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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. 

Chapter Text

Marcus slept in hackerspaces and garages now. That's just what he does. He never needs to see a real bed again, because he's convinced that he's started sleeping better since he joined DedSec. 

Maybe it's the fact that the sun doesn't come through the window at 7am anymore. Maybe it's the fact that he isn't (as) paranoid about being arrested. 

Today, though, he's certain that sleeping beside Wrench made him sleep the best he's slept in years. 

Well, beside is a generous term. When Marcus wakes up, his head is in Wrench's lap. 

He has no clue how he got to that position. He was curled on his side, his arm and head lying on Wrench's lap. It wasn't very natural, but for some reason, it still felt comfortable. 

He shuffled a bit so he was lying on his back, looking up at Wrench. The punk's mask was deactivated, nothing displayed on the visor as he breathed heavily. His head was lying on his chest, chin to collarbones, but the angle made it look like he was staring down at Marcus. 

Marcus stared right back. In the light of morning in the garage, Marcus could stop and seriously think about Wrench. 

Wrench is the first thing he thought of when he woke up. Maybe that says something about him. 

Marcus acknowledged a long time ago that he wasn't 100% straight. Let's be honest, that was never on the table for him. He'd had crushes on guys and girls, and he'd just started rolling with the punches. Or crushes, rather. 

And after joining DedSec, meeting the others, he'd discovered that apparently, the punk aesthetic was a thing for him. He rocked with the meaning behind the punk movement, and it looked cool as hell too. 

So when the boy rocking the look is one of the funniest people Marcus had ever met, he knew he wasn't getting away without a bit of a crush. That and their taste in movies was practically identical from the start, which is what got Marcus really thinking about Wrench. 

Of course, now Wrench was the only thing on his mind half the time. He found himself smiling whenever Wrench joined the call during a job. He cracked jokes just to see if he could get Wrench to laugh, to see the expression on that visor change. 

'Yeah,' Marcus thought, 'I'm down bad.'

He stared up at Wrench, realising he'd probably been staring the entire time he'd been zoned out. 

He'd never tell Wrench about his feelings, he had decided a long time ago. When he realised, he knew that his new friend was too good to lose to a crush that might not be returned. But now, looking up at Wrench, he was seriously wondering if he could bear the idea of just being his friend. 

Marcus laid there for a moment, then looked to his right. Wrench's hand was splayed across the seat beside his head. 

He looked at it for a second, then reached over and took it gently, lightly gripping his fingers so he didn't wake him up. His hand was warm, an unusual contrast to the usual chill Wrench always complained about. Marcus wasn't really complaining though. 

Marcus exhaled quietly, thumb brushing over the tattoo on his hand. 

"You're fucking awesome, dude. So cool," he murmured quietly. 

He indulged in that for a minute or two, lying quietly and imagining what it would be like to really hold Wrench's hand. If this was good, then Wrench squeezing his hand and holding it while he gestured to add on to whatever he was talking about would be better, right? 

After another moment, Marcus pulled his hand back. It was just holding his hand, but he felt like he needed consent. Just like Wrench valued his privacy, he valued his body autonomy just as much. 

Marcus looked down at the position they were in. 

"Mm. Sorry, man," Marcus whispered, sitting up. "Didn't mean to lie on you for that long." 

He knew Wrench couldn't hear him. It was more for himself. He opened the car door at his feet and shuffled out, closing it lightly so he didn't wake Wrench. 

Neither of them noticed the semicolons that briefly appeared on Wrench's mask. 

It was only about ten minutes later when Marcus heard the car door open again. He looked over from where he was sitting beside Wrench Jr, giving the human Wrench a wave. 

"Morning, dude," he greeted. Wrench waved back. 

"Good morrow, good sir," he replied, walking over and leaning against the wall. "Having some one-on-one time with Junior, I see?" 

"Oh, yeah! I'm just checking him over. After the brutal attack he suffered yesterday-" he looked up at Wrench with a smirk, then back to Junior, "-I just wanted to make sure he didn't have any underlying issues." 

