Work Text:
Free, on my own is the way I used to be
Ah, but since I met you baby, love's got a hold on me
It's got a hold on me now
I can't let go of you baby
Mako took a heavy seat on the man-made bed that he'd staked a claim of, the 2x4's creaking under his weight as he shifted a bit and hunched forward, elbows on his knees, hands sliding to his mask.
Couldn't keep it up.
Just wasn't worth it anymore. --
He recalled as the explosives expert, who had always been a little too jittery, too antsy had hesitated for only a moment before nodding with the acquiescence of the (custom-- hell everything in here was custom!) bed now being commandeered by his new bodyguard.
Pretty good deal this, a job and a place to park his bike, a place to rest his head. Not bad.
Hell, anything the big guy wanted or needed could be sussed and fabricated, long as he kept up his end of the bargain with the whole 'protection' thing.
Besides--- Junk had instantly rationalized, there was a couch near the workspace that he'd found himself staggering to on more than one occasion; wouldn't be much of a problem to make that his permanent home base...
But Mako had noticed the hesitation that night and the next few nights until Jamison had fallen out of that routine and started up a new one.
Several new ones.
The brute had watched his boss, ever crafting for how much he was destroying, create them chairs out of tires-- now where they sat to break fast or share supper together. Observed Jamie put down beer after beer, then belch almost comically before staggering off to his workspace.
Sometimes Hog would follow after him, taking a seat on whatever would support his weight and listened to the blonde prattle on as he tinkered. There had even been times where Jamie, tinkered out had followed after the big'un to watch the massive man reduce his medicine into canned vapor. Who knew that one of Junkertown's finest enforcers had a pretty extensive history in chemistry...? Though it hadn't yet come up as to what was wrong with Roadhog that he needed to be hooked up to this vapor infusion all night (pre-existing condition compounding with intense poisoning) watching, just watching was enough to make Junkrat feel continuously pleased with his choice in hired help.
Whatever Roadhog needed, he'd be sure to oblige. Anything. And so far, the behemoth hadn't wanted for much. Just the bed, a regular supply of food and drink, a place to concoct his Hogdrogen... and perhaps a Pachimari machine that the arsonist had 'acquired' after a few favors. Maybe Hogeth didn't NEED that one, but the way he tensed up for a moment then walked to it with reverence was worth the utter shite nightmare of getting it into their place while he slept.
For Mako, that and being presented with a modified version of a Man Catcher-- chain and spindle and all, as well as a sawed-off shot gun that actually fit his oversized hands had been a little more shock than he'd expected, a sudden 'Thank you' bursting from his hidden lips as he turned the gun over in his hands.
"You made this?"
"Naw, Ah found it! Of course Ah made it!! Been messin' with 'er all week, yeah? Just ehhh, try'er out an' lemme know if'n Ah need to shift the weight at all--" Junkrat had been too bold at the beginning, getting into Roadhog's personal space and getting growled at for it. At the moment, he was standing against the behemoth, cradling the bigger man's hands and the gun itself, going over specifications that Mako couldn't focus on because his heart was beating too hard.
That had been over a year ago now, several more custom guns and hooks had found their way into his hands-- Junkrat's hands had found his way onto his and each time it had gotten that much easier to accept it. Welcome it.
They ate nearly all meals together, sometimes breakfast by the hair of the dog, sometimes the bodyguard would have the energy or the urge to make a feast that would send them both into a short but welcome food coma. They would sit together outside, sometimes smoke, sometimes not-- usually it was Junkrat who rolled a spliff to unwind, the two of them windmilling a few more cold ones before Mako would yawn and Jamison would shoot that look at him.
"Awright! Off t'me mad scientist's lab! Muwahahaha!!"
"..." And a nod from the big man. He couldn't pinpoint when this part of the evening had begun to fill him with a little discomfort, a little dread. A little distress... Maybe more than a fraction of discomfort. Mako didn't know exactly when it was that he felt the urge to stall the younger junker, to keep him around for just a few moments longer... but like every night, he said nothing, just nodded once and held up his nearly empty can of beer, swishing it audibly to show the other how much he had left.
"Y'know where y'foind me!" Jamie chirped, accidentally stumbling (and recovering) over their now empty beer cooler, jostling a few crushed cans with a giggled 'whoops'. He was too buzzed to notice Mako sit up straighter and reach for him, stopping himself as he saw the younger Junker right himself on his own.
"Night."
--But sleep wasn't coming that easy either.
The couch just COULDN'T be comfortable, he knew this. He'd sat on the thing. Every goddamn time too, he'd find a new item that didn't belong there, a cricket bat, empty boba cups, a few bricks of GOLD from Dorado wedged under the cushions.
Roadhog found himself unhooking from the bedside tank and wandering to the other side of the hideout, mask perched atop his loose hair, nostrils flared as he endeavored to suck in as much oxygen as possible. He'd find Jamie sprawled across the couch, limbs discarded on the floor, left hand palming his stump and the sight made Mako ache.
He didn't need to do this...
