like Benson and I," Mordecai whispers to himself.
Veronica sits back with an empty gaze. She looks conflicted, but mostly defeated. She flicks her wrist and the soldiers disappear and the thorns twist away from Benson. She takes the crown off her head and sighs. She drops it to the ground and turns away.
Mordecai immediately rushes to Benson's side. He pulls him up to his chest and cradles him there, "Benson? Are you okay?"
Benson looks tired, but he has a smile on his face. He holds onto Mordecai's arm and rests against his chest.
Mordecai sighs in relief. Then, looks up at Veronica. He wonders if she'll be okay. He wonders if her heart has been broken too much that it could never be mended again.
These things fall away from him as the room grows dark. He feels like he's floating in a different way.
When he opens his eyes, he's in the bedroom. He isn't in bed anymore, but in Benson's arms. Benson is carrying him bridal style. "Benson!?" Mordecai exclaims.
"Relax," Benson huffs as he lays Mordecai vertical in bed, "I'm just repositioning you. You passed out on the bed horizontally again."
"I had a crazy dream…" Mordecai starts to say as he stares up at the ceiling, "It was like… Alice in Wonderland, but us… and…"
"Can this wait until morning," Benson says with a yawn. He stretches and walks over to the other end of the bed. He crawls under the covers and snuggles close to Mordecai's side, "I spent most of the night cleaning. The sun will be up in an hour."
"Oh, okay…" Mordecai nods and lays there. He listens to Benson's steady breathing and smiles down at him. He places a small kiss on his forehead and settles back down. Before he closes his eyes, he stares up at the ceiling for a long minute. Mordecai carefully reaches for his phone and scrolls through his contacts. His cursor lands on CJ's number and he just watches it for a long moment.
He wonders if he should. He hasn't talked to her since they broke up.
Mordecai stops and thinks. The worst that could happen is she yells at him, right? Worst case scenario? He sighs and clicks it, opens a new text and types.
"I know I don't deserve it, but could you do me a solid? Could you talk to Margaret? I think she could really use it right now?"
Mordecai hits the send button and lays his phone up-side down on the nightstand. He sighs and goes to close his eyes when his phone lights up immediately. He wasn't expecting a response to suddenly.
He grabs it and looks at the words.
"No problem, Mordo."
Mordecai smiles down at the words and types back.
"Thank you."
He leaves it at that and turns back to Benson, settling in closer. He tries not to laugh when Benson cuddles into his chest and Mordecai happily rests his chin to the top of Benson's head.
Things will work out. He knows they will.