"And? What's the diagnosis, doc?" Wrench asked. 

"Looks all clear to me. Your little guy is good to go," Marcus declared standing up. Wrench placed a hand on his own chest, sighing dramatically. 

"Oh, thank the nonexistent god!" He said, walking over to Junior and wrapping his arms around the robot. "See little guy? Nobody can lay a finger on you." 

It replied with a war cry, which Wrench nodded emphatically to, visor lighting up with hearts. Marcus chuckled, smiling at the display. 

Wrench had his moment and stood back up, putting his hands on his hips. 

"So, M. What's the plan for the day, hm? Any wild plans?" Wrench asked. Marcus scoffed. 

"Wild? That's your thing, man." 

"Mm, you right." 

"But in terms of plans, not much. Might take a drive around San Fran, see if anyone needs help. As far as I know, I don't have anything particular to do." 

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" 

The visor flickered with exclamation points for a brief second, but they settled back to their usual X's quick enough. "Oh, no reason. I was just planning on hanging out here today." 

Wrench paused, then tilted his head away. 

"If you want to hang around, I'm not stopping you." 

Marcus opened his mouth, then closed it. Wrench asking him to hang out wasn't new, DedSec usually hung out together a lot of the time, but usually it's out to a coffee shop or a bar or to commit a crime and get a chase out of it. This felt a bit more personal. 

"I mean, if you're alright with me using your computer for a bit, then I'm down!" 

"That's A-okay with me," Wrench confirmed with a thumbs up. 

"Cool! Then we should probably get something to eat before we do anything else, right?" 

Wrench looked at him, then nodded. "Sure. Pizza?" 

"Pizza? For breakfast?" Marcus asked incredulously. Wrench shrugged, walking away from Wrench Jr. 

"It's not even morning anymore, dude. It's like, 1PM." 

"What?! When did I wake up?" 

"About 12:30, dude!" Wrench called from his desk, where he held up his phone. "This is basically lunch. So, pizza?" 

Marcus shook his head. 

"Go for it." 

Wrench pumped his fist in the air, mountain peaks displaying on his mask as he dialled the number for whatever pizza place was closest. 

Marcus sat backwards on his chair and watched as Wrench paced back and forth, waiting for them to pick up. 

Now that he thinks of it, he should probably let Sitara and Josh know that he and Wrench were together. He sorta went radio silent last night. 

Last night? This morning? Eh, who gives a shit. 

Pizza ordered, pizza eaten, sleep schedule destroyed. Marcus knew he'd have a shit time going to sleep tonight, but he really couldn't care less. Even if this all started because he fainted in Wrench's garage, he was happy with how it had progressed. 

They'd moved to the computer set-up at some point. Marcus got on the DedSec server and let them know, in brief detail, that they were both alright and just taking a day. 

Sitara told them that was okay, Josh wished them well, and Ray asked him to call when he was ready to hear some info he'd gotten his hands on.

Marcus closed the tab and sighed. 

"With that, we have the day off!" He announced, turning to Wrench, who was sitting on the steps of the set-up. 

Wrench was quiet, staring into space. 

"Hey, Wrench?" 

Nothing. Marcus hummed, turning so he was sitting backwards on the chair. He reached forward and lightly tapped Wrench on the (incredibly spikey) shoulder. 

"Hey, earth to Wrench. You okay, man?" 

Wrench suddenly snapped his head up to Marcus, visor showing he was startled. 

"Fuck! What– oh, shit, Marcus. Hey," he said. 

"Are you okay, dude? You seemed spaced out there," Marcus asked. Wrench nodded. 

"Yeah man, I'm good. Just…" 

Wrench trailed off, visor changing between a few different emotions. Eventually, it settled on two I's. 

"I can deactivate my visor, y'know. To save battery and shit." 

Marcus's brows furrowed. "Uhh, cool?" 

Wrench looked at him. 

"I woke up at about 10AM. Surprisingly, your sleep schedule is more fucked than mine. Couldn't get back to sleep, so I just deactivated my visor and sat there." 

