Chapter Text
Marcus wasn't usually one to work on one mission for long. Having just finished up an investigation into Pharmingtons and their unlawful terminations of employees, which was quickly fixed with some very nice severance packages, he decided that he'd worked enough to have earned a decent rest.
The hackerspace seemed as good a place as any to do so. Not like he'd been back to his apartment for months.
Since that first party with DedSec, he'd spent every waking moment with his new hacker gang. He should probably tie up those loose ends with getting his apartment rented out, actually. His old landlord probably thought he fucking died.
He'd been sleeping in one of the four spots DedSec had taken over every night, but the one he came to first was where he felt most comfortable. Despite Wrench's loud music playing almost constantly and Sitara's video editing being distracting sometimes, in some weird way it made it easier to sleep. He still wasn't entirely used to feeling safe enough to rest, but hearing the commotion around him reminded him that he didn't have to be afraid, that he could close his eyes and not worry about the cops beating down his door.
He strolled into the shop that covered up their hackerspace, giving Gary a nod and a wave. Marcus figured that, if Gary was going out of his way to let them camp out behind his shop, he deserved basic courtesy. And Marcus was nothing if not polite to those who deserved it.
He slipped out the back of the store and typed the password into the keypad, leaning against the door while he waited for it to open. His legs were sore as shit.
Surprisingly, even when you can use a drone and a robot to do half your work, walking and jumping between whole buildings takes a toll on you. Not to mention that nasty hit to the head he took when he tripped over the Jumper.
The door slid open suddenly, making Marcus stumble forward with a quiet swear. He caught himself on the wall, staying there for a second to let himself recover.
It didn't mortally wound his arm to catch himself on the wall or anything. But Sitara would definitely be looking at the CCTV footage in their base later, and she'd be all over that shit. A mild ego bruise, that's all.
He said his hellos to Sitara and Josh, and Ray, when he realised he was there as well. Good old T-Bone was always either typing away at something in the HQ or pulling some new, crazy stunt somewhere that only DedSec ever got the privilege of knowing about. Surprisingly, the latter was more common.
He didn't see Wrench to say hello to, surprisingly. Usually when Marcus gets back Wrench is around, working on another project. It was odd, but not unheard of. He'd be back soon, Marcus told himself.
With his hellos said, he decided it was time to turn in. He made his way over to the couch, dropping his bag beside it, ready to collapse and pass out.
"Oh, by the way Marcus?"
He looked back over to Sitara, who nodded to the couch.
"Couch is broken. The wood underneath it absolutely shattered earlier."
"What?! You're fucking with me," he exclaimed, looking over the back of the couch. Sure enough, the centre of the chair was bent downwards, splinters of wood on the floor around it.
"What the hell even happened? That couch was ol' reliable!" Marcus asked.
"Blame Wrench," Josh said, not looking up from his laptop. "He brought Junior over for some repairs and… Junior took a fall."
"Yeah, did a number on the couch," Sitara added, as if it wasn't obvious. Ray cleared his throat.
"Okay, but it didn't just 'take a fall'. Sitara was the one who bumped into it, let's not forget," he said. Marcus gasped dramatically, turning to look at Sitara. She tutted quietly, nodding her head to the side.
"I was going to mention that. Thank you, Kenney."
"Well, shit. I'm not sleeping on that," Marcus said with a resigned sigh. He could've sworn that he felt his legs throb with an ache when he realised he wouldn't be sitting down. That was the start of an explanation as to why Wrench wasn't around, though.
"More importantly though, where is Wrench? Is he–"
Is he okay, Marcus wants to ask. He knows how much Junior means to him, and if the little guy gets damaged, Wrench might blow a gasket. But that's far too personal a question to ask these guys, so he corrects himself.
"Is Junior still functional?"
"Oh yeah, Junior's probably fine. Wrench did take him away as soon as the fall happened though," Sitara explained.
