Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shitshitshitshitshitshit.

You were an idiot.

A big idiot.

Why in the world did you decide to take a day off in the middle of a work week?! Sure, you needed to unpack the boxes sitting in your empty apartment but at what cost? How stupid of you to think that was more important when something urgent was happening back at the office. Or at least that’s what the email subject had read. The actual contents of the email were rather vague about the matter but your line of work called for the utmost discretion. Anything more detailed would have been more alarming. You were out the door in minutes upon skimming the message and made it to your pristine office building in record time. You rushed past security, the pass hanging from your wrinkled shirt all you needed to get through the gate, and ran into a closing elevator.

You took this moment to finally catch your breath as you leaned against the mirrored wall. In between soft pants, you thought up a few scenarios as to why you were being called in. It was urgent, obviously, so it had to be something of dire importance. It couldn’t be a performance review; you weren’t due for one of those in months. And you were positive you hadn’t done anything wrong… okay, maybe 95% positive. There was that incident with Douglas but he was the one at fault. Could it be a new assignment? You were due for one ever since you had been reassigned to the L.A. Headquarters almost a month ago. All you’ve been doing so far was filing papers and maintenance work. It was high time for another big case. Deciding that was the most logical (and preferable) reason as to why you were being called in, you felt a whole lot better about the interruption. You could unpack those pesky boxes another day.

The ding of the elevator pulled you out of your thoughts. You walked out, tugging at your clothes as you strode down the tiled hallway. You reached the double doors of your boss' office in a matter of minutes and knocked one of them with a few, quick raps. You heard a muffled “come in” and opened the double doors. Immediately greeting you was an expansive view of the Los Angeles skyline and standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows was a tall woman dressed in a sharp, gray business suit. She spun around to greet you once you had closed the doors behind you.

“Hello [Name], sorry for having you come in on your day off. I really appreciate it.” She stated in an apologetic voice.

“It’s fine. What’s wrong?” You asked as you unceremoniously fell back onto one of her plush armchairs. In front of any other Branch Director, you would have been scolded for your lack of professionalism. But Evangeline Kane was different. An old friend of your parents, she was one of the few people who made an effort to look into your well-being after their passing. She sometimes came to visit you at your relatives’ home and was the only one who truly understood the tragedy you had gone through. Sadly, her visits were far and few and you soon lost contact with her once you were shipped off to Agent training after your 18th birthday. It wasn’t until you received a job offer a few months ago that you heard from Evangeline again. She was the one who personally requested for you to replace a fallen agent at the L.A. Headquarters and you quickly jumped at the chance to be reunited with her. And even after seven years apart, Evangeline didn’t look all that different. Sure, her long brown hair had some white peppered into it now and the lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes were more pronounced, but she was still the same, lovely lady who cared for y-

“We’re assigning you a partner.”

Scratch that, she was the worst.

“I don’t need a partner.” You began, pushing yourself out of your relaxed position and crossing your arms over your chest to look as defiant as possible.

“You don’t get a choice in the matter. I’m assigning you to an initial exploration case and I’ll be damned if you go in alone. That’s not how we do things here.” Your lips tightened as you held back a retort. On one hand, you detested having to work with another person. Partners just slowed you down. The few partnerships you've had during your short career as an Agent always ended as badly. However, Evangeline made an excellent point. Things were different out here and you had to learn how to adapt if you wanted to keep this position. Even if it meant you had to lug around extra weight for the sake of the mission. After staying silent out of spite for a few moments, you finally let out a sigh.

“Fine, who are you assigning me with? It better not be Douglas; that guy doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself. Which reminds me, I’d like to file a complaint to HR.”

“He’s already been suspended till further notice so don’t worry.” Evangeline replied without missing a beat as she pulled out her smartphone. Her fingers flew across the screen, tapping buttons you couldn't see from your position before she placed the device next to her ear.

“Send him in.” As your boss placed her phone back into her pocket, you noticed her take a long, deep breath before she turned back to you.

“Now I want to let you know that I consider you one of our best agents…”

“I don’t like where this is going.” You interjected with a glare. You knew that tone of voice all too well. Something unpleasant was coming.

“And that’s why I know that you can handle a partner with much less experience than you.”

“How much is ‘less’?”

“Let’s say about… none.”

“What?!” You jumped up from you chair, ready to go on a tirade when the doors to Evangeline’s office swung open. You glanced over your shoulder to see a bespectacled guy around your age stumble in, followed by two men in suits that towered over him.

“Um… hello?” He greeted with a small, awkward wave but you only responded with a noticeable cringe as you looked over his unruly black hair and stubble-covered face. You spun back around to Evangeline in a rage.

