song: Bad Company - Bad Company
I did feel a little better after taking a shower in HQ. I had left Mordecai there and had given him the booze that I had previously stolen from him, while I was gone. Roland and Lilith had decided to stay away from HQ right now, and it was probably for the best. Mordecai was in no condition to have them around. I had put on some of Lilith's clothes for now, until mine were washed.
Gaige had been keeping me updated on the situation in the Dust over her ECHO while I was in the shower. Apparently they had just spotted the trucks with the kegs and were following them for now. There hadn't been an update in ages, though, which made me kind of worried. I kept following them on the map. Mordecai was sipping on what little remained of his rakk ale.
"They're after the rakkahol! Don't let 'em shoot the booze crates!" a rough voice suddenly said over the ECHO. I sat up from the bed and looked at the ECHO. Seemed to be from the same area.
"Gaige, everything okay? I think the Hodunks spotted you." I said.
"Yeah, we're good for now. They're trying to outrun us right now, but we'll get them. I think Zero is going to shoot them down." she echoed back.
"Good, good, good. Who's collecting them?" I asked.
"Salvador, he got a light runner to get them all."
"Gaige is a good kid." Mordecai said from his spot on the couch. I nodded. I had really taken a liking to Gaige, maybe because she was the same age as my daughter would be now. If she was still alive. I hadn't been able to stop wondering what happened to little Anouk since the Vault Hunters got here and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"We got one!" Gaige shouted into the ECHO happily. There was some scratching and screeching and a different well-known voice was speaking. Mordecai's jaw dropped when he heard her.
"Mordecai plans on sucking down more rakk-ale, huh? Did the same thing after he and I split up, poor kid. Bring me the booze instead and I'll give you my prized revolver, Rubi." Moxxi's voice said.
"Puta maldita..." Mordecai muttered under his breath and made his way over to the bed I was sitting on with my brand new ECHO.
"Woah, woah, woah - Moxxi's giving YOU Rubi if you give her my booze?! The friggin' - that bimbo lost Rubi years ago and I found it! She wouldn't even have it if it weren't for me! No, no, no, bring ME the booze, and I'll give you one of my old sniper rifles." he said, an angry tone to his voice. He was starting to slur his words.
"Got another one!" Gaige commented, choosing to ignore Mordecai's rant, which was probably for the best.
"I can't believe it! You remember when you got Rubi with me, don' you? We spent ages tryin' to get it back for her! An' she jus' gives it away like that!" he started rambling. I wasn't sure what to say. I could see why Moxxi would try to keep the booze away from him, but this wasn't a great way to go about it.
"Two more!" Gaige announced.
"Good, good. Only six more, chica." Mordecai echoed her promptly.
"Aaaaand another one. Only five more to go. Why's Mordy so mad about Moxxi breaking up?" Gaige asked. I sighed, because I had no idea how he would react to that. It was a sore topic and he was getting drunk.
"Moxxi ever tell you who she dumped me for? Huh? Jack! I win the Underdome, I find Rubi, and bam - she drops me for the biggest fascist Pandora has ever seen!" Mordecai answered, shaking his head angrily.
"Oh damn. Dick move." Gaige commented.
"Hey, until he set all those people on fire, Jack seemed like a pretty nice guy! It's not my fault Mordecai was more interested in pluckin' his bird's feathers than plucking... my... dammit, I'm so angry I can't even come up with a sexy innuendo!" Moxxi protested. Oh no. She mentioned Bloodwing.
"Really, Moxxi? You're really gonna drag Blood into this?" Mordecai echoed, a hint of sadness in his voice. I heard a sigh from Moxxi.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Mordecai, I forgot. This doesn't change the fact that drinking yourself to sleep again and again is gonna make things better for anyone. You're being ridiculous and you know it." she replied. She did seem genuinely concerned and I knew that she probably at one point had cared for him in her own way.
"Oh, just... just fuck off." Mordecai replied and went back to his spot on the couch. He seemed even sadder now.
"We got three more, only two left. I sure hope y'all plan to share some of that with me, after I went through all that trouble." Gaige answered.
"Sure, Gaige. I'd say, Mordy will be happy to have some company once you get back. He won't admit it, but he likes you lot." I replied to her.
"Aww, that's really sweet. We'll have a nice evening and get smashed." she said. I smiled and looked over at Mordy, who was staring into the distance, his almost empty bottle of rakk ale in his hand. It was close to falling out of his hand and spilling onto the floor. I went over to him and took the bottle, before it was too late.
"Hey, Mordy. Are you feeling okay?" I asked. Stupid question, I know.
"No." he answered.
