Chapter Text
Mordecai was acting weird.
That much was what Rigby was able to conclude that over the various days since their encounter with Margaret at the coffee shop. The same encounter where he managed to get his best friend to admit his jealousy over something so minor as being able to make his crush laugh, while Mordecai had clearly failed at doing so.
But everything was fine after that, or so it seemed until a few days later.
Benson, Skips, Mordecai, and Rigby were all seated around the wooden table in the kitchen, while Pops prepared his famously generic combination of eggs and bacon; all of them had plates ready except for Rigby, however. Mordecai was the first to notice this and lightly bumped his shoulder into the raccoons’.
“You planning to eat your breakfast off the table?” The bird teased.
“Nah, I have leftovers from when I went with Muscle Man to Wing Kingdom last night.” Rigby suddenly hopped off his seat, opening the fridge seconds later and taking out a white styrofoam box. “I was gonna wait until everyone else’s food was ready, but, man, I'm starving.”
Pops turned his head to Rigby while simultaneously cooking the food in front of him. “Would you like me to save your portion for later, Rigby? I’m sure it'll come in handy when your appetite yearns for nourishment once again.“
The shorter male nodded his head, slightly confused by Pops’ fancy wording, though he knew he would probably never understand him. “Yeah, sure, Pops.”
“Where is Muscle Man anyway?” Skips cut in, his voice with a hint of curiously underneath his monotone voice that everyone was accustomed to.
“He and High Five Ghost volunteered to do some early errands for the park. They said they'll get their own breakfast.” Benson spoke up and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
Meanwhile, Rigby had already opened his container on the counter across from the table. The scent of buffalo sauce hit his nose, but even that wasn't enough to prevent his disgust at the image of the water droplets combined with his refrigerated wings. “Aw sick! I'm gonna microwave these bad boys.”
Mordecai’s head whipped around to face his best friend at the mere mention of the machine.
“What?! No, wait! Just eat ‘em like they are.”
Rigby stared at his blue-haired friend in disbelief. “No way, that's gross! Besides, it'll only take a second.“
His attempt to open the microwave door was halted as Mordecai stood to instantly shut it. His face was slightly paler, and his whole demeanor had changed.
“Dude, let go! What's wrong with you?”
“No! Just don't use it, it's not safe!”
“Safe? It's a microwave, Mordecai! It's not gonna kill me!”
Rigby’s last words were enough to stun his friend in that moment, his stare going blank and his mind seemingly drifting off. In reality, his mind was anything but drifting away, as it was fixated on one moment in time.
The time that Mordecai had killed his best friend.
His desperate cry for help as his bones were crunched and disintegrated into ashes that blew away into the invisible air, almost as if his entire being meant nothing to the universe. The person he spent most of his life with, all of him just vanishing abruptly.
Before Mordecai could stop himself, he was unplugging the microwave and smashing it on the ground with a speed and force he never knew he possessed.
Skips’ eyes widened and Pops stopped putting the finished products on the laid-out plates, a shocked look on his face. Benson had shot out of his chair and was in Mordecai’s vicinity before the taller man had even knew what had just happened. His boss’s face was a deep scarlet, his fists clenched and shaking. “MORDECAI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
The blue bird couldn’t quite get his bearings as he tried to stammer his way to an explanation. “I…uh…B-Benson, I’m so—“
”I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT! WE’RE ALREADY ON A TIGHT BUDGET AND YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? THAT COST TWO-HUNDRED DOLLARS!”
“Look, I can explain! That wasn’t...it was evil!” Mordecai weakly argued against his volatile boss.
“EXCUSES, EXCUSES! THERE BETTER BE A NEW MICROWAVE IN THIS EXACT SPOT BY TOMORROW MORNING, OR YOU’RE FIRED!” Benson stormed off to the back door, slamming it behind him.
Pops had a deep frown etched into his face, lip quivering from the outburst. “I guess I’ll reserve Benson’s food for later too.” The older man spoke quietly, barely audible.
Skips simply shook his head in obvious disappointment, which was probably the biggest blow of all to Mordecai. The most understanding and intelligent man of the park, the guy that knew everything, didn’t even understand what he was going through. “I’ve lost my appetite, but thanks, Pops.” Without another word, the white-haired man turned and left through the same exit.
Without looking, Mordecai could feel Rigby’s eyes burning into the side of his head. The shorter of the two had every right to be upset, confused, and surprised, and yet, the taller male couldn’t bring himself to hold in his own frustration any longer.
”If you wanna say something, just say it.” Mordecai spoke sharply, eventually looking down to meet the raccoon’s gaze.
Rigby rolled his eyes at his overreactive friend, his annoyance coming out in full force. “Pffft. Whatever, man. I’m not the one that destroyed the damn microwave for no reason.”
Mordecai’s sight drew mental daggers at Rigby, his irritation rapidly increasing. He should’ve known better than to snap at Rigby for something like this that was so clearly his own fault, but if he didn’t leave now, he would’ve let out every single emotion that he’d held down deep inside the pit of his stomach since that moment.
“Screw this, I’m leaving.” Before Rigby could protest, Mordecai walked out of the kitchen and exited through the front door, leaving Rigby alone with his destruction.