“A civilian?! Are you kidding me?!” You shouted.

“He’s not just any civilian.” Evangeline replied calmly, motioning her hand towards the man as if she was showcasing a prized work of art, “this is Mark Fischbach.” Silence followed as the woman gave you an expectant look. You responded with a raised eyebrow.

“You may know him as Markiplier.” She tried again, putting more emphasis on his... Name? Alter-ego? You didn't know what to call it.

“Am I supposed to know who that is…?”

“Honestly [Name], I appreciate your dedication to this job but I think for your sake, as well as for the rest of this department’s, you need to get a life.” Your annoyed demeanor faltered for a moment as you were taken aback by your boss’s blunt honesty. Dammit, she didn’t have to go that far. You totally had a life outside the Agency...

Evangeline quickly took advantage of your brief hesitation and continued speaking. “Mr. Fischbach here is a celebrity in the internet world. He runs a very successful gaming channel on YouTube and has extensive knowledge on a variety of games, especially horror.” The mere mention of that genre reignited your anger tenfold.

“I do not-!”

“[Name], I am quite aware of what genres you work in and frankly I don’t care right now. You are the best agent we have and you are going to work where I say you work, got it?” The sparks that flew between you and Evangeline’s glares were so intense that Mark and the two other men took a couple of steps back to avoid the crossfire. After a few tense-filled seconds, you were the first to look away, albeit begrudgingly.

“Got it.” You spat out, your hands balling into fists. Even if you had to agree with her on this matter didn’t mean you had to like it.

Seeing as you had finally calmed down (at least for now), Evangeline turned her attention to the forgotten ‘star’. “Mr. Fischbach, thank you again for coming in on such short notice.”

“Yeah, uh… no problem? It’s not like I had a choice in the matter.” You saw Mark cautiously glance over at the suited men next to him. Poor guy; he must have been forced to come here.

“Yes well, we thought that it would be better to show you firsthand what we do before giving you an explanation. Now, follow me.” Evangeline headed for the door but momentarily stopped to look back over her shoulder.

“That includes you, [Name].” You let out an exaggerated groan but did as you were told as you followed her and Mark out, falling into step with the male instead of walking ahead. You didn’t want to get another earful from her any time soon.

“They're not coming?” Mark suddenly asked when he noticed the expressionless guards that had escorted him up stayed put just outside the office.

“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are only security guards. They don’t have clearance to where we’re going.” You replied.

“Oh…” You looked over to him and saw a tinge of hurt pride grace his dark brown eyes. It was a look you knew all too well, having broken several men’s prides on various occasions. That’s why you couldn’t help by smirk as your assumptions came together.

“Disappointed that the guys who took you down are at basically the grunts of our secret organization?” You had expected an angry response like you had received many times before. As underhanded as it was, if you could annoy him to the point of refusing the partnership position, it would be a win for everyone (except Evangeline but screw her, she could find a better replacement). To your surprise, Mark glanced over at you sheepishly.

“You can tell, huh?” He asked, scratching the side of his neck nervously.

“It’s as obvious as this blatantly obvious secret headquarters we’re in.” You responded, your voice drenched in sarcasm to hide the foolishness you were feeling for making the wrong assumptions about him.

“We are not that conspicuous.” Evangeline stated sharply. Probably annoyed by your accusation.

“You kidnapped this guy in broad daylight. If that doesn’t scream ‘secret organization’, then I don’t know what does.”

“Well… it’s also kinda mobster-ish if you think about it.” Mark suddenly added but quickly shut his mouth when you threw a glare at him.

“Hey, I’m trying to get us out of this so stop it.”

“Get out of what? You guys haven’t told me anything yet!” The sound of heels clicking tile ceased and the two of you turned your attention back to Evangeline. She stood next to a large oak door and had on a look of complete seriousness that made you hold back your snarky tongue.

“We are a secret, international organization whose sole purpose is to protect this universe and its inhabitants' way of life. To do so, we have Agents, like Ms. [Name], jump to different universes and complete missions to assert the dominance of our universe, thus keeping it as the Alpha, or Main Universe." A tense silence followed Evangeline's explanation as all attention was focused on Mark.

"You're kidding, right?" He asked incredulously, looking at the two of you as if you both had sprouted extra limbs.