"Do you need anything?"
"Kinda hungry, to be honest. Can't go to Moxxi's and get pizzas, though." he replied. I gave him a smile.
"I'll go over and get some. Will you be okay on your own? You can talk to Salvador or Zero or Gaige on the ECHO while I'm gone." I said. He nodded. I felt really bad to leave him alone right now. But there was nothing I could really tell him. Moxxi was right and she meant well, but Mordecai was too stubborn to listen to reason. I just knew it would only make things worse, if they gave her the booze. Mordecai would go and do something stupid, I was sure.
"I should be fine. Don't worry. I'm starving, though." he replied and even gave me a small smile. I knew he was trying his best.
"Alright. I'll be right back. Don't do anything stupid." I told him and grabbed some cash on the way out. Please, please, please, don't do anything stupid. As soon as I walked down the stairs all kinds of horror scenarios started playing out in my head of Mordecai heading out on his own and dying a horrible death.
"We got the last two, coming back in like... ten minutes." Gaige echoed just as I left HQ.
"Well done, Gaige. Mordecai might be a little tipsy when you come back, so better don't mention Bloodwing for now. Or Moxxi. Both sore topics." I told her.
"Got it."
"You got 'em all! Now bring 'em to me, and I'll give you my rifle!" I heard Mordecai slur over the ECHOnet. Good. That meant he was still alive and probably in HQ. I was close to tears, thinking about what could go wrong if he decided to go out and do something stupid and got himself killed.
"No, no - bring the booze to ME instead of that alcoholic bird-lover, and I'll give you Rubi." Moxxi's voice came from my ECHO. I was almost at her bar and I really didn't want to go in there right now. But I had to. Mordecai was hungry, and I could eat something as well. But I knew that she knew I was with Mordy. So I could guess this wouldn't all be fun and games.
With a sigh I opened the door to the bar and walked up to the counter. Moxxi seemed very fidgety at the moment, which meant she must be very, very upset. I went up to her and she gave me an incredibly dirty look.
"What do you want?" she asked in an icy voice.
"Just need some pizzas. Can I get two Margherita and two cheesy pizzas?" I replied. She huffed and put my order on her list.
"Mordecai hungover already?" she wanted to know. Goddamn. I hated it when she got catty like that. Here goes nothing.
"Look, Moxxi, we're all just hungry. Mordecai has lost his best friend. He's had Bloodwing since his childhood. He's had a tough few days and I can't blame him for wanting to get unreasonably drunk. And I think you're giving him a really hard time about it, which isn't cool. He's just suffering a lot at the moment, and he doesn't need to be beaten down any more right now." I said. Moxxi gave me a weird look and went into the back of the bar without a comment. I sat down on a bar stool to wait for the pizzas.
I knew people at the bar were looking at me and whispering about me and honestly? It almost made me want to run out of the bar, out of Sanctuary, away from everyone and everything, and never come back. But I had to stay. For Mordecai's sake.
It didn't take long for Moxxi to come back out with my four pizzas in my hand. She had a somewhat defeated look on her face, as she put them down on the counter. I don't think I've ever seen her that upset before. Moxxi must have really cared about Mordecai and probably still did in a way. No matter how angry she seemed to be at him. It was a weird realisation for me.
"Thanks. Sorry, didn't mean to be harsh." I said, standing up from the bar stool and getting ready to leave.
"No, it's okay. It's... complicated. Tell him I'm sorry about Bloodwing, will you, sugar?" she replied. I blinked. This was a surprising change of attitude. Or maybe not. I felt like I just couldn't read Moxxi anymore, at all.
"Sure." I said.
"I'm still not going back on the booze. He shouldn't be drowning his problems in booze, and you know it as well as I do." Moxxi added. I sighed.
"I know. I know. I just don't think now is the time for an intervention. Give him some time, Moxxi."
"Maybe, yeah. You hold onto Mordecai, sugar. He's a good guy." she said. I nodded. This was a strange conversation.
"I'm trying. I don't even know what we are, but I'll make sure to lock that down... soon. When the time is right. It's just... It's complicated." I answered. Moxxi gave me a smile. Not one of her fake smiles, but an actual smile.
"I know, sugar. Don't worry. Go back and feed the poor man." she replied.
"I will. Thanks."
With that I turned around and walked back to HQ. It was weird having this sort of heart-to-heart talk with Moxxi, but it did make me feel a little better. I saw some of the Vault Hunters hanging around downstairs, so I quickly went upstairs where Mordecai was talking to Zero and Gaige, sitting on an insane amount of kegs.
"I'm a better shot when I'm drunk, anyway."