The bed was big enough. Hell, there was enough space in this place that if he wanted... he could make another bed--- in a whole other part of their home and yet... He hadn't and that was when Mako decided that maybe... Jamie didn't need to know that they were sharing. Maybe he'd just wake up in the bed and somehow figure he accidentally wandered there and be done with it.
Hog went for the discarded limbs first, pushing his mask over his face and letting out a low breath as he lifted the sturdy metal parts. The arm was light-- disorienting to hold both of Junkrat's limbs without the man attached to them and trudged back to the bedroom, setting them down on their very obvious little shelves.
It didn't feel wrong to do this.
What felt wrong was letting Jamie walk away each night, knowing that the arsonist valued the attention, vied for it and yet... knew that it was probably safer this way. It was wrong to keep letting the blonde make gross assumptions, especially for how well Junkrat was able to read him.
Mako stood over the sleeping form of his partner-- no longer his boss. No, they were partners in crime. Partners in this home. Partners out there, in the wasteland and beyond. A two man army. The brute knew better than to squander this for a moment longer and leaned down, flicking the borderline useless blanket off of his nearly nude friend; zero hesitation as he slid an arm beneath the younger man's thighs, his other hand sliding under his shoulders and scooping him up too easily.
He'd held Junkrat before. Not quite like THIS, but he'd felt the body against his, he knew the weight. The smell. The heat. Jamie had sought his bodyguard to hide behind, to perch on, to look out from, to fire deadly weapons from, but never had he been cradled to a Mako Rutledge,
Junkrat did however stir and the bigger man held his breath for a moment and waited for the blonde to still before trudging back to the corner of the hide out with the big bed.
"Nnh...We okay?" The blonde croaked, not opening his eyes for peripheral fear that he was waking up from an injury-- but he felt no pain aside from the usual.
"Mmh." A low rumble accompanied with a nod, the brute's gait steady.
"Wot are y'.." Came the sleepy murmur against his shoulder.
"Takin' ya t'bed."
Mako was answered with a noise that he would never be able to replicate-- something of relief mixed with exhaustion, with lament, with just that tiny bit of breathlessness at the end that made one dark eyebrow arch under his mask.
"...Foinally." Jamison wheezed out, letting out a soft sigh as he curled closer, tucking the side of his face against the dark crevice of Roadhog's neck.
"Mmmh..."
The amputee must have drifted back to sleep in the protective embrace of his bodyguard because he'd found himself stretched out on his beloved bed, head resting on a muscled shoulder, the arm connected to that joint wound around his body, curled around his back. Mako's left hand was on his hip!
Raising his head, Jamison noted that his partner was still snoring, right arm curled beneath his head as a steady trickle of Hogdrogen fed into his mask. Not sure if this was whim or part of a new routine he'd happily find himself a part of, Junkrat lay his head back down, his left hand draped across Roadhog's belly, barely grazing the curve of his right man titty.
When they both woke again, it was to Mako murmuring a little 'Hi' to the man curled against him and Jamie turning pink as he opened his left hand and waved back-- and then they fell into their normal routine. Have some brekkie, maybe a few beers, have a plot session, do some tinkering in the garage or workshop, supper and then back to the front porch for several more beers before Roadhog yawned and Junkrat shot him that look.
"Well-- guess it's--"
"Toime fer bed." The bigger man interrupted, meeting the younger man's eye through the round window of his mask.
"Er... roit... roit.. Toime fer bed, mate! So, y'gotta tell me how yer tank works, ey? Maybe Ah can mess with it a lil, make it so y' got a lil more movement."
"...Why?" Mako asked, brows lifting with his question. Automatically, his brain went to a dark place and his nostrils flared. Hell-- he hadn't thought of that too much but it certainly was inevitable, wasn't it. He was a prime specimin, after all.
"Err... well, Ah loike that side'ah th'bed... but eh, we can work on it, yeah?" Junkrat chirped, grinning a little too widely as he hovered near his counterpart, then offered his hand to help the older man up. "Wot if we can loike, concoct some koinda filter fer yer mask that purifies normal air, eh? An' then..."
The feeling of dread was gone, the anxiety of feeling like he had unfinished business was dwindling and Mako zoned out as he watched Jamie talk, animated and smiling, gesturing too much, hopping around. They moved to the bedroom area together, slowly discarding layers until both were in boxers. Jamie took a seat with a soft grunt as he pried off his prosthetics and had them gingerly taken by his partner-- and set back on their shelf.
Junk's eyes flicked up the enforcer's body with a lip-bite and he let out a low giggle, his face going pink as he scooted to press his back against the wall. Mako was sitting down, rolling to lie on his back just moments later. His movements to attach his mask to the tank of Hogdrogen were practiced--- he didn't need to look, but pulled the device from his head along with his hairtie, letting the silver fall as his mask hung, blowing the golden vapor down at the bed then held out his left arm, curling his ringed fingers at his partner.
"C'mere."
"Nmmhh..." A pleased noise left the amputee and shifted forward, going nearly liquid as he lay against the length of Roadhog's big, warm body. "Oh man, y'feel good somethin' serious..."
"So do you." Was Mako's low reply and he wiggled back into the bed, pulling Jamie closer.