Marcus quickly realised what Wrench was getting at. His eyes widened. 

"Oh. Oh fuck," he muttered. Wrench nodded. 

"Uhhh huh. Your hands are fucking cold, dude," Wrench said, staring into space again. Usually, even with the mask, Marcus could tell what Wrench was feeling, but right now he had no clue. 

Well, that's it. He's fucked it up. 

"Hey man, listen, I'm sorry if–" 

"Marcus," Wrench cut in ahead of him. Marcus went quiet. 

"Did you mean what you said?" Wrench asked, looking back up at Marcus. 

"What?" 

"That– what you said in the car. Did you mean it?" 

Marcus took a breath. How was he meant to come up with a totally platonic explanation for this? 

"You're fucking awesome, dude. So cool."

That could be just something bros say to bros. Totally. But Marcus knew they both knew exactly what he meant. 

Wrench was staring at him. He was waiting on an answer. 

"I mean… yeah. Yeah, of course I meant it," Marcus admitted. "You're incredible. Like, the coolest guy I know." 

Wrench stared at him. His visor blinked, then he looked away. He covered his mask with his hand, as if he were covering his mouth. 

"No you don't," he murmured. 

"What? Yeah, I do!" Marcus exclaimed, a slight bit offended that Wrench would doubt his feelings, even if they weren't reciprocated.

Wrench shook his head, standing up. 

"I, uh, appreciate the compliment Marcus, but–" 

"Hey man," Marcus cut him off, standing up too. "It's alright. You don't have to, y'know, feel the same or whatever. You weren't really meant to hear it anyways, so it's all good." 

He walked down the stairs and grabbed his bag. Wrench stood at the bottom of the stairs. 

"M, dude–" 

"Sorry for making you waste your money, Wrench. I'll get going," Marcus said with a wave, pulling out his phone and opening the garage door. He glanced back at Wrench. He was standing still, one hand extended out to Marcus. His visor stayed on X's, unreadable. Marcus gave him a half-hearted smile. 

"See you 'round. Sorry." 

With that, Marcus left. Out of courtesy, he closed the door behind him. 

When he turned the corner back out to the street, he stopped and leaned against the wall. He found himself tearing up, which he shut down right away. He hadn't cried since Horatio, so like hell he was crying now. 

He could keep telling himself that, but the tears would come anyway. 

Chapter Text

They don't talk about it for a little bit. Marcus did what he said he was going to and drove around, trying to find something to do, someone to help. 

Later on, Sitara messaged him and told him they were going drinking, all four of them, and Marcus just had to come because she managed to get them free drinks. 

So he tagged along. He figured that if any day was a day for drinks, it was today. 

He made it to the bar and found Josh still on his computer, Ray three drinks in already, Sitara chatting to the bartender and Wrench somehow already wasted, lying across a whole booth seat. He glanced up at Marcus. He waved, then collapsed backwards again. Marcus just smiled, albeit sadly. At least they were on waving terms. 

Marcus, in so many words, just wanted to drown his sorrows. He knew the rejection was inevitable, but he had hoped to put it off for as long as possible. So tonight he aimed to forget. 

Well, that didn't happen. Because what better night to deal with the fucking FBI than tonight? 

He remembered it in bursts, like little flashes of moments where he felt the most aware. He remembered sneaking onto a roof and spying on the FBI. He sat in a doorway and downloaded their data, with Wrench guiding him in his ear. He nearly wanted to scream. It all felt too normal. The 'Wrench in his ear' bit, not the FBI bit. 

He got the info and got out of there, speeding away before they could find him. Then he played taxi driver for Miranda, who directed him to the FBI's headquarters. 

He tried not to be too intimidated. Like, yeah, he's an incredible hacker, but this is the fucking FBI dude! 

The others were relatively quiet as he worked, no one liners or sarcastic quips when he messed up. Wrench had always been on top of that. He sorta missed it. 

Marcus was still surprised he managed to get out of there unscathed, but he did, and he was honestly more relieved to get a call from Wrench soon after. 