"As to where he is, not sure. We could check his phone, but–"
Marcus cuts Josh off with a shake of his head. "Nah, nah. Don't do that, he hates that. He likes his privacy," he said. Josh nodded his agreement.
Marcus thought for a moment. He did want to rest, so badly, but he was suddenly a bit worried about Wrench. Okay, maybe a bit was generous. The man had few places he would frequent that weren't a hackerspace, but Marcus could only think of one he'd bring Junior to.
"Alright, well, I'm gonna head back out then. May as well get something else done if I'm not sleeping," he told them. He picked his back back up, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Alright. See ya, Retro," Sitara says, waving before turning back to her computer. Josh nods at him, burying his face in his laptop again.
"See you guys," Marcus replied. Ray gave him a dramatic bow, which Marcus returned as he walked back to the stairs.
He didn't bother calling in a bike or a car, because honestly, summoning a whole vehicle just to drive it around the corner seemed pointless to Marcus. Even if his legs felt like they'd collapse like pillars of salt any minute.
The garage wasn't far, though. Just around the corner, like he said. He walked over, relishing in the relative silence of San Francisco at night. People's voices could still be heard of course, but they were echoing and muffled, originating from two blocks away, loud and cheerful, probably drunk. God, Marcus wanted to get drunk. If it meant he'd have the indecency to pass out anywhere, he'd down a full bottle of whiskey.
He wouldn't really, though. He told himself he'd cut back a little bit after he entirely forgot a girl he tried to get the number of at a party where he got particularly wasted.
Wait, wasn't that the first DedSec party? Shit, his memory's really not the best right now.
Whilst lost in his thoughts and memories of getting absolutely wasted, he realised that he'd made it to the seedier part of the neighbourhood and was standing, or leaning, in front of Wrench's garage. He leaned against the chain link fence outside the garage door as he pulled out his phone to open it. His eyes unfocused for a split second, his bright phone screen glaring against his glasses.
The door rattled and groaned as it slid open, and Marcus was already walking inside before it opened all the way.
He looked around quickly, and he felt a bit dismayed when he didn't see Wrench. Usually he was standing over his desk with Junior at his side, listening to some of his music that Marcus didn't recognize, but he wanted to. If Wrench liked it, it had to be good.
But Wrench wasn't in sight. Junior, however, was nestled into the corner between the desk and the wall. He was here at some point, at least... Marcus found himself smiling, a weird form of relief settling in his chest. The robot hadn't been damaged too badly, so Wrench probably wasn't distraught.
Probably. He could be quite over the top sometimes.
He took another step inside, not really sure what to do from there. He didn't have to decide though, because suddenly, a burst of pain shot through his head and the world lurched sideways.
"Oh- oh shit, dude–"
Marcus felt his legs buckle, and he quickly brought his bag around to hold in his arms as he fell. The good news is, his laptop didn't break.
The bad news is, Marcus fell against the concrete floor, and he lost consciousness soon thereafter.
The last thing he remembers hearing was someone swearing loudly. Maybe it was himself. Who knows?
Marcus came to and the first thing he thought was that he was so surprised his glasses didn't break.
Why was he surprised his glasses didn't break?
Oh, right. He passed out. Fuck.
Maybe the fall he took over the Jumper did more of a number on him than he thought.
It was around then that he realised that he was lying in the back seat of a car, staring at the ceiling. Why was he in a car?
Why the hell was he in a car?
'Oh fuck,' he thought right away, 'I passed out and left the door open and the cops fucking found me. I led the cops right to Wrench's fucking garage, oh shit. If they took any of his stuff I'm dead, even if these cops don't kill me Wrench definitely will. And now I'm in the back of a cop car, and I'm gonna get arrested and DedSec is screwed. I've fucked it all up–'
He doesn't sit still any longer than that, sitting up quickly and promptly smacking his head against the top of the car. He yelled out in surprise, hunching back over. It's a tiny cop car, he reasoned with himself. But he looked around, and he realised that the car wasn't on a road, he was alone in the car, and this definitely wasn't a cop car. Hell, he was in a building.
