(2022-03-26) Pakidges, Polearms, and Ponderings

Details

Author:	Athena
Summary:	Colson and Mordecai open PRESENTS! from the wedding, and learn a little more about each other's feelings over the past years. Cuteness ensues.
Rating:	T for Teen

Chain: Morson

+ Show additional content warnings

03/26/2022

Later the same evening that Lucy visits, at the Stormwind Townhouse.

Mordecai owns a key to this building. He lets himself into the townhouse like he lives here. Which he does. That's new.

Colson sits at the table, his legs crossed elegantly, as he looks at his notebook, clearly deep in thought, tapping his hand periodically on the table. Colson looks up at the sound, unsurprised by it, until he sees that it's Mordecai. His face lights up in a soft smile, and he stands. "Mordecai."

Mordecai fumbles with the locks for a minute, figuring out how to lock up behind himself properly. "I made it."

Colson is all smiles. "So you did," he says, reaching a hand out to brush Mordecai's hair, possibly wind tousled.

Mordecai hurries over to meet Colson halfway across the room, smiling. "You did eat dinner, right…?"

Colson leans in for a kiss, slowly though, to leave time for Mordecai to avoid it. "Hm?" Colson says it in a distracted way as he doesn't alter his intended course. He has Priorities.

Nope. No avoiding it. Colson's getting kissed hello.

It's a gentle kiss, and Colson withdraws with a soft, happy sigh. "Oh, dinner. Yes, I ate."

"Good."

"You?" Colson asks, looking over at Mordecai as though he would be able to tell. There is no way Colson would be able to tell.

Mordecai nods. "Dr. Fletcher insisted on it, before I left. I told her I didn't want to be late, but…"

"She said 'your nice young man wouldn't want you to be hungry, either,' and I figured I shouldn't argue."

Colson shakes his head. "No, that was good of her, and she is entirely correct," he says, brushing his hand along Mordecai's jaw lightly before removing it to gesture to the sitting room. "Rhinehart has assembled the, ah, collection. I have tea," he offers as though that's good fortifying liquids for all manner of activities.

Mordecai catches Colson's hand out of the air so he can hold it. He nods.

Colson inhales sharply at the contact, and his eyes go abruptly heavy lidded as he swallows hard. He curls his fingers around Mordecai's.

"The collection." Mordecai takes a step towards the sitting room and seems to realize once again just how big that collection is. They had a lot of wedding guests. "Oh."

"Yes." Colson comes with him, still holding that hand.

The table is covered in what is indeed A Collection of wrapped presents. Rhinehart seems to have left a trash can nearby, lid on, probably intended for wrapping paper. There's also a stack of envelopes that might contain cards. Mordecai pulls a chair out for Colson with a quick, shy little smile.

Colson brings their hands up to his lips and presses a not at all properly chaste society proper kiss to Mordecai's knuckles before he lets go, to sit gracefully.

Mordecai takes the seat on Colson's left, a little less gracefully just by comparison. "I don't think I've ever seen this many gifts in one place."

Colson smiles fondly at Mordecai, before he turns to the presents. "You should have seen it after Amadeus' wedding. I fear that would be…well. I wouldn't be certain what to do with it all. This is already…well." He gestures to the table.

Mordecai nods. He looks a little unsure where to start, so he begins looking at labels, trying to pick out which things are from people they actually know.

Colson does not, honestly, look particularly comfortable with the presents. He doesn't look eager to pick up any himself, and instead turns slightly in his chair, still posture perfect, to watch Mordecai. "If you can locate Lady Lucille's, I would particularly care to know what that one is. She was here earlier," he says. Mordecai likely already knows this was the plan, but Colson's saying it anyway. "We spoke, and she seemed particularly eager to know how you liked it."

"Lucy's? I'll look." He begins carefully shifting presents around the table as he sorts through them in earnest. Before he finds Lucy's, however, he finds a rather long and thin one and spends a solid thirty seconds staring at the label.

