A/N: Yes I know this has been "completed" since being posted. I had feels I needed to get out after playing Tales From The Borderlands (huge spoiler warning btw if you haven't) and ended up starting a new chapter. It sat dead for over a year and I finally finished it! :D So, here's an unplanned and very late second chapter! I don't currently have anything else planned for it and am not sure what else I could do with it anyways, so this will more than likely be the actual end this time. Anyways, enjoy!

After that emotional night, while both still went about their own business most of the time, Tina found herself dropping by to see Moxxi fairly often. Meanwhile, Moxxi was becoming more accustomed to her general hyperactivity and Tina actually did watch her rudeness and vulgarity at least a little bit more than usual. However, Moxxi still never opened herself up emotionally. She instead aimed to be a sort of rock for Tina to use to climb back up when she fell down, so to speak, and unlike Tina, never broke character much.

One day, Moxxi was running her bar and serving her customers as always, and had been flirting playfully with a particularly pretty girl when a familiar face sat down on a stool by the counter. "Mordecai? I thought you were out on some mission, and sober?"

"I was, and uh, am, but we've received a nasty bit of intel I think you'll want to hear."

Moxxi's heart sunk without even knowing what it was. His tone and expression made it clear that it wasn't good. She sighed and turned back to the girl with a smile. "Sorry, sugar, we'll have to continue this later." She winked, then moved over to Mordecai. "Well what is it?"

"Would it be possible to go into a back room or something? I know how you are, and this is gonna hit hard." He knew she didn't like showing her more sensitive emotions publicly, and barely liked to show them to anyone at all, so he was trying to at least let her save face.

That only made her terrible sinking feeling even worse. She talked to a girl she had hired to help out a bit and had her watch the bar, then took Mordecai up to her little apartment above it. She sat down on the couch, crossed her legs, and folded her arms. "Well what is it?"

"A couple of Vault Hunters took a crappy rocket into space, and they took Scooter with them."

Moxxi was already terrified of what he was about to say, but didn't interrupt and tried to keep her cool until she knew for sure.

"There was a malfunction and the rockets had to be manually detached. One was taken out without a problem. The other...well...Scooter got caught and uh..."

"Don't say anymore." Moxxi didn't want to hear the actual words. "I get the picture. Thank you for telling me, now go away."

"Are you sure? Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Tears were already filling her eyes. "Just go."

"If you wanna talk, you know where to find me." When he didn't receive a response, Mordecai walked out.

As soon as he was gone, Moxxi quickly went into her room and grabbed a pillow, shoving it to her face to muffle a loud scream before collapsing on the bed. Her son, her first child, was gone. Granted, death and loss were ridiculously common on Pandora, but that didn't make them any less painful when it happened to you, especially when it was your own child. She had bore, risked, and sacrificed so much for her children and loved them dearly, even if Ellie liked to think otherwise, and now the one that had always been by her side and never once wavered was gone. She didn't know if he was hopelessly drifting in space or if the rocket exploded or something entirely different, and she could ask the details later, but no matter what happened, the end result is still the same.

Back down at the bar, Tina came running in, but was surprised when Moxxi wasn't behind the counter. "Hey! Heyheyheyheyheyhey! You! Where's Moxxi?"

"She went upstairs with Mordecai a little while ago. I think something bad happened."

"Oh. Uhhhh. Imma go say hi, 'kay? Bye!" Tina took off and ran upstairs, the girl knowing at least enough about what had happened between the two to know that Tina was one of the few people allowed to go up there without direct permission. Once the girl made her way up and saw Moxxi sobbing on the bed, holding onto a pillow so tightly it looked to be nearly ripping in half, her own mood dropped drastically. She walked over to the door and spoke quietly. "Yo, Mox? You okay?"

Upon hearing Tina's voice, Moxxi immediately tried to pull herself together, though was only partially successful, not to mention her makeup was enough to give her away anyways. She sat up and looked at the young girl in the doorway. "I'm fine, don't worry. Today isn't really a good day to visit, okay?"

"Hush, boo. Something ain't right. You've barely cried at all and now you're freaking right the F out!"

"No, really, you should go. Don't-"

"Uh-uh. No." Tina plopped down on the side of the bed, then smiled over at Moxxi. "You've helped me, so I ain't leaving you either. What's wrong?"

Moxxi heaved a deep sigh. "Alright, fine. M-my son, Scooter, he's...well he's not here anymore. He's probably off racing with Roland."

Tina may be naive, but she at least got what that meant by now. Her smile faded and she held her arms out to Moxxi. "Come on. It's hugging time. Hugs allllllways help."

Moxxi got a slight smile and hugged her.