A familiar building. He's still in Wrench's garage.
"What the hell?" Marcus muttered. Suddenly, the driver seat door flew open, and a sigh of relief tumbled from Marcus as a familiar mask popped into the car.
"Oh, thank fuck you're up, dude!" Wrench exclaimed. Before Marcus could even answer, Wrench slammed the door and opened the one that led to the backseat, where Marcus's feet had been wedged against. Marcus shimmied his way out of the small car, taking the hand that Wrench offered to help him up.
"Wrench, holy shit! I thought–"
Marcus paused, then looked back at the car. The blue, rusted car that was always beside the desk. He recognized it now. He looked around again, confirming that they hadn't left the garage. Wrench's mask was lit up with exclamation points for eyes, and Marcus could tell from his body language that he was as surprised as Marcus was.
"Did I pass out?" Marcus asked, despite knowing full well he passed out.
"I'm guessing so. Dude, I came back and saw you lying on my fucking garage floor!" His eyes shifted to slants. "I thought you were dead! I panicked so hard, because usually Marcus Holloway isn't unconscious on my floor, so I put you in the car, and–"
Wrench gestured wildly with his hands, then grabbed Marcus by the shoulders and shook him back and forth.
"I FUCKING THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! ON MY FLOOR!"
Marcus grabbed Wrench's wrists, immediately regretting it when his spikes stabbed into his palms, and held him still.
"Hey, hey! Don't shake the guy that just woke up!" He exclaimed. Wrench paused, then pulled his hands back. A small part of Marcus mourned the loss of the contact, because as touchy as Wrench was, he didn't always get to indulge in the moments where they were as close as Wrench had just made them.
Marcus decided that the part of him thinking that was definitely still recovering from the unconsciousness, and definitely wasn't thinking straight.
"Shit, man…" Wrench said, looking around aimlessly. Marcus stood quietly for a second, not really sure what to do from there. What's a man to say after he passes out on his best friend's garage floor?
Wrench makes that decision quick enough though, looking back up at Marcus and putting one hand on his shoulder. He didn't shake, just steadied him.
"Are you, like– you good, man?" Wrench asks, the voice changer unable to hide the concern in his voice. It nearly makes Marcus tear up. In the line of work he'd chosen (becoming an illegal hacktivist), concern wasn't shown often.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just…"
Marcus didn't know why it happened, really.
"Rough day, I guess. Couldn't sleep back at the HQ since the couch got demolished, and I heard about Junior and I wanted to check on you– on you and Junior," he corrects himself quickly, "so I walked over here. Passed out as soon as I got here. I guess I just… overexerted today."
"Huh. Didn't know Retro could 'overexert'," Wrench said quietly, a quick sarcastic comment to buy time to think. Marcus noticed that he did that a lot.
"I'm just full of surprises today, ain't I?" He replied with a smile. Wrench's mask flickered for a second, but it landed on underscores; eyes closed.
He sighed behind his mask, grip tightening on Marcus's shoulder.
"Don't fuckin' do that again man, okay?" Wrench asked. "You sure know how to scare this punk."
Marcus chuckled. "I'll remember not to come here when I plan to pass out. Thanks."
There's truth in the thanks though. Marcus doesn't want to think of what could've happened if he'd made it there 5 minutes later – or rather, didn't make it all all before he collapsed. If anyone had to find him passed out, Wrench is who he'd choose.
You know, now that Marcus thinks about it, his feelings might need to be reexamined, in terms of keeping his bisexual heart calm in the presence of a fucking awesome dude.
Wrench tilted his head, eyes opening, then closing, then opening again. He looked around the garage, then back at Marcus.
"You were that worried about Junior, huh?" He asked. Marcus paused, then nodded.