"I'm out. But man, total fail. I got jack shit," Marcus confessed. 

"Au contraire, dude!" 

The casual tone nearly made Marcus cry in relief. God, since when was he so emotional? 

They just had to triangulate, Wrench explained. There were a couple other spots he'd found, so Marcus would hit one, and Wrench would hit the other. 

"You sure?" Marcus found himself asking. 

"When am I anything less than sure? I've thought this through. If we both hit one, we'll find out where they're at. Trust me on this." 

And Marcus did. 

"With my life, man." 

Wrench was quiet for a minute. So was Marcus, phone wedged between his ear and his shoulder as he drove. His GPS pinged with the location, so Wrench was definitely still there. 

"Wrench?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Call me when you're there. Let's talk each other through it, okay?" 

It was a stupid excuse, and Marcus knew it. He just wanted to talk to Wrench about what happened the day before (yeah, he reminds himself, the day before, because he stayed up all night hacking into the goddamn FBI servers–) and try to smooth things over. 

And to his relief, Wrench replied with, "Definitely. Talk to you soon, Retro." 

Marcus chuckled. "See ya, Wrench." 

He hung up, letting his phone fall back onto the seat beside him. 

Progress. Maybe their friendship could be salvaged in some way. 

Marcus pulled up outside the antenna, getting out of the stolen car and looking around. The wall outside the antenna was graffitied, and Marcus smiled when he saw a familiar signature. 

Wrench, with a halo and a devil's tail. Definitely their Wrench. He'd been here before, clearly. 

And speak of the devil, Marcus's phone rang. He picked it up, holding it close to his ear as he walked in towards the antenna. 

"Hey Wrench." 

"Hey, M." 

"I'm 'boutta get the third point here," he told him, jumping up to the platform. 

"Get it done, man." 

It was quiet for a second as Marcus got set up. He could stand the quiet though, so he spoke again. 

"Hey, can we talk?" 

"About yesterday?" He asks, already knowing where Marcus was going with it. 

"Yeah. Listen dude, I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable–" 

"Ohh Marcus, you beautiful idiot." 

That stunned Marcus into silence for a second, giving Wrench the opportunity to speak instead. Probably for the best, because Marcus had no clue where he was going with that. 

"Dude, I wasn't… uncomfortable, or whatever you think I was. If I was uncomfortable, you'd be missing a tooth and my garage would be in a new location by now." 

He paused, then added, "If I didn't want to speak to you, I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" 

Marcus hummed. "I… guess not." 

"Yeah, exactly. Look, I didn't want you to go yesterday. I was just trying to find the- the words, the phrase? I don't fucking know, the right way to explain that–" 

"Hold it right there!" 

Marcus froze, looking around. He quickly realised though that nobody had caught him. 

"I-I'm not doing anything!" He heard Wrench yell. 

Oh yeah, nobody had caught Marcus. 

They'd caught Wrench. 

"On the ground, now!" 

"I'm just, uh, walking my cat– Argh! Marcus–!" Wrench yelled into the phone. He heard something clatter, then nothing.

"Wrench? Wrench?!" Marcus exclaimed, praying that he'd just… what? Fallen, dropped his phone? 

But there was no reply. 

"Shit!" Marcus yelled, punching the wall. No question about who that was. The FBI was on their tail. 

He filled DedSec in quickly and got to work unlocking the server. He worked twice as fast now, taking down their defences with a renewed anger against the bastards that had taken Wrench. 

He got in. He saw the cameras, the small room they had Wrench in. 

He swapped to a different angle, and his breath caught in his throat. Yeah, Dusan was there. Of course he was, the bastard. 

But Wrench didn't have his mask. 

It was sitting beside him on a pile of boxes, leaving Wrench's face open to his kidnappers. 

Marcus didn't look at it for long. It wasn't his right to see it. He changed to an angle he couldn't see Wrench's face from, out of respect. Wrench didn't deserve this. 

One of the agents was interrogating him, nearly taunting him. Holding his mask just out of reach, telling him he was an act of God. That agent wasn't jack shit to DedSec, and once Marcus had an address all he'd be was an obituary if he kept that shit up. 