Colson takes note of the pause, and leans forward to try to read the label. "What is it?"

"What in the world does this say…?" He picks it up to show Colson. It's Draenei script.

Colson frowns and holds out a hand for it to inspect it closer.

The package itself looks like it might very well contain an entire polearm, given its size. Mordecai has to carefully extract it from the Pile to give to Colson.

Colson frowns harder, shaking his head. "I only…this says 'day' I believe, but I can't imagine why…This, however, I do know. I had to have it translated for my disclaimers. That is 'Cobalt Company.'" He points to the words.

"You did invite all of Cobalt Company… Maybe it's from Gaakhed?" Mordecai guesses. "We worked together for a little while. He might have been there. Should… I open it?"

Colson nods. "We have more than a few Draenei employed." He moves it as gracefully as he can to make it easy to open for Mordecai. "By all means."

Mordecai carefully unwraps what is, in fact, an entire polearm. It's a beautiful spear topped with a very pointy-looking purple crystal. It's difficult to tell whether it's meant to be ceremonial or whether the crystal is actually sturdy enough to be used in actual combat.

Colson takes out a very different notebook than the one he usually uses, and a pencil. He copies down the message from the label, and lists the item it was next to it in clear, non-shorthand script."Ah. Well."

"It's a spear," Mordecai says, just in case maybe it will turn out not to be a spear after all. The spear continues to be a spear.

Colson nods. He doesn't seem surprised. He smiles gently at Mordecai. "Indeed. Is it to your liking?"

"It's… certainly very pretty? I haven't a clue how to use it."

Colson chuckles, and reaches out a hand to brush gently along Mordecai's hand, as he asks in a soft voice, "Would you like to?"

"I…" Mordecai has clearly never considered the possibility. "…Maybe? I don't… know when I'd have the time for lessons."

Colson tilts his head to one side ever so slightly. "It need not be now, but I could teach you. I do know how to use one, although I will admit I encounter the same trouble I do with any weapon." He eyes the polearm thoughtfully. Colson looks back at Mordecai. "I have difficulty following through my strikes. It costs me in battle. I am best with a sword, but that is not saying much."

Mordecai smiles at Colson and gets up to put it on a different table, because it is very large and pointy. "They had me practice with maces. When I was training."

Colson watches, and if his eyes drop below the waist for a moment when Mordecai's back is turned, the Light itself couldn't blame him.

Mordecai will never know, as he's studying the pile of gifts again when he returns to the table.

"It is good to have a back up, if an enemy closes, and you cannot call the Light. I was always able to perform well outside of combat. I know all the forms. Merely…in actual practice, I was not particularly impressive." Colson says this unself-consciously, as though he's come to terms with it, and it no longer bothers him. He glances at the pile. "Do you know if the label would be under 'Lucy' or 'Harbrooke'?"

"I imagine she would have signed it 'Lucy'…" He begins to search through again.

Colson passes a glance across the table at the ones closest to him. Lucy's package is cube-shaped, about a foot on each side. There is, of course, a little bow on top. Colson's eyes catch on the right name. "Ah, here," he says, gently disentangling the package from the others. He places it within Mordecai's reach with a faint smile.

"You open it? I opened the last one."

Colson shakes his head faintly, looking at Mordecai with soft eyes. "If it would not bother you, I would prefer it if you did. I…I enjoy watching you," he admits, a flush building on his cheeks.

The package is… ticking? It's very faint.

Colson probably can't hear the ticking over the sound of his heart beating. Yet.

Mordecai blushes, because Colson just went and said that, but he takes the box and carefully undoes the ribbon.

Colson uses this moment to pour himself some tea, as elegantly as ever, and drains half the cup in a first sip, placing it back down without a sound. Thusly fortified, Colson resumes watching Mordecai.

