Parachute

This is dedicated to YoloSwagDerp (who's request I STILL need to finish *oops*) and whos favorite pairing is MordecaixBenson. So to thank her so much for the kind words she's said to me, here's a story as a massive thank you!

It was just a usual day at the park and as predicted, our two slackers were sitting on the couch, playing video games, with pizza boxes, empty chip packets and soda bottles drunken hours ago littered on the floor. And just to add to their laziness, they hadn't done any work at all in the past few days.

Benson had gotten sick and tired of the circle of this. It was like having two five year olds who you had to babysit every single day and you had to yell at them to get them to do their chores. Even though the duo were twenty three, it felt to Benson like little kids. He was standing at the top of the stairs, his eyes closed as he mumbled the numbers 1 to 10. It was something his anger management counsellor and pamphlet had said to do when stress gets to you.

He hadn't protested when Claire (his anger management counsellor) told him when she gave the pamphlet and during their weekly talk, he hadn't mentioned anything about him turning into a fireball and almost destroying the park. Counting to 10 wasn't the top priority to ridding his anger, and even though people had said it did help, it didn't, especially when you had to deal with two immature slackers who only got their work done once in a blue moon.

But he counted to ten every time he felt the anger rising from within him whenever the duo irked him, just to get the anger to sink back down for another time. He didn't dare hold it in and sure, he knew of other ways to rid his anger but for now, this was the easy option.

His eyes shut tight when he reached seven, the anger not sinking whatsoever as memories of the slackers came to mind each time he heard the annoying music restarting when they replayed the game. Yes, this was the third time Benson had counted to ten in a row, so technically he had counted to thirty. It didn't help him every time to count to ten once and even though no one had mentioned what to do if counting to ten didn't help, he assumed he had to go over and over again from one to ten.

His lips pressed together as he waited for the bubbling anger to go away, but after standing still with his eyes shut for a few more moments, it remained. His fists clenched and for the first time in a few days, he pushed the idea of "restart from one to ten" from his mind and unclenched his fists as he opened his eyes.

A loud "WOOOAH" made him snap.

"MORDECAI! RIGBY!"

The two, used to hearing their names in the predictable context, stayed where they were, continuing to play their game.

"Hey dude, can you get me another soda?"

"Seriously Rigby? Haven't you had, like, six already?"

"But I'm thirsty!"

"Arg fine, but next time you want a soda, you're getting it."

"Fine, whatever."

"DON'T YOU DARE GET ANOTHER SODAAAAA" Benson stepped forward to run downstairs to stop Mordecai from going into the kitchen, but an empty soda can was on the top stair, and Benson stepped on it. His foot rolled on it and he screamed as he fell down the stairs, loud thumps heard throughout the house.

Rigbys eyes widened when he heard the gumballs that were rattling in Bensons head stop and he got up, abandoning the controller. He ran to the stairs, where his boss was laying on the ground, his right leg dangling on the bottom step. Surprisingly, his head was in perfect condition, despite the long fall.

"What the heck happ-" Mordecai walked through to where Rigby was standing, a cold soda can in his hand. He stopped when he saw Benson and the soda slipped from his grasp. "Benson!" He ran to his side and rolled him over, his leg slipping off the step. Bensons eyes were closed, and the red color had drained from his face. Mordecai kneeled there, holding his boss close, watching for any sign of movement. He pulled his face close and titled his own to check for any sign of breathing.

Mordecai sighed in relief when he felt warm breath on his face. He pulled back and looked at him again.

"This is just like this time when-" Rigby said, but was interrupted by Mordecai.

"We need to take him to the hospital." Mordecai said, not looking at Rigby. Rigby made no hesitation in grabbing his phone and dialing 999. With a panicked tone, he riddled off the address, what had happened, and time, Mordecai looking at Benson the entire time.

Rigby turned, his expression distraught. "Ok dude, I called the ambulance. They should be here soon."

"Call everyone else." Mordecai said flatly. Again, he didn't look at Rigby.

Rigby dialled each and everyone of the park employees numbers, then hung up when he had called Thomas, the last person to talk to. He stood against the wall, waiting for Mordecai to say something else, but he didn't glance at Rigby once. Rigby sighed and walked over to Mordecai. He sat on the bottom step and looked at his boss and friend as the two waited for the ambulance (and everyone else) to arrive.

