Brick was halfway to the door when Mordecai grabbed him by the wrist.
"Wanna go again?" Mordecai asked, a smile shyly curling one corner of his lip, hands already working to unbuckle his own belt.
Brick chuckled - Yeah, he'd love to - and stripped out of his clothes twice as fast as he'd put them on. They kissed, only breaking the lock of their mouths to pull their shirts up over their heads.
They shared a hard, fast fuck on the living room floor, Mordecai bent over the seat of the couch with Brick kneeling behind him. They screwed in a perfect square of afternoon sunlight. This time, Brick laid his own claim, an unspoken chorus; mine, mine, mine, with every grunt and slap of flesh. When he pulled out to spurt across Mordecai's back, it was with a growl of territorial satisfaction.
Cleaned up and clothed again, Brick caught Mordecai's hand as it closed around the doorknob. He turned him aroung and pinned him against the door, and caught his mouth in a long, languorous kiss, until Mordecai's traitorous fingers turned the knob and the door swung outward, spilling them into the glaring sunlight.
"Jerk," Brick muttered.
"Can't spend all day rubbing our dicks together," Mordecai said as he started down the stairs.
Brick thought he could have, if Mordecai would let him. But Rocko and Tina were out there, and presumably Roland and Lilith—he hadn't asked about them—and Brick couldn't think of any believable excuse for hiding out in Mordecai's apartment all afternoon. As it was, an hour had already slipped by.
"Om nom nom nom nom!" cried a joyous, familiar voice from Moxxi's bar.
"You don't say om nom nom. It's just a sound for eating," Rocko explained.
"Yeah, I know. I'm eating."
"No, I mean, eating sounds like that already."
"What, like chewing? It don't sound like that when I chew, gurl! It sounds like...here, lemme show you."
By now, Brick and Mordecai were close enough to Moxxxi's open door to see the two figures sitting at the bar beyond, and Tina shoving a fistful of olives into her mouth. She chewed them with relish, so loudly that Brick could hear it from the doorway. It actually did sound a little like 'om nom nom'.
"That's lovely," Rocko said, hiding his face behind one palm. His other hand was being scrutinized by Moxxi. His arm was flecked with dry blood to the elbow, and Moxxi looked over a long, infected cut on his wrist that Brick hadn't noticed before.
"Poor baby," she crooned. "I should take you in back, get you cleaned up."
"I'm fine, but thank yo-"
"Hey!" Tina cried when she spotted Brick. Bits of olive spilled from her overstuffed mouth.
"Hey, kid," he said, stepping into the doorway. The inside of the bar was dark, but not peaceful like Mordecai's apartment had been. This darkness was splashed with neon, spangled by the clatter of slot machines, and the solid thunk of darts into a dartboard. He strolled over to stand between Rocko and Tina at the bar. Mordecai followed and slid into the stool beside Rocko.
"How'd this happen?" Brick asked, stealing Rocko's hand from Moxxi to inspect the wound.
"Snagged it on something when we broke out. I didn't want to worry you."
Brick frowned, thumbing the inflammation around the cut. "You gotta get this looked at. I can take you to Zed." He paused, looked up at Moxxi. "Uh, Zed made it, right? Out of New Haven?"
She was already nodding. "He's fine. I'm sure Mordecai's told you, but Lilith and Roland made it, too. The only Raiders missing after the attack were private Andy and officer Knowles. And you, of course."
"Andy's dead," Brick said flatly.
Mordecai answered before Moxxi could. "Roland told us, and we found his body. Knowles, too. We looked for you for ages, but...Hey, Mox. Why don't you get your nose out of the new guy's crotch and get me a beer, huh?"
Moxxi, who had been leaning over the counter and staring dreamily at Rocko, stood up to glare at Mordecai. "Don't be jealous, Sug. You had your chance."
Mordecai growled. "'m not jealous. Just thirsty."
Brick realized he was still fussing over Rocko's injury, and he returned his arm with an apologetic grin. "Sorry."
"It's fine. I've had worse," Rocko said, though he winced as he pulled the ragged sleeve of his jumpsuit down to hide the gash.
"My arm got sliced clean off by a constructor, once," Mordecai said, pushing up his short sleeve to reveal the ring of lighter skin around his bicep. "That baboso patched me up while the loaders were still shooting at us."
Rocko oohed over the scar, touching it with curious fingers. "Wow, that's wild. I'm glad Brick was able to put you back together. And he didn't sew it on backwards or anything!"
"Hey," Brick said.
"He did alright," Mordecai said, eyes flicking up to meet Brick's. It was the closest thing to a thank-you Brick had ever gotten for the deed.
Moxxi plunked down a bottle of beer in front Mordecai and gently set another down for Rocko. "Eleven creds," she barked at the sniper.
"What? Why do I gotta pay, when pretty boy drinks on the house?"
Moxxi flipped him the bird. "Because you're an asshole, that's why. And Rocko cant pay. He's been in prison."
"I'm sorry. I'll pay you back later, I promise," Rocko said.
"Oh, well, I can think of a few other ways you can pay your tab..." she purred.
"I...uh..." He wrapped am arm around Brick's waist, half pulling him into his lap; it was a ridiculous, possessive gesture that made Brick smile in spite of himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mordecai glance quickly away.
"Hey, now, ease off him," Brick grunted. "I ain't showed him around yet, I don't want your bite marks all over him when he meets everyone."
Moxxi winked. "I'm just teasing, sug. Tina told me."
"Told ya what?" Brick asked.