Under the outer layer of wrapping paper is a box, and he lifts the lid off. The ticking sound is now slightly more audible. Mordecai reaches into the box and pulls out a clock.

Colson moves only slightly as the ticking becomes audible. It's subtle, but anyone who has seen him use a [Blessing of Protection] knows he's prepared to do just that.

The clock is beautifully made; there are hooks on the back to hang it on a wall, but it could also be sat on a nightstand.

Colson relaxes at the sight of the clock not doing anything besides being a lovely little clock.

"Lady Lucille said that if it begins to make any unusual noises, grinding sounds, to check for dust in the gears," Colson relates dutifully.

Mordecai smiles as he holds it up for Colson to admire. "She made us a clock…" He seems very certain that this was made and not bought.

Colson inclines his head in agreement. "It is very lovely." Colson seems to be looking much more at Mordecai's smile than the gift, but he does lower his eyes to the clock to look at it as well, after a moment.

Mordecai gets up to put it on the table with the spear. "You said you spoke earlier?"

Colson takes down the notation of gift and gift giver. "Hm? Ah, yes. I spoke to Mr. Foxglove again as well. Lady Lucille will be pursuing a divorce from your brother."

"That's good. I'm glad. Thank you. For speaking to her."

Colson looks over to Mordecai, his eyes slowly roaming over Mordecai's face. "I was happy to be of service," he says. "She seems to be a very good person. I am glad to have a reason to do something about her fate. And that she was willing to accept help," he adds, looking down at his hands. "There was a moment I feared she would not. That she would defend your brother, despite everything."

Mordecai nods a little. "They got married while I was… in Theramore. I don't know her terribly well. But she always seemed…" Mordecai trails off, looking through the gifts. "She always seemed very confident," he says eventually.

Colson nods. "Yes." He follows Mordecai's gaze, looking for any labels he might recognize, but only in an idle way. "And competent."

Mordecai definitely seems a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of gifts on the table, and he seems to be hunting for another specific one.

"Ah. Here. You ought to open this one, Colson, this is from your sister."

Colson smiles gently, in automatic reflex. "Ah, yes, thank you," he says with a slight chuckle. Colson opens the package with nimble, elegant fingers, taking out the gift with a very soft expression. It is a beautiful Netherweave Bag decorated with the plants of Draenor, from Zangarmarsh and Terokkar Forest. He runs his hand over the bag. Colson says the names of the plants to himself as he traces them. His voice is filled with a deep affection.

Mordecai glances at the bag to be polite, but he's mostly watching Colson, because Colson looks happy and that must be treasured.

Colson sets the bag aside very gently to the right of his notebook. He doesn't make a notation. It might be clear it's because he knows he'll be remembering it without help.

There is a second bag. One of them is probably for Mordecai. It's not clear which one, but the two have a very similar design.

Colson holds it out to Mordecai with a soft smile. If there's two, one is for Mordecai. "For you," he says.

Mordecai looks more surprised than he ought to be, given that these are wedding presents for both of them. He takes the bag and looks it over curiously. He opens the flap and looks inside.

"…There's so much space in there!"

"How – "

Mordecai sticks his entire arm, all the way up to the shoulder, into the bag. This seems to be his first experience with It's Bigger On The Inside.

Colson chuckles a little, then as Mordecai keeps going, breaks out into one of his full laughs, clearly of delight, throwing back his head. It doesn't last long, but it's very bright for a moment. "Remarkable, isn't it? That is how I fit the eclairs, before when we…" He trails off, looking at Mordecai with his heart in his eyes.

Mordecai grins - that is definitely a grin. He looks absolutely delighted as he takes his arm out of the bag. "Wait, can I…" He jumps out of the chair and rushes to grab the spear from before.

Colson clears his throat, and turns to his tea to sip at it. Yes, right, presents. Stop staring at your husband, Lord Colson.

Mordecai is still caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, and he drops an entire polearm into a bag that definitely does not look like it can contain an entire polearm.