The door burst open and a man with brown hair and an ambulance uniform came running in. He stopped short when he saw Mordecai and Rigby with an unconscious Benson. Two other men dressed in the same uniform, except one with blond hair and the other with ginger hair, followed after. The man with brown hair stepped aside for the two men to pass. They were wheeling a gurney, one man either side of it. Mordecai let go of Benson as the man with the blond hair gently picked him up and, with the help of the man with the ginger hair, placed him on the gurney.

They pushed the gurney back outside and the man with the brown hair walked over to the duo, who were standing up, watching as the other men lifted the gurney so it didn't fall down the front steps.

"You two," Mordecai and Rigby looked at the man, who was pointing at them, glancing from one to the other, "Get in the ambulance." The duo got up without a word and followed him outside. The ambulance was parked backwards, clear as the day, in front of the house. The back doors to the ambulance were shut and the the guys who had wheeled the gurney back in the ambulance were sitting in the front. Mordecai opened the door and let Rigby and the ambulance man in first before shutting the door and sidling up next to Rigby.

The engine came to life and the sirens wailed. They sped down the road, dashing past cars, hurtling through traffic lights; didn't matter the color.

"Dude," Mordecai said, looking at his boss, "Call the guys and tell them we're at the hospital."

Even though they weren't, Rigby understood and dialed Skips number first. Soon, Mordecai's attention slowly drifted from Rigby to Benson. He glanced up at the ambulance man to see him checking Benson over then writing something down on his clipboard. Just the sight of it made Mordecai's stomach twist. He look back down at his boss, and noticed his hand dangling from the side of the gurney. He glanced at Rigby to see him looking out the window, talking to Pops (he was at his dads) Mordecai exhaled through his mouth then reached out a hand. He let his fingers brush against Bensons then waited, holding his breath. He didn't stir.

"Ok," Rigby said, putting his phone back in his pocket, "I've called everyone."

"Good." Mordecai said, his heart pounding against his chest.

"Now," The man started, getting Mordecai and Rigby's attention, "I've checked him over and he seems in a stable condition. His blood pressure is normal and he's still breathing, which is good. I just need some information about him." The man rested his clipboard in his lap and clicked his pen twice. "Which one of you knows him well?"

Both the friends exchanged glances, then Mordecai looked back at him. "Actually, me and Rigby applied for a job at the park at the exact same time, so I guess both of us know him pretty well."

The man nodded and lifted his clipboard. He began asking the duo questions, some they could answer (full name, age, birthday) and some they couldn't (allergies, history of diseases). When he had finished, he pursed his lips and nodded at the two.

"Thank you gentlemen," he said, "We'll be at the hospital very soon."

No sooner had he finished his sentence, then the ambulance stopped and the doors opened. As Mordecai passed the man with blond hair, he felt his stomach twist again as he stood by the side next to Rigby, both watched the gurney being taken from the back by the two men with help from the brown haired man.

Mordecai and Rigby followed the gurney with heavy hearts, and were soon directed to a waiting room by the brown haired man.

It had been a full hour and already Rigby was fidgeting. Mordecai sat beside him, trying to distract himself by taking guesses at why people had come to the hospital, something he used to play whenever he went to the hospital. But the game had gotten boring after a while and soon he took random guesses till he was sick of it and he gave up. He didn't bother trying to get Rigby to play, knowing full well that even though their boss was in hospital, he would still do anything to have his hand held console. The guys had arrived soon after the duo had sat down and had been given a hurried explanation by both the boys. Skips was still and silent, not saying a word since he had sat next to Rigby. Pops, horror stricken, had only whimpered and sat next to Mordecai, resting a hand on his arm in a comforting manner when he saw the pained expression on Mordecai's face when they had finished their explanation of what had happened. Muscle Man and Fives, for the first time, stayed quiet, too shocked at the news. Thomas was sitting next to Muscle Man, too sad to say anything. He glanced up at the clock and when he saw the big hand shift, he shrugged and pulled a video game from his pocket.

At the familiar sound of a video game, Rigby leapt from his seat and snatched the game from Thomas' hands. Thomas made a move to grab it, but froze when he saw the door to Bensons ward open.

Everyones heads rose and all eyes looked at the brown haired man, holding the clipboard.

"Well," he started, his eyes narrowing for a split second at Rigby, who was too transfixed by the game, "Benson is in a perfectly stable condition, the only thing to worry about his a broken leg. When he fell, he twisted the ligament in his left leg, and broke the bone. He's awake now, so anyone who wants to see him can do so now."

Everyone glanced at each other, all of them relieved to hear the news of him only having a broken bone, but no one knowing who should go first.