"Yeah, man. I know how much he means to you. When I heard he fell–"
"Fell?" He asked incredulously, placing a hand over his chest. "He was brutally attacked! Wrench Jr suffered a great injustice today, I'll have you know!"
He tutted and shook his head, hood flopping and revealing a small bit of his bright hair. "I'll bet you those heathens didn't even tell you the half of the cruelty Junior endured today."
Marcus couldn't stop the stupid grin that worked its way onto his face. Wrench just did that to him.
"Well, shit dude, I didn't think it was that bad. You gotta fill me in!"
"Yes! You gotta hear this, dude."
His reaction was clearly over exaggerated, but a lot about Wrench was. His mask displayed inward slashes to show his burning wrath at the hardships Wrench Jr had gone through when he obliterated their couch. He took Marcus' wrist and brought him over to the corner where Junior sat, his lime green face baring his teeth up at them.
Wrench took a breath to begin, but stopped for a second. Marcus raised his eyebrows as Wrench hurried over to the other side of the garage and grabbed a fold out chair, pulling it back over and setting it out for Marcus.
"Thanks," he said, sitting down. His mask just winked at him.
Wrench took another breath, and began his spiel about Wrench Jr and Sitara's brutal attack on him. Marcus listened attentively.
It's about an hour later when Wrench exhausts all manners of wringing pity for Junior out of Marcus. At some point, Wrench directed them back to the car, and despite Marcus having to keep his neck a bit bent when he sat upright, they both fit in the back seat.
Wrench keeps talking, but about miscellaneous things. His hatred for Tidis, a modification he planned on giving to Junior, his exasperation at his hair being a hassle to dye, anything that came to mind.
Marcus chimed in every so often, but he was content to listen to Wrench speak. After another half hour or so, Wrench went quiet for a minute. The masked man looked down at Marcus, who had slumped a little bit as the night wore on.
"Hey, Marcus?"
"Hm? Yeah dude?"
Wrench looked down at him, considering his words. Eventually, what he settled on was, "I'm glad you're okay."
Marcus smiled. Wrench continued, "It would've sucked if you died on my floor, y'know."
He just snickered, nodding. "Yeah, I don't think either of us would like that."
"Definitely not. Let's agree not to die on each other's floors, got it?"
"Got it. No floor death," Marcus agreed. Wrench nodded.
It was quiet in the old car for a second. Distantly, Wrench Jr let out a war cry.
"He does that," Wrench assured Marcus before he could even question it.
"Had a feeling," he replied.
Wrench looked down at Marcus, and Marcus looked up at Wrench. For a second, Marcus felt like he was high. He felt really relaxed, and hopefully Wrench did too.
"Wrench?"
"Mm?"
"What time is it?"
Wrench blinked, checking whatever screen he kept inside his mask, then replied, "Hah. 5AM, man."
"5AM? Shit, when did I pass out?"
"Well, I got back at around 11. PM, I mean. I think you came back soon enough before me though because I got the alert that my garage door opened as I was coming around the corner. Sooo, you were out until 3:30 or thereabouts. That's a solid 4 hours of unconsciousness."
Marcus was quiet for a second. Wrench looked at him, then asked a question of his own.
"Do you always work that hard, Marcus?"
"What? Whatcha mean?"
"I mean, you said you overexerted. I do my fair share of athletics escaping the cops, but I'd imagine that with the places Josh tells me you have to get to, you do a fuck ton of work. Every day! I can only get a chase from the cops once a week at most."
He turns to face Marcus properly. "So, do you always do that much? Has this," he gestured to Marcus, "ever happened before?"
Admittedly, Marcus wasn't expecting such a sincere question from the man. He stopped to think for a second, humming.
"Well, I did about the normal amount today. Had to get up on top of a couple buildings, but that's par for the course. I did trip over Jumper though, so that's probably why I passed out this time."
"So… this has happened before?"
Shit. He didn't mean to say 'this time'.
"Uh… yeah, I think so. Once or twice."