Colson laughs again, his voice deep and resonant in the room.

Mordecai sets the bag on the table, the spear now inside. "Amazing."

Colson's face looks very young for a moment, as his grin fades slowly. "Yes," he says, once again staring at Mordecai. Does he mean the bag? Cressidha's skill? Mordecai's choices? Porque no los tres?

Mordecai slides back into his chair, smiling at Colson. "I love you." He says it easily this time, with no hesitation.

Colson's expression shifts, just little motions here and there, that show how deeply the simple words affect him. "And I you," he says, in a very earnest voice, reaching out a hand to touch Mordecai's own in what is clearly a reflex.

Mordecai catches Colson's hand, squeezes it gently, and looks back at the very dauntingly large stack of gifts. There are so many gifts. Just so many. Gradually, the pile on the table in front of the Aspenwoods grows smaller, and the pile of unwrapped gifts on the table to the side grows larger.

Colson looks idly across the table, and his eyes catch on a label revealed with the lessening of the Mountain. "Oh," he says.

Mordecai stretches across the table to pick up the gift in question and pass it to Colson.

Colson pulls it to him, a very faint frown on his face; it's not an unhappy frown, so much as his Thinking frown. The gift is wrapped in the most boring, prosaic brown paper in existence. He takes it and moves it in his hands. It's pretty heavy, for its size, which is about half the size of a breadbox, the standard sizing unit across worlds.

Mordecai watches Colson open this one. His chair has mysteriously migrated several inches closer to Colson's chair over time - not quite enough for their shoulders to brush, but almost.

"From my former unit," Colson says in explanation to Mordecai. He opens it. There's a box, and something in the box. As he catches sight of it, his face goes soft. "Oh. Oh, Avah."

"What is it…?"

Inside the box is a weight, like a standard very small anvil weight. The only difference is that instead of listing the lbs/kg, it has Mordecai's name in gold leaf in the center.

"It was something…" Colson clears his throat, and pulls out the weight. He lifts it effortlessly. "She…has a belief about what love does to a person. That it anchors you in the moment, a weight that keeps you tethered to what matters. ‘Because no one fights harder for a peaceful world than a person in love with someone who cannot live in war.'" Colson says it in a cadence that suggests it's a quote. Colson turns the weight so Mordecai can see that it's his name on it.

"That's…" Mordecai catches sight of his name on the weight and trails off.

"I don't…know how she would have known," Colson says softly, looking at it with a strange sort of expression.

"How… she would have known…?" Mordecai echoes after a minute. "Ah. She must have had that made… before…"

Colson sets it down. "Yes." He stares at it for a moment longer. "She would not have assumed. She knew I…expected to marry for familial benefit, not love. But…" He frowns in thought. "Hm."

"When… did you know?"

Colson looks down at his hands. "For certain? After the dance. I could feel how…Light, Mordecai." His voice is almost strangled as he soldiers on. "Once I had you in my arms I felt as though I did not ever want to let go."

"I… I know what you mean. I'm sorry I didn't… know the other dances."

"I could not have danced with you again." Colson's face is flushed, and he's addressing his tea. "I…I felt as though I'd betrayed you somehow. Tricked you. "I didn't know you…" He trails off. Mordecai knows.

Mordecai rests a hand on Colson's shoulder. "I can learn more. For the next… occasion. Whenever that is."

Colson covers Mordecai's hand with his. "As for how long I have loved you? That I…I don't know. I've tried to think back on it, find the moment." He shakes his head faintly. "I was reading my journal. The one I keep on behalf of the Company." He makes a slight huff of a laugh. "I know for certain I loved you before your letter arrived. It's as plain as anything, when I read it again."

"Oh." Mordecai leans sideways, against Colson. "I'd never really written a letter like that before."

"No matter how far back…all I know is that I was always…aware of you. Even that first time we met, when you were formally introduced to Cressidha and I. Do you know, I remember what you were wearing? I don't even recall what I was wearing." Colson leans back into it, sliding his arm around Mordecai’s back.