"Mordecai should go first." Rigby said, his tongue sticking out in concentration, his eyes fixed on the screen of the game.

Pops smiled gently and soon, the others nodded in agreement. Mordecai breathed out through his mouth and stepped up. The doctor stepped aside as Mordecai walked through the door. It shut behind him with a click. Mordecai looked up and saw Benson, who was looking out the window, a plastic cup of water on a small table next to his bed.

"Benson."

Benson looked away from the window and at Mordecai, who walked towards him, smiling. Benson smiled.

"Hey Mordecai."

Mordecai willed his heart to slow as he pulled up a chair next to Bensons bed. He sat down, not taking his eyes off him.

"Hey Benson."

Neither one of them said a word, and just listened to the heartbeat monitor, glancing at each other every few seconds. Finally, Mordecai caught Bensons eyes.

"It was Rigby's soda can at the top of the stairs."

"How did you-"

"I saw it when I was checking to see if you were alive."

Benson shifted an eyebrow. "Oh."

"Are you gonna fire us?"

Benson looked shocked for a second. "Why?"

"Cause we haven't done our work for the past few days, we've caused you a lot of stress, it was Rigby's soda can that made you slip and now thanks to us, you've got a broken leg."

"Having a broken leg isn't the end of the world Mordecai." Benson chuckled. "And I'm not going to fire you, even if it is true that you two have given me more headaches then Muscle Man has in the years he's worked here."

Mordecai sighed. "Ok." Then he looked up, a question having hit him. "Why don't you fire us?"

Benson sighed and shook his head. "You guys have worked here for years now, and truthfully, firing you would just make the park boring again. Even though you two do mess everything up and wreck the park a lot, I'm still keeping you here because...well...I just don't think the park would be the same without you." Mordecai knew he meant both himself and Rigby, but the way Benson looked him in the eye, as if he was the only person in the word, made him believe the "you" was meant only for him. "Why don't you quit?" He countered back, smirking.

Mordecai felt himself smile. "Like you said, we've worked at the park for a long time and we've gotten to know a lot of great people. And even though we do make you stressed out and have gotten out of being fired by the skin of our teeth, we still stay here because...I guess...we would miss you." Benson knew the "we" meant only Mordecai and he smiled back.

"What happened after I fell? I just remember hearing Rigby's voice then blacking out."

Mordecai sighed. "Well..." He told him what had happened, not missing out a single detail.

Benson shifted over to Mordecai, so he was close to the edge. "Wait...why did you touch my hand?"

Mordecai blushed. "To check if you were still alive."

Benson raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else on the subject. The silence settled over both of them and stayed there for what seemed like ages.

Mordecai noticed Bensons hand dangling from the edge of the bed and he reached up. Benson, distracted from looking out the window, didn't notice. Mordecai brushed his hand against Bensons. Benson turned sharply at the touch, a tint of red rising in his cheeks. He looked at Mordecai and squeezed his hand. Mordecai smiled and Benson smiled back, sharing something between them. Mordecai turned when he heard the door open behind him, his heart sinking when he felt Bensons hand slipping from his.

The guys came through the door, the hand held console now returned to Thomas. They all talked to Benson, asking how he was, what had happened.

Mordecai hung back behind them, having already talked to Benson. While Benson was talking to Skips about his broken leg and how it could be healed more quickly, Benson glanced up and caught Mordecai's eye. They smiled at each other, knowing smiles.

Rigby snuck up to Thomas, and while the goat was distracted with talking to Pops, he stealthily reached into his pocket and nicked the console from his pocket. He snuck over to Mordecai and stood beside him, happily playing the game.

Mordecai nudged Rigby, who looked up. Rigby's face fell when he saw Thomas looking back at him, surprised. Thomas stepped forward, and Rigby sprinted for the door. He raced out into the corridor, Thomas chasing after him.

They stayed as they were in the ward, waiting for the crash. None...then..."GOT IT!"

Thomas returned a few moments later, holding the console up high with Rigby jumping up, trying to get the game.

"Dude," Thomas said, stretching his arm higher, "I don't think you're gonna get it."

Mordecai rolled his eyes. "Just give him the game Thomas. He's gonna act even more like a baby if you don't give it to him."

Thomas shrugged and reluctantly handed Rigby the game. Rigby snatched the game from him and stuck out his tongue.

Benson shook his head, smiling. Yip, just like a little kid.

Not the best at one-shot endings, but I hope you like it all the same :) especially you, YSD!