When the sun rose on the floating city of Sanctuary, it let the city glow in a new light. The light of a brighter future. The planet below was still shrouded in darkness, its ravaged deserts and mountains for now hidden under a waving ocean of pristine, white clouds. The sky above was gleaming in cerulean blues and bright streaks of gold and orange. Even the Helios moonbase looked beautiful.
The labyrinth of streets and alleys was silent, no living soul made a sound. The last of the singing and echoes of debauchery had gradually faded away with the darkness of night. Only the gigantic engines which kept the city aloft were emitting a gentle hum. The golden light flowed through the narrow alleys and caressed the motionless bodies of sleeping lovers and passed-out drunkards who hadn't quite made it home for one reason or the other.
A gentle breeze of fresh morning air swirled through the open window above Moxxi's bar. It cooled the heated bodies of the dame and her Vault Hunter and dried the sweat on their glistening skin. Moxxi lay with one leg pulled up half on his belly and listened to his slow, even breaths with her head on his chest. Mordecai had his eyes closed and tenderly ran his fingers through her mane of lustrous chestnut curls. She never wanted this moment to end, this small bubble of serenity.
"You know, I think I'll keep you for a while longer," she giggled softly. Playfully, she ran a slender finger across his chest and circled his dark nipple. Her ruby red nail skimmed around the sensitive nub like a hungry shark.
He chuckled, and she purred while watching his nipple stiffen.
After a long moment of sweet calm, she broke the silence. "Mordecai…" It was the first time in years that she had called him by his name. "Have you ever thought about settling down?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, still lying motionless.
"You know, settling down. Staying in Sanctuary for good," Moxxi replied. After a short, pensive pause she continued. "Or maybe getting a little house out in the Highlands. Having Kids. Living happily ever after."
Now, he raised his head and eyed her sceptically. "Happily ever after? You know that's never going to happen, right? Hyperion may be gone, but soon enough some other big corporate Loco will hop in to pick up the pieces and fill the hole." He let his head fall back into his heap of pillows. "'Sides, life sounds awful boring without bad guys to shoot at."
Moxxi couldn't help but agree. "Alright, good point. Scrap the happily ever after. But what about the rest? You don't have to be the big damn hero any more.
"I got no problem not being a hero. The bad guys keep running in front of my gun. Or making it personal by going after-" He stopped.
Moxxi could feel him tense up. She soothingly stroked his head and gave him a tender kiss to calm his dark memories. "I'm so sorry for what they did to Bloodwing. Nobody should ever go through this kind of horror." She hugged him tight and felt his breath steady again. "For what it's worth, whenever I saw you play with Bloodwing, I wished more fathers were like you," she whispered into his ear.
Mordecai let out a skeptical grunt.
"You are such a sweet guy and you always took such great care of her."
"Yea and look how much good it did her. Listen, do we really have to talk about this now?" He nudged her arm aside and attempted to get up. But Moxxi held him back.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I know how much she meant to you. And that nothing can replace her. I just-," she halted and looked at him sincerely, "I just want to see you smile again. And I know we could be happy, together. With a child."
Silence. He propped himself up in his elbow and eyed her.
"And a bird?" He finally with a lopsided smirk on his lips.
She couldn't help but shake her head and laugh. "Okay, and a bird."
Mordecai grinned and suddenly narrowed his eyes mischievously. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a deep and earnest kiss. When he finally let her go, he whispered: "Well, let's get to it then."
And there we are. Thanks for sticking around, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it.