"There there. It's alright. Now, want me to get you some chocolate chip cookies? They make EVERYTHING better."

Moxxi giggled lightly. "No thank you, sweetie." She pulled back, then noticed a smudge of blood on Tina's cheek. "Were you blowing up bandits again?"

"Yeah, so? Why?"

"You got a little of one on your cheek." Moxxi licked her thumb and wiped it off.

"Aww maaaan! Really? Why you gotta do dat? That's groooooss!"

"Says the girl that I've seen lick people's faces for no reason."

Tina paused for a moment. "Mm. Quite."

"Now, unless you want to take a shower, which I would highly suggest since I know for a fact you rarely do, you really should probably go. I don't-"

"I said uh-uh! I'm stayin' right here, but I ain't taking no shower. Now hush or imma hug you again."

"Alright, since you're so insistent, I'll fix my makeup, then you take a shower while I go close down the bar early. God knows how long it's been since you last got clean."

"But I dont wannaaaaa!"

"No buts. If you want to stay, you're showering."

Tina folded her arms. "Ugh. Fine. Why you gotta be so meeean?"

"I'm not mean. That's just decent personal hygiene." Moxxi stood and went into the bathroom to fix her makeup so that she didn't look like she had been crying (Her eyeliner might normally be drippy and smudged, but the white paint and blush were usually perfect.), then goaded Tina into showering before going down to shut the place down for the day. Thankfully, it was at least evening, so too much business hadn't been lost. (It probably would have been worse staying open anyways since the girl wasn't near as intimidating or quick to act as she herself was. Leaving her in charge for too long never ended well.) When she finished, she went back upstairs and heard Tina singing loudly in the shower. She pulled out some random old clothes that would somewhat fit her (though they would be a little big for obvious reasons), and carefully left them on the sink in the bathroom for Tina to wear when she got done, reminding Tina to use soap instead of just standing under the water, which elicited an annoyed groan and mini argument again. She then changed into pajamas herself, washed off her makeup in the kitchen sink, and laid in bed again, immediately becoming lost in thought. She had already lost two children before, but they had been lost very young, and it only seemed to get harder each time, especially since she had had so much more time with Scooter.

Tina walked out of the bathroom, still singing, and joined Moxxi again, who quickly tried to hide her crying. "Didn't you tell me to let it out? Why are you hiding it?"

"Because I am. Now I want to go to sleep, so grab a pillow and a blanket if you're staying."

"You sure you wanna be alone?"

Moxxi sighed. "Not really."

"Then I'll sleep in here!" Tina quickly jumped onto the bed, pushing Moxxi back a bit as she did so to make room.

Moxxi was slightly annoyed by being pushed out of the way instead of Tina giving her five seconds to move, but shrugged it off. "Just make sure you actually go to sleep."

"I will, but...are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Because if he's with Roland, you must be hurting pretty bad."

"I...I am, but it'll go away."

"It doesn't go away."

Moxxi felt the lump in her throat grow. While still childish and naive for the most part, Tina did have her moments, and in that moment pointed out something Moxxi knew even better than she did to be true. She held onto the child and kissed the top of her head. "I've lost children before, but it only gets worse. If you want to help me, then be a little more careful." Tears began to creep out once again. "I don't want to lose anymore."

While their developing relationship had been obvious, at least to either of them, it had been left unsaid. The way they acted made it clear as Moxxi consistently admonished the young girl, but also provided her with comfort and a home that wasn't a random, salvaged building in Tundra Express, surrounded by bandits, and Tina opened up to her easily and gave her grief, but listened to her better than she did anyone else. Both of them also gained a mutual respect for each other and even became a bit protective. But nonetheless, it had remained shown only through actions. Moxxi asking her not to leave was the first vocalization of it. "Uh...o-okay..."

"Please. Promise me that one thing, Tina."

Tina was silent for a few moments, still processing what was happening. "I promise."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Moxxi closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "That's all I can ask. Just try." She once again kissed the top of her head. "Unexpectedly, I've come to love you like my own child. Sorry if I….uh….get a little clingy after this."

Tina smiled and cuddled up to her. When she spoke, the last word came instinctually, without any thought. "It's okay, mommy." She didn't even realize she said it after it came from her mouth. By this point, it came naturally.

Moxxi was a little surprised by being directly called that, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome. Her lips cracked a small smile as she began to gently stroke her hair. "You should get to sleep now. I'm sure you must be tired."

With a yawn, Tina did indeed close her eyes, her voice clearly tired after the mood relaxed. "I'm fine, but I'll sleep anyways since you are."

Moxxi continued stroking as she giggled lightly. "Goodnight then, sweetie."

"G'night, mommy."