"That Queen is your boyfriend," Tina said through another mouthful of olives.
Brick turned to scold her, but was distracted by enormous jar of maraschino cherries she held in her lap. She struggled to remove the lid, her whole body twisting with the effort, her face turning pink. Brick took it from her and twisted the cap. It came loose with a breathy pop, and he handed her the open jar. When he turned back to the bar, Mordecai was gone. Brick saw his back only briefly as he slipped out the door.
"Pshhh, whatever. I loosened it," Tina said, fishing around in the liquid. "Hey, Moxxi, wanna see a trick?"
"Sure, sweetie."
Tina popped one of the cherries, stem and all, into her mouth. She held up one finger- wait- while she mulled it around for awhile. She stuck out her tongue, and on it sat the stem, knotted. "Ta-da," she slurred.
"Cute. Let me show you one." Moxxi tossed back three cherries. Brick had to look away from her mouth as she masticated them, her made-up lips working, cheeks bulging. It felt weird to watch. Rocko stared at her, transfixed, and Brick felt an absurd pang of jealousy.
After a long, uncomfortable moment, Moxxi produced the stems. She'd used her tongue to twist them into a the shape of a heart.
"WHOOOOAAAAH! Babum, babum, babum," Tina cried, hand patting her own flat chest to mime her pounding heart. "What're you doing later, gurl?"
Moxxi spit the knotted stems into her palm and handed it to Tina, who took it. "Maybe when you're older."
Tina put the twist around her finger like a ring. "Ima hold you to that. Big, Big, hey, Big? Didja hear that? I got a date with Moxxi!"
"That's great, Teeny."
"Brick! You asshole!" said a voice from the other doorway, the front entrance. Brick turned to see Lilith running toward him.
He extracted himself from Rocko's arm and rushed to meet her. She slowed just before she reached him and leaped into his arms. He swung her around in his massive, tight embrace, laughing, both of them laughing. At last he set her down on her toes, and she turned on him like a cat, striking him across the cheek with a lightning fast slap.
"Bool had to tell me you were here!"
"Oh," Brick said.
"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Lilith was crying, tears cutting glassy ribbons down her cheeks, neon pink in the light from the bar sign.
"I missed ya," he added.
"That's better," she said, snuffling.
"Hey, Soldier," Roland said. He stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the bright sunlight. He stepped forward and held out his hand to Brick. Brick took it and pulled the Raider commander into a hug, instead—a manly, back slapping bearhug—and released him with a flourish.
"Didn't mean to go AWOL. I got captured by Hyperion."
"I'll brief you about it later," Roland said. Lilith elbowed him. "Uh, when you're ready, of course."
"Sure. Hey, Rocko, get over here. I want you to meet my friends." Rocko got up and joined Brick, one arm drifting up to wrap around his waist again, making the larger man blush. "Heh...uh. Rocko, this is Lil and Roland, commanders of the Crimson Raiders. And, guys, this is Rocko. I met him in prison. He's-"
"An ex-bandit," Rocko said quickly. "Nice to meet you. If you want me to leave, I understand."
Before Roland could respond, Brick did. "That wasn't what I was gonna say. I was gonna say, my boyfriend.
"Awww. Nice to meet you too, Rocko," Lilith said, and hugged him.
Roland gawped. "Uh...me too. I mean, I'm, uh, it's good to meet you," he sputtered. He shook Rocko's hand when it was offered, but stared at Brick the whole time, looking as if he'd just found out that he was some kind of alien. If he'd had any opinion on Rocko being an ex-bandit, they were replaced by surprise over his relationship with Brick.
Lilith excused herself to greet Tina, and Roland followed, casting a last, weird look over his shoulder at Brick.
"Guess he didn't know what team you play for?" Rocko asked, pulling Brick into a booth to wait for Tina and the Raiders.
Brick snorted. "Roland's a self-absorbed asshole. He wouldn't have known if I made out with a dude right in front of his dumb face," he grunted.
"But he's your friend?"
"Yep. One of my best friends."
Rocko fell silent. He drummed his fingers on the table and said, without looking up at Brick, "You were gone for awhile."
"Yeah," Brick said.
"And that was Mordy, right?"
Brick nodded. "Mordecai."
"Ah."
Brick wanted to say something else, to tell Rocko that it wasn't like that, not anymore, but he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. It would have been a lie, and he was never much good at lying.
He didn't have to. As usual, Rocko didn't demand it, only leaned over to kiss Brick on his square, stubbly jaw. When he tried to sit back, Brick hooked a hand around the back of his neck and dragged him into a deeper kiss.
"Hey, we're- Oh! Sorry," Roland said, appearing suddenly around the back of the booth. He averted his eyes, although Brick had stopped kissing Rocko immediately. "We were gonna head back now."
"Cool. You wan' us along?
Of course. If you want, you can stay at HQ. We've got beds. Just bunks, though."
Brick shrugged. "It's what we're used to."
They meant to leave right away, but Lilith kept putting it off. She wanted to drink together, like old times (although it couldn't be, Brick thought, since Mordecai had slunk off. He wouldn't be around to follow Brick out back when he went out to piss) and there was a toast by Tina, a toast by Lilith, and even a toast by Roland after he'd had enough beers. His was a long, slurred speech about brotherhood and the Raiders, which he ended with a belch.
By the time the five of them staggered out of the bar—except for Tina, who skipped ahead of them; she wouldn't have a hangover the next morning, either, the brat—the sun was setting over the tops of the buildings, pushing long shadows across the street.