Wrench's mask displayed two different sized circles, then changed to inward slashes. Marcus sighs.
"Okay, yeah. This was number four. I can handle it usually, though. Most of the time it was in my apartment."
'When I still went there,' he nearly added. Wrench is still staring at him. Marcus nearly felt scrutinised under his stare, and he can't even see his face. He'd never seen his face, but he was perfectly alright with it staying that way if that's how Wrench was most comfortable.
"What's with the look?" He finds himself asking. Wrench looks away instantly, and Marcus nearly feels bad. He tried to lift the mood a bit by adding, "Hey, when I told you guys I was a committed man, I meant it."
Wrench stares at the seat ahead of him. Then, he speaks.
"Were you always alone, when that happened?"
Marcus paused.
"Well, I mean… yeah. I worked alone until I joined you guys. Benefits and drawbacks, y'know?"
And maybe it was some fucked up type of wishful thinking on Marcus's part, but he swore he saw Wrench's shoulders fall, his head tilt in what could be construed as sympathy.
"That's shit," he said eloquently. "You shouldn't have to work all day and just pass the fuck out. Not when nobody's there to help! That's shit."
Marcus shrugged. "I don't know. It's normal at this point. Well, it hasn't happened in a long time, but still."
Wrench shook his head. "Hey dude, listen. If you ever get that tired, where your legs are shaking and you feel like you might pass out, and I'm not around…"
He held up his index and pinky finger in a telephone symbol, with question marks for eyes.
"You call me, okay? I'll come help."
"I mean–"
Marcus has to pause. He wasn't expecting Wrench to seem so concerned about him. To be fair, he wasn't expecting a lot of things today, but life continued to surprise him.
Wrench leaned in a bit, question marks replaced with equal signs. Marcus exhaled, then nodded.
"Sure. But don't stress yourself out waiting for a call, alright? Today was an exception. I'm fine most of the time."
"And when you're not fine, I'm gonna be there," Wrench insists with finality. "We help each other out in this garage."
And again, Marcus couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.
"Thanks."
"You got it, man."
The car fell quiet once again, and the tiredness of 5AM finally began setting in.
"Do you sleep here?" Marcus asked, out of curiosity.
"Sometimes. Either here or a hackerspace. Sometimes the streets, when I'm far away and don't fancy stealing a car," Wrench explained.
"You gonna sleep here tonight? I can leave if you're going somewhere."
"No no, you're good," Wrench said a little quickly. "I'll probably hang on here. Not in the mood to travel all the way to Silicon Valley for a fucking couch."
"Me either. Mind if I–"
"Crash here, dude. You just passed out on my floor, I'm not letting you drive jack shit."
Marcus scoffed. "Am I ever gonna live this down?"
"You'll live it down someday, sure, but I'll never stop worrying about you like a good best buddy," Wrench declared.
Best buddy. Right.
"Mm. Well, for what it's worth…"
Fuck it, Marcus decides, it's 5AM and he's not even long awake. If what he says makes Wrench uncomfortable, he can blame it on exhaustion.
"I really appreciate the concern, Wrench. Nice to know you would be a bit worried if I didn't show up one day."
Wrench was already sitting pretty still, but he tenses properly now. Wrench reaches over and tugs Marcus a little bit closer.
"You're gonna show up," Wrench says, nay, commands. "Like hell you're disappearing on me."
On me.
A part of Marcus lights up. He could have said 'on us' just as easily, but he said on me.
Be still, my beating heart, he thinks.
He smiles. "Couldn't make me if you tried."
Wrench nods, not releasing his grip on Marcus. And again, Marcus says fuck it, and lets himself fall to the side a bit, torso pressed against Wrench's leg.
"Night, Wrench."
"Yeah. Night, Marcus."
Marcus lets his eyes close for the second time, but this time, unconsciousness came on his terms.
And this time it came easier, and Marcus chalks it up to the fact that he didn't feel so alone this time.