Of course, he kept that shit up. 

He wanted Wrench to be a man on the inside, to give up all their information. A part of Marcus was scared he would. Another part wouldn't even blame him if he did. 

Wrench didn't even get the chance to answer before Dusan stepped in, waving the agents away. He crouched in front of Wrench, and Marcus wanted nothing more than to yank that stupid manbun out of his head and gag him with it. He hadn't felt this angry since he'd gone to take care of Horatio's killers. He wasn't going to let Wrench be next on the hit list. 

"What the hell is up with Marcus?" Dusan asked. Marcus narrowed his eyes, despite nobody being around to see it. "I mean, he's a nice guy, he's misguided, but–" 

"Don't you say shit about Marcus," Wrench cut him off, the anger in his voice apparent without the voice changer. If Wrench's life wasn't in danger, he'd be a bit happy at how quickly he came to Marcus's defence. 

Dusan spouts some shit about the FBI making an example of him, of Marcus, and while he should probably be a bit threatened by that, he didn't even have the mind to be nervous. All he wanted was to get Wrench out of there. 

He shifted the camera a bit so he could see the mask, still sitting beside them. With a couple of clicks, he waited until Wrench looked over at it, and he made it wink. 

He could see Wrench's eyes widen briefly, but he retained his poker face when Dusan looked back at him. At least he knew he wasn't alone. 

To Marcus's surprise though, Dusan let him go. Said he was free to go, to tell DedSec about the deal and go to Dusan if they accept. Yeah, like fucking hell they'd take a deal from Dusan. 

Wrench reached for his mask. Dusan picked it up, shaking his head. 

"See, I think it's time you saw the world through your own eyes. Like a big boy." 

Wrench stood up, his fists clenched hard enough to make his knuckles go white. 

"And let the world see you for what you really are." 

Wrench took a breath, and despite his bravado, Marcus could hear the shake in his voice. 

"...I'm gonna leave you two lovebirds to jerk each other off." 

Wrench walked out. The feed cut. 

He stood up from where he'd sat against the wall, pulling out his phone. He swore to himself, angry as all hell. 

Marcus wasted no time dialling Wrench. He was surprised at how fast he picked up. 

"Wrench!" 

"I'm here." 

"Hey, man. It's okay, I promise," he assured Wrench before he could even say anything. "I'm going to get your mask back." 

He heard a small intake of breath on the other end. "You saw that? Is that why the mask- nevermind. Dude, forget it." 

"Hell no!" 

"Marcus, there's more important shit to deal with. I'll figure something else out." 

He could hear Wrench's voice shaking, noticeably more so now that he wasn't holding up a front in front of Dusan and the FBI. Marcus wasn't letting this shit stand. 

"Wrench, that mask is important to you, right? I know how much you need it. We help each other out in this garage." 

Wrench was silent for a minute. Then, he asked, "Did you see my face?" 

"Mm… for a second." 

"Fuck." 

"I didn't look for long," Marcus added hurriedly. "When I saw you were unmasked, I changed the angle. I didn't wanna trample on your boundaries." 

"Well… thanks, then. But really, you don't–" 

"Don't even try to tell me not to go, Wrench. I'm getting you that mask, no two ways about it," Marcus insisted. Wrench sighed. 

"You don't have to." 

"Yeah, I do. Hang tight, I'll be back with it in an hour or two."

"Be safe, Marcus. They're after you," Wrench told him. Marcus nodded, despite being on a phone call. 

"I will. You too." 

The call ended. Marcus wasted no time calling a car and running to the bottom of the hill with a renewed sense of rage. 

It was personal now. 

One infiltration and a lot of unconscious FBI employees later, Marcus was walking up the stairs of a parking lot. 

Wrench had sent him the location without comment when Marcus asked for somewhere to meet. He hadn't questioned it, he had to imagine that Wrench was working through a lot. 

