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Sometimes Mordecai just needed a quiet place to sit and contemplate. As much as he loved the adrenaline of a critical hit and the sound of a distant explosion, which was a lot, there was a time and a place for all that. Tonight, he needed time to think. He could have chosen a better spot, he was quickly realising. The top of a large slanted rock in The Dust wasn’t exactly private. He’d been sitting there all of ten minutes and had shot down three buzzards already. There was also the seemingly endless stream of bandit vehicles below, the drivers jeering loudly at him. Whatever. He’d gotten pretty used to blocking out loud noises at this point. He took off his backpack, undoing two of the buckles and unrolling a picnic blanket he’d made. Any time he got himself a new look he’d cut patches out of his old outfits to make this. He mainly used it for trips to Tundra Express, as it got exceptionally cold at night and campfires didn’t always cut it. He’d also happily loan it to Brick to lay on the ground as he did his gardening, so his knees wouldn’t get especially sore. Brick never complained about pain, but Mordecai knew him well enough to read the little signs and reduce them whenever he could.
Brick. The one loud noise he couldn’t block out, and didn’t ever want to. His best friend of so many sun cycles he could barely keep track of it. More importantly, the best boyfriend he’d ever had. The guy was sweet, kind, funny, protective, and so handsome he was a damn distraction on the battlefield. Just thinking of the big sappy force of nature had him resting his head on his hands, a dreamy expression on his face. He gazed off into the electric orange sunset and began mouthing the words he’d been rehearsing all evening. He grunted softly at a firm grip on his shoulder, his hand immediately reaching for his gun before he recognised the booming laugh coming from the man behind him. He immediately relaxed, a grin spreading across his face. Brick sat down next to him, still laughing even when Mordecai punched him in the shoulder.
“Asshole.” Mordecai spoke without a hint of anger. Brick simply grinned wider, wrapping an arm around Mordecai’s shoulders and pulling him close. “That’s what ya get for making me run all the way up here.”
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I forgot Vault Hunters are famous for sittin’ on their asses.”
“Oh yeah? What’s all this, then?” Brick gestured at their small seating area. “Doesn’t seem like you’re up here to practice.”
“And yet…” Mordecai gestured smugly at the still-flaming wreckages of the buzzards he shot down littering the sands left and right. Brick let out a small “Huh” noise. Mordecai’s smile turned all the more smug at the barely repressed pride in his boyfriend’s voice.
“If you only came here to practice, then why’d you Echo me?”
Mordecai took a deep breath.
“There’s, ah… Somethin’ I been wanting to ask you for a while now.”
“Protein powder made of Stalker claws. I crush ‘em myself.”
“What? No! Damn it, shut your mouth!”
Brick laughed and got up, stretching out his limbs. “Spit it out, Mordy. We ain’t got all day. Or night. Unless we got it wrong this whole time, and the day cycle is the one with the moon, and the night cycle is the one with the sun. Awh, man, that’d be embarrassing as hell. I gotta bring that one up to Lilith, she’d really get a kick out of-”
“Marry me.”
Brick froze. Slowly he turned back to Mordecai to see the other man kneeling on his homemade blanket, holding out a small Hyperion loot box. He was avoiding eye contact, his face bright red and his eyes teary. Slowly Mordecai opened his mouth. “You’ve been the one good thing that’s stayed in my life. The one good thing that didn’t leave me when I was fucked up over Moxxi, or Bloodwing, or Roland, or myself, I- Honest to god, man, I couldn’t fuckin’ do any of this without you. I don’t need a sun cycle anymore, ‘cus you’re the light in my life.”
“Cheesy.” Brick’s voice was strained, but he spoke nonetheless.
Mordecai laughed and wiped his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, I’ve been rehearsing this for weeks!”
“That’s gay, man. Continue.” Brick smiled as he pressed on the top of the loot chest, watching it flutter open to reveal a shiny new pair of brass knuckles. Diamonds lined the outer edge while, as he picked them up and inspected them, he noticed there was engraved writing on the inner edge.
'I love you, big guy.'
Mordecai laughed softly, a flash of pride showing on his face as he watched Brick’s eyes well up with tears the longer he looked at the brass knuckles. He continued “And I don’t need a moon cycle, ‘cus I know that even when things get dark you’ll always be there. You know I’d do the same for you. We’ve been through hell together, and it only brought us closer together. You and me, man, we’re unbreakable. You’re my best friend. You’re my best boyfriend. You’re my rock, and, if you’ll have me… I want you to be my husband.”
Brick scooped him up in a hug, the loot box clattering to the ground as Brick held him tight and spun him around. “Of course I will, Mordy! I love you! I love you so damn much!” Brick was sobbing now, Mordecai’s own eyes leaking as he hugged Brick back with all his strength. When Brick eventually pulled away even slightly, Mordecai instantly moved forward and kissed him passionately. Brick smiled against his lips and leaned down. Mordecai thought the other man was ducking him, the mushy bastard, but when he opened his eyes he saw that Brick had laid him gently down on the blanket. The man above him was looking at him with an amount of love and reverence that made him break eye contact, suddenly bashful. The brass knuckles glinted out of the corner of the sniper’s eye as Brick stroked his cheek gently then ran a hand through his hair.
“You look so damn beautiful with your hair down.” Brick muttered, almost to himself.
Mordecai laughed and rolled his eyes. “That’s what you said yesterday when I wore it up.”
“So you’re always gorgeous. Sue me.” Brick kissed him again before he could talk back. Mordecai contemplated pulling away to make a point, but it just wasn’t worth it. Brick was a good kisser, too. He did, however, lock his hands behind Brick’s back and flip them over while Brick was distracted. Brick grunted and then barked out a short laugh. “Really?”
“Really.” Mordecai stretched his arms up and yelled out into the sky, as stars slowly began to become visible over the dust clouds. “I’m king of the world!”
Brick smiled fondly up at him. “I love you, Mordy. I love you so much.”
Mordecai brought a hand down to stroke Brick’s cheek, wiping the man’s tears away with his thumb. “I love you too, Brick.”