Chapter 13
Mordecai slowly opened his eyes to bright sunlight and he blinked twice to re-focus his vision. Groaning, he pushed himself up and clicked his tounge, letting out a loud yawn and stretching. He felt well rested, despite Rigby disturbing his sleep last night and he smiled to himself but it faltered when he caught sight of the raccoon still in his deep slumber underneath his pile of clothes.
"Dude, get up." Rigby stirred but didn't move otherwise. "Come on man."
When Rigby still remained semi-concious, Mordecai swung his legs over the bed, stood, and went to the bathroom to freshen himself up for the day, choosing to leave Rigby to wake himself up.
The blue jay caught sight of himself in the mirror and grabbing a comb, he ran it through his crown before setting it back down on the counter. He went downstairs and after fixing himself some cereal, he began to re-think of what Rigby'd told him in his half-asleep state.
Sure, being a girl did have its perks and honestly, he wasn't willing to admit that if Benson wasn't-or hadn't-been "hounding" (as Rigby'd said) after him then he probably wouldn't mind all too much about staying a girl. Though he wouldn't tell this to Rigby, the raccoon most likely knew this anyway.
He finished off his breakfast, just as Rigby traipsed downstairs and rounded to the kitchen in an almost-concious state to which Mordecai couldn't help but roll his eyes at.
"So, you had a think about what I said last night?" Rigby asked, grabbing the cereal box from the bench and a bowl from the cupboard.
Mordecai scoffed as he dumped his bowl in the bench. "Yeah, and the answer is still no. I'm pretty sure that I explained this to you anyway." He said, sitting back down in the seat.
"Aw come on, man. What's stopping you from staying a girl?"
Mordecai, knowing Benson didn't get to work for another 10 minutes and knowing Pops was in the shower, answered the raccoon with this hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that Benson's still in love with me that's making me consider staying like this? I mean, I don't know where you've been but..."
"Alright, I get it. Geez." Rigby scooped up a spoonful of cereal and swallowed it down before speaking. "Seriously dude, I told you about Morgan-"
"Yeah, but I don't wanna risk it. What if, like, after so long avoiding him, she just comes out like that and that's it?"
"Maybe you could talk to Skips to see if you'll be okay? I mean, I know you're gonna avoid Benson but just incase he doesn't avoid you..."
"Well, I talked to Benson last night and-"
"And how'd that go?"
"I just felt the same emotions the first day that he met "me". I mean, I could go ask Skips but I don't really know for sure if I'll be alright with Benson."
"I'd go see him, just to be on the safe side."
Mordecai smiled slightly. "Okay. Thanks Rigby."
Rigby shrugged and lifted his bowl to his lips, drinking the milk down while Mordecai just rolled his eyes at him and walked past to the door.
"Come on dude. Benson's gonna be here soon."
After going through with it with Skips, the yeti confirmed that Mordecai would be okay but he'd still stay back from it all if he was him. Skips also told him about the antidote and that it'd be done late afternoon, just needing a couple more touch-ups. That was all the information Mordecai needed to settle his nerves and after re-telling it to Rigby, the rest of the day breezed by for both.
After what felt like an eternity, the duo got their jobs done mid-afternoon and rewarded themselves with two hours worth of video games and junk food, but not till Benson came in halfway through.
"You two better clean this up when you're done." He remarked, frowning at them both, before exiting the room.
Rigby scoffed. "Sure, Benson."
Mordecai, meanwhile, was staring at Benson as he walked away, out of it. Rigby went to go pick up his controller again but when he saw Mordecai's face, he waved a hand in front of it. "Dude, you alright?"
"Huh?" Mordecais head jerked to Rigbys eyes and he blinked in confusion.
"You looked a bit spaced out there, Mordecai."
"I did?"
"Yeah...you just stared at Benson."
Mordecai raised an eyebrow, feeling this sense of dread inside him. Benson'd come in the room. And Morgan'd shown through a bit. "Do you think he noticed?"
"I don't think so. It was when he was walking away from us that you zoned out."
Still, Mordecai pushed himself from the couch and stood. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."
"Alright man."
Upstairs, Mordecai splashed cold water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror, silently reminding himself of his feelings towards Benson and trying to find the familiar features of his own face instead of Morgans to get that ressurance. But no luck.
He turned off the tap and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He exited the bathroom and was just about to go downstairs till he bumped into Benson. The gumball machine almost fell back from the imapct but from a quick reflex, Mordecai grabbed his wrist and pulled him close in an automatic movement.
Mordecai felt his breath hitch when Bensons eyes met his and he pushed him away, feeling that dread seep in again.
"Crap, s-sorry Benson, I..." Mordecai stuttered out.
Benson swallowed. "It's uh it's alright Morgan. Just...t-thanks for that."
Mordecai offered another strained smile and he let out a long breath. With his mind running, he moved past Benson and placed his foot on the first step when-
"Wait."
Bensons hand went on Mordecais shoulder and Mordecai turned to look at him but his foot slipped and both of them (with Mordecais arms around him) went tumbling downstairs.
Rigby, hearing the commotion, threw his control down and raced to the stairs and he froze up when he saw the end result from the fall.
Mordecai was holding Benson tight in his arms, both their eyes closed. As soon as Mordecai opened his eyes and his brain'd registered what'd happened, his eyes went wide, his grip went limp and he moved to push Benson off of him but when Benson lifted his head up, their gazes locked and the dread just ripped through Mordecai. But he couldn't look away.
The longer they stared, both their chests rising and falling in the same movement, their hearts pounding from what'd happened, the more blushes found their way on their cheeks. Mordecai swallowed and he felt his eyes slowly close and his grip tighten around Benson and he knew the gumball machine was going with it.
In the split second before their lips touched, Rigby re-gained his understanding of it all and his eyes widened.
"Mordecai, no!"
The blue jay stopped dead and his eyes shot open to meet Bensons narrowed ones, his face paling slightly.
"Wh-What..." Benson whispered.
At that moment, the front door was thrown open and Skips stood there in the doorway with the finished antidote, smiling. "Mordecai, I've got the antidote..." His face fell when he saw Mordecai with Benson in front of him and he just managed to hold onto test tube before it smashed on the ground.
"Oh no..."