So he made his way up the stairs, and honestly was surprised at how the roof looked. He expected another level of parking spaces, but he found a beautiful rooftop garden, with benches and chairs sprinkled amongst trees and plants of all kinds. A small, shallow pool of water sat in the centre, and on a bench nearby, he spotted that familiar hoodie and vest. 

Marcus walked over and sat beside him on the bench. Wrench was looking away from him, off to the right when Marcus sat to his left. Marcus wouldn't ask him to turn. This whole thing was so Wrench didn't have to show anyone his face, and Marcus was included in that anyone. 

"I'm sorry that happened," Marcus opened with. 

"What, do you work for the FBI?" Wrench asked, sarcastic to the end. Marcus chuckled lightly. Wrench turned his head a bit. Not enough to show his face, but probably enough for Wrench to see Marcus in his peripheral vision. 

"I'm not gonna sell you guys out," Wrench said. 

"I know." 

"I would never." 

"I know." 

Marcus held out the mask in front of Wrench, holding it in his palm without a tight grip. Wrench looked down at it. 

"You're one of the most loyal people I know, Wrench. I know you wouldn't do shit to hurt us," Marcus assured him. 

Wrench took the mask in his hands, running his thumbs over the front of it. 

"You didn't damage it," he mused. 

"Wouldn't dream of it," Marcus replied. 

Wrench took in a deep breath, lifted his head and looked up at the sky. This had to have been the most stressful thing to happen to Wrench in a long time, Marcus thought. But even so, just sitting quietly with him like this felt peaceful, even if just for a moment. 

When Wrench lowered his head, he spoke again. Quietly, nervously. 

"Did you mean it?" 

Marcus smiled, even if Wrench wasn't looking to see it. 

"Yeah. Every fuckin' word." 

And then, Wrench did look at him. Marcus turned his head, but Wrench just said, "You can look at me, dude. It's just us. Besides, it'd be nice to see you in person and not through a camera." 

Marcus nodded, just to give Wrench a second in case he changed his mind. Then, he turned and looked up at Wrench. 

He looked beautiful. Marcus couldn't think of another word that fit him any better. Marcus didn't know if he was expecting a beard or not, but he was clean shaven, and his face looked surprisingly soft for someone who covered it all the time. 

His eyes were so incredibly blue, staring into his own when they locked eyes. His birthmark covered a portion of his face, and Wrench reached up to tug his hoodie down over it. Marcus automatically, without thinking, moved it away again. Wrench raised his eyebrows, and it was odd to see his actual facial expressions without having to decipher a mask. 

"You look incredible, Wrench," Marcus said breathlessly. The other man's eyes widened, and he looked off to the side. 

"Sure, Marcus." 

"Dude, you do! Your eyes, your– just you. Holy shit," he insisted. 

Wrench stared at him like he was crazy, then he chuckled quietly. 

"You're crazy, Marcus. Absolutely batshit." 

"If that's what you call finding you attractive, then hell yeah I am!" Marcus replied. Listen, their underlying sexual tension had become very obvious on Marcus's part. No point in beating around the bush. 

Wrench shook his head, shoulders shaking with a nearly silent laugh. "Jeez…" 

The punk turned to Marcus and looked him up and down, then reached forward with his free hand. He took Marcus's hand in his and raised it to his face. 

"Well, if we're doing this…" 

Wrench lifted Marcus's hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to the knuckles. Marcus could feel his face warm as Wrench looked up at him with a small smile. 

"You're quite the catch yourself, princess," he said with a smirk. He released Marcus's hand and picked his mask back up. Marcus watched, still a bit flustered as Wrench brought it up to his face, closing the clasps and adjusting it a bit. The visor flickered to life, cycling through a few different expressions before it settled again. 

"Well, you sure know how to romance a man," Marcus said with a chuckle. Wrench looked at him, not saying anything. 

"That, uh– that is what's going on here, right?" Marcus asked, raising his hand. "With the kiss, and the whole–?" 

Wrench cut him off with a hand clamped over his face. "Shut your beautiful face hole, Marcus. Yes, that's what's going on. I'm assuming you're okay with that, M?" 

