Chapter Text
Waking up from my second nap today, I pull up my phone for a second before throwing it to the side and looking up at the ceiling.
Scrolling on social media can only be so entertaining, especially with all the news only being on the destruction the alternate Marks have caused.
It's day three of the Invincible War and sheltering in place fucking sucks. Rick's only been able to come over once, and Amber is stuck at her parents' house so I'm completely alone while everything is getting destroyed outside He contacted me already to tell me he's safe, but with all the fights I see him get into all I can do is worry and text Rick.
A knock on my door makes me jump, and I slowly make my way over to check the peephole.
Mark!? He's outside, covered in blood, and without his goofy mask on. Wait, isn't that his old suit?
"Mark?" I whisper through the door.
"Hey! Uh, could you let me in?" he says, nervousness clear in his voice.
I reach for the lock on instinct, then pause with my hand on it.
"What's your favorite comic series?" I ask, betting that in other universes Mark is less of a nerd.
"Séance dog." Mark laughs, smile growing as I let him in. Turning away from him I walk to the bathroom, wetting a towel under the sink.
"Is everything okay? Aren't you supposed to be with Cecil or your family dealing with all this?" I ask, sitting next to him on the couch. When I hand him the towel, his hand lingers on my own for a moment too long.
"Yeah, I just wanted to see you." he says, cleaning the blood and bits of people off of his face with my nice new towel. I grimace and pat his shoulder.
"What's up?"
"Can I have a hug?"
"What?" I snort, about to make fun of him before I notice he's serious.
"Uh yeah Mark, of course." I say, leaning in and rubbing his back. Mark's not an affectionate guy, but maybe with all this going on he's really overwhelmed. He grabs me tightly, holding me like I could slip through his fingers. I put my head on his shoulder and wait, letting him decide to break first. But he doesn't. After 30 seconds I try to lean back, opening my mouth to ask him what happened but he holds me tight.
"Mark?"
He's stopped responding, but I hear a deep inhale as he rubs his nose into my neck.
What the hell is going on?
I try to pull back harder, but for the first time ever Mark uses his strength on me, and it makes me stomach drop. I can't move an inch.
"You know I've always liked you, right William?"
"Yeah, in a friend way, of course. We had this talk when we were like, 14,"
"Uh, no. Not in a friend way."
I let out an anxious laugh, patting him on the back awkwardly, hoping he would let me go.
"What? Is this a joke or something? Let me go, this isn't funny" I say, pushing at him, hard.
He stops hugging me, letting me get up and away from him. I look at him again, and I don't see my best friend anymore. Instead, I see a stranger wearing his skin and using it to get close to me. His outfit isn't even the same for Christ's sake, just a cheap double like the ones destroying the world right now.
"Who are you?"
"What do you mean? You know who I am," he responds, hands folded together in his lap, eyes pleading.
"You're not my Mark, so who are you? What do you want?"
"You're right, I'm from…somewhere else. And what I want is you,"
"What!?"
"You… died in my world. So I'm here to find you, and keep you safe,"
"I don't need you, my Mark will protect me fine,"
"He's not here though, is he?" he says casually, head cocking to side. I back away from him, pressing myself towards the closed door to my room, slamming it quickly after I lock myself in. I can barely run to the bed before he breaks open the lock and removes the door off its hinges. The wood splinters, and I cover my face instinctively.
"I'm not here to hurt you, William. I love you! Just let me keep you safe,"
The back of my knees are knocking against the bedframe, and I'm seconds from pissing my pants when his words finally click.
He loves me?
"Wait, aren't you dating Eve? Or shit, Amber maybe?"
"No, just you," he murmurs, closing the gap between us so he can cup my cheek with his half gloved hands.
"We can't!" I yell, pushing my arms against his shoulders helplessly.
"I'm dating someone! Rick!" I continue, feeling like prey trying to fight a predator.
He looked away with a grimace, stepping back to raise his arm and run his hand through his blood speckled black hair. His face was scrunched up, making the same face my Mark would when he felt guilty.
"He's… gone."
Air caught in my throat, my vision blacking around at the edges. I'm on my knees before I can scream, tears streaming down my face.
"No, no, no." is all I can say, only held upright by this Mark's gentle and firm hands on my back. Visions of Rick flash behind my eyes: his smile, us throwing pencils at each other while we studied together, how he would lean into my neck when he was tired. I crawl into fake Mark's arms before I can think, wanting to feel comforted by the same arms that held me my whole childhood. Slowly, I looked up at him, swallowing my tears and getting the courage to ask him what happened when my blood runs cold.
His eyes. My Mark never looked at me like that. He looked…hungry.
"M-Mark, what happened?" I choke out, sitting backwards on my legs. His grip loosens but stays firmly around my shoulders. It feels wrong. Reaching up to cup my face again, Mark smiles sympathetically and rubs a calloused thumb against my cheek. It's warm, and for a moment I can forget this isn't my Mark.
"In my universe, we were together. You were… my best friend, my first love, my everything. I would do anything for you, and I want you to know that" he says urgently, his suit still splattered with blood that wasn't his.
"I found you online, and I learned everything about you. Where you stay, what you do. I thought I would have to fight this Mark to get to you, but he just left you alone during all this. I'm here to keep you safe, William" he whispers,
"What did you do? Mark, you didn't-" I can't even finish the thought, silently begging him to tell me this is all some dumb joke.
"I did what I had to. So that we can be together again. I only went along with Angstrom's stupid plan to find you," he starts excitedly, a sickening gleam in his eye.
"And now, I finally have you. Rick didn't deserve you, baby" he says, chapped lips kissing away the tear tracks on my face.
"I won't let anyone hurt you again William, you're mine,"
"Fuck you creep, leave me alone!" I scream, trying to push him away. He lets me scratch and claw at him, reacting to my panic with that same lopsided smile as my Mark would get whenever I did something stupid. I don't stop screaming, punching him with everything I have.
"Fuck you! Fuck you!"
"You're not listening. You're mine," he growls, picking me up with ease. He breaks open the ceiling with his head, flying a mile into the air. It's suddenly freezing, and I gasp wrapping myself around Fake Mark tightly. He furrows his brow, holding the back of my neck firmly in his palm as he forces me to look up at him.
"You'll love me, William. I know everything about you, what you like, what you need," he says, forcing my hips against his bulge. It's hot and throbbing against me, the only heat I can feel as I weakly shiver against his broad chest. I would feel so excited to be here if it was any other day, my Mark bringing me up here instead of this fake forcing himself on me. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t responding. His lips ghosting along the shell of my outer ear as he whispers how much he loves me, his warm fingers snaking up my shirt and wrapping around my waist with a desperate squeeze.
"Please," I whimper, stretching away from his needy mouth sucking bruises on my neck. He's not letting up, Mark's warm familiar scent filling my nose as the fake ruts into me with a moan. It's too much, and I almost scream as he rubs a warm thumb against my nipple. He's holding me tightly, and I start frantically searching my mind for something to get him to stop.
"Wait, please-please. I'm…hungry," I suggest, looking into my best friend's lidded eyes. He responds with a raised eyebrow, clearly not believing my lame excuse but mercifully stops. Holding a hand to the back of my head and another on my waist as he flies me to god knows where. It could have been 10 minutes or an hour of me shivering before he finally slows down and lets me go. Wrapping my arms around myself I look around the shitty motel room and sit on the edge of the bed to catch my breath.
"Stay here. I'm getting Italian." he says, locking the door tightly behind him as he leaves.
What the fuck?