"The green suit," Mordecai rattles off, like this is a very normal thing to remember about someone whose biggest claim to fame at the time was standing next to Cressidha Aspenwood. "The two of you were both in green."

Colson looks over in surprise, barely breathing, until Mordecai says 'both.' He nods. "Ah, yes. Of course, we must have…well. Twins, you know. We always did look best when we coordinated," Colson says easily. “And you were there to meet your fiancee."

Mordecai mumbles, "I was too nervous to look at her so I spent most of the time staring at your shoes instead. I… didn't want it to be real. I think I… went somewhere, in my head, that whole time."

Colson makes a 'hmm' sound, and moves his hand along Mordecai's back in a simple gesture of comfort. "I see. I…I did truly always believe that you two would…see each other in a good light. I hoped, at least." He runs his hand gently along Mordecai's shoulder. "I still do, if for very different reasons."

"It helped a lot, I think, not having to marry her. I mean. I can think about her without wanting to run anymore."

"Did you ever write to her about treating me?" Colson asks, his voice more curious than anything, as he keeps up a gentle, lazy sort of stroking of his hand along Mordecai's arm and shoulder.

Mordecai shakes his head a little. He leans into Colson more. "I always… well, you were always… you know."

Colson tilts his head to be able to try to look a little more at Mordecai's face, and he seems braced for something unpleasant. "Meddling?" He asks, as though that's the word Mordecai was looking for.

Mordecai really ought to have learned by now not to let Colson fill in these blanks. He shakes his head. "An unattainable dream. Right from the start."

Colson's mouth falls open slightly, and he doesn't seem to breathe for a few seconds. "I…what?" He inhales a little, starts to speak, stops, tries again. "In Theramore?"

Mordecai shakes his head and repeats, "Always," just in case Colson might have forgotten that word.

There is a very faint, but likely due to their proximity, perceptible frisson that goes through Colson. He closes his eyes. "I kept the label," Colson confesses. "It's in m — our room. Here. Somewhere. I told myself it was so I would know what it was called if I needed more. But, that…I could have copied the words. I didn't. I kept the label with your handwriting on it."

This is definitely news to Mordecai, who turns and presses his face into Colson's shoulder. "Really?" His voice is a little muffled. "Why?"

Colson puts his hand on Mordecai's chin, to tilt his face to Colson's, so he can look into Mordecai's eyes. "You were always there to me. I don't…know how else to explain it. I remember everything about you. I…didn't think anything of it, until…" Colson's eyes drop to Mordecai's lips, and then back up again. "Until that letter."

Mordecai stares at Colson, pupils blown wide. This is new information that he is incredibly invested in hearing.

Colson breathes slowly. "I remember the way your Light felt." His voice is deeper than usual.

"When — I tried to heal you."

"The pain wouldn't go away, no matter how often I tried. And then, I felt your Light and it…it lifted away. It went deeper into my soul than I could reach, and pulled it out." Colson's eyes go a little far away in the memory. "I would recognize your touch anywhere," Colson says in a very low voice. "Even then."

"Oh." That's it, that's all Mordecai can manage to say. He reaches up and cups Colson's face in both hands.

Colson closes his eyes at the touch, his breathing speeding up.

"I had… no idea. That. Any of that."

Colson smiles faintly. "I never suspected. I…I've never been good at reading people. Usually it does not matter, for they cannot read me either. But, I never thought you…" He sighs. "I did not suspect that you noticed me at all," Colson says again, and brings his hands up to lightly grasp Mordecai's wrists, just to hold his hands on Colson's face.

"I, I have." This is the part where he's going to have to say words, so of course his throat has gone dry. He swallows and tries again. "I have always. Noticed."

Colson leans in for a kiss, pausing just before he reaches Mordecai's lips, "And now you know, so have I."