"More than okay! Yeah, that's… this is cool," Marcus said with a nervous chuckle as Wrench pulled his hand back. He hadn't imagined this would ever end up happening, but here they are. Wrench seemed pleased, his visor displaying as much. 

"I do gotta say though, this," he gestured to the mask, "stays on like, 99% of the time. Them's the breaks." 

"That's fine by me, man. Whatever makes you happiest is cool with me," Marcus said with a thumbs up. Wrench looked at him, and Marcus laughed a bit when his visor displayed hearts. 

They might have the FBI and Dusan on their asses, but they had each other. A lot of talking still had to be done about that, but Marcus didn't mind at all. It looked like Wrench didn't either. 

Marcus shuffled a bit closer, and Wrench took that as the moment to lean his head on Marcus's shoulder. Marcus smiled and leaned against Wrench's head, closing his eyes. 

They'd be okay. 

Chapter Text

It was about 3 weeks later when Marcus and Ray worked together with their minimal wood working skills to fix the couch. It probably wouldn't ever be the same, and Wrench vowed to steal a new one the moment they needed one. But it held, and that's what was important. 

Marcus came back one night (see; 12AM) and decided that it was about time to catch up on the sleep he'd been missing since his morning with Wrench. He'd been sleeping half the day and staying up until 3, and while that made sneaking into places easier, it wasn't entirely healthy, so he decided that 12AM was a good place to start in terms of getting his sleep back on track. 

Sitara had dragged Josh off to some meeting with the DedSec followers, but when Marcus offered to attend she said he should stay back at the hackerspace, because if someone in the group was a mole or something, at least some of them would stay hidden. Ray went to Chicago, of all places. He didn't say why. 

Marcus wasn't going to question it though. He was gonna sleep, that's what he was going to do! 

He put his bag and jacket down in the corner, yawning. At least he was already tired. 

He turned off a couple of lights that were left on and walked over to the couch. He walked around to the front, ready to pass out, and– 

Oh. 

Wrench was already there, lying across the couch, arms folded and mask deactivated, hanging partially off his face but not enough to see anything. Marcus could hear quiet snores coming from the man, so he was definitely asleep this time. 

Marcus mourned the loss of his couch nap again, but he knew to cut his losses. He was awake enough to grab a car and head to Silicon Valley. 

He went to turn back around to grab his things, but he was interrupted by a quiet gasp. Marcus turned back around to look at Wrench, who seemed to have startled awake. "Huh? Marcus?" 

"Oh, shit. Sorry dude, didn't mean to wake you," Marcus apologised. 

"It's all good, you didn't really wake me. Motion detectors, y'know." 

He gestured to the mask, which he fixed over his face. "I keep 'em on in case of… you know. People who aren't meant to be in here, being in here." 

Marcus nodded. Ever since the FBI incident, they both shared the same fear of being found by the police during the night. Marcus had been dealing with it for a while, so he understood the precautions Wrench took. 

"That's fair."

Wrench yawned, then looked up at Marcus. His visor finally flashed on, displaying two question marks. "What the fuck are you doing here at 12AM?" 

"Oh, I was just gonna crash here. It's cool though, I'll head over to the SV HQ," Marcus told him, stepping back towards his stuff. Wrench sat up a bit more, though not enough to be considered upright. 

"Why leave?" 

"Well, I'm not about to tell you to get off the couch at 12AM." 

"Then don't," Wrench shrugged. He beckoned Marcus over, and the man walked over slowly. Wrench held out a hand, and when Marcus took it, Wrench yanked him down hard. Marcus let out a very dignified yell as he came tumbling down on top of Wrench, and the couch, which creaked under the sudden weight. 

"Wrench!" Marcus laughed. Wrench just flashed his heart eyes at Marcus. 

"And now we can both sleep on the couch. Night, M," Wrench said, reaching up to deactivate his mask again. Marcus smiled, accepting his fate and resting his head on Wrench's chest. 

"Night Wrench. Sleep well." 

And for the first time in a while, they both got a full night's sleep. 

• end •