“Therefore, we had to take you in. You wouldn’t have believed us if we didn’t show you what we do firsthand.” Evangeline explained before pulling out a black card from her back pocket. She slid it easily through a card reader stationed next to the door and took a step back. The wooden door slid horizontally into the walls, revealing a thick, steel door. The steel door swung back a second later to reveal a massive, circular space filled to the brim with technology. The room itself had no lights but had large screens that lined the walls in rows of three that gave enough illumination for the large space. Manning the screens on an enormous electronic panel that covered the entire bottom wall of the room were various people in all shapes and colors, all dressed in some version of a button up shirt and black slacks. No one tore their eyes off the screens when Evangeline opened the door except the sole person standing in the middle of the room next to the only terminal not connected to the wall. The stout blond fellow waved at the three of you, urging you to come inside with a warm smile. Mark was the first to enter, although a bit hesitantly, as he looked at all the screens in silenced awe. You, however, stood by the doorway and gave your boss a suspicious glance.

“That was not dramatic at all.” You pointed out wryly.

“You know I don’t get to do this often. Will you just let me have this?” Evangeline replied with faux desperation, bringing a grin to your face. Looks like she wasn’t that mad at you anymore and honestly, you were more relieved than you would like to admit. Your snide remarks and prickly nature put most people off so it was always a blessing when someone could look past your tough exterior. Some of your fondest memories of her were the two of you bantering back and forth for hours.

As nostalgic as that was, reminiscing could wait. You went back to serious mode as you walked into the orderly chaotic room. Even from a distance, you could see the huge grin on the Head Analyst's face as he conversed excitedly with Mark, his large hand grasping the shorter man's in a firm shake. Once you and Evangeline got closer, the blond let go and greeted you both.

"Director! Agent [Name]! Nice to see you! Glad to know you are taking my suggestion under serious consideration."

"Suggestion?" You questioned.

"I was the one who thought Markiplier would make an excellent partner for you, especially if we're dealing with the horror genre and what not."

"Oh my god Chuck, you knew?!"

"What, you didn't?"

"A certain someone failed to mention it." You hissed as you glanced over Evangeline. She calmly brushed it aside as she focused her attention on the still awed Mark.

“As you can see, I was completely serious with my explanation before. This area is the center of all our operations with each column of screens displaying what our Agents are experiencing at this very moment. The Analyst in front of the screens act as a handler to that Agent by keeping track of their progress and, more importantly, their health.” She stated, gesturing to the said objects or people throughout her lecture.

“So, what you’re saying is that a real live person is pulling off a heist in the fictional city of Los Santos as we speak?” Mark replied slowly while pointing to one column of screens displaying gameplay of Grand Theft Auto V in three different angles.

“Well, a real live person’s consciousness, not their actual physical body.” Chuck corrected. “But yeah, everything you said is accurate. Agent Xander will probably be done in a few short minutes after he shoots down those helicopters.” He motioned over to the monitors where the said agent onscreen began releasing a torrent of bullets into the air.

“How is that even possible? How is any of this possible?” Mark asked, completely dumbfounded by all that was going on around him. Could you blame him though? This was a ton of information being thrown at him and you were impressed that he hadn’t freaked out yet, especially since he had been forced to come here in the first place. You weren’t sure if he was dangerously curious or so laid-back that he’d just go with the flow with his supposed kidnappers. It was starting to look like it was a mixture of both.

“Let’s start in the beginning.” Chuck began, his blue eyes sparkling at the chance to educate a new mind with the wonders of the universe. You immediately grabbed a couple of unused rolling chairs, knowing from experience that this might take a while…

“As Director Evangeline had probably already mentioned, this world we live in is part of the Alpha Universe. It’s not called that because we’re egotistical but because all other universes are born from the imaginations of the Alpha Universe’s inhabitants. When a person thinks up an idea of a new world or character, it becomes the initial spark of a completely new universe. And because there are more than a billion people on this planet alone, the number of Beta Universes that have been created or will be created is infinitesimal.”

“Holy shit.” You heard Mark whisper as he fell back on a chair you strategically placed behind him minutes before. You gave yourself a mental pat on the back as you continued to listen to Chuck speak.

“Most universes remain separate from another throughout its entire lifespan. However, if a universe gains exposure in the Alpha Universe and is known in the minds of more and more people, it will grow in power. If another universe gains too much power from exposure in the imaginations of the Alpha inhabitants, they evolve to a Beta Universe and a phenomenon known as a ‘bleed’ will occur. This is when the notable characteristics that make a Beta Universe unique begins to trickle into the Alpha through two ways; influenced humans whose behavior will change drastically based on how they are represented in the other universe and/or supernatural or mythical beings/objects. Some bleeds are positive but most will have negative impacts on society. You might remember a few headlines from years ago where a teenager shot up a school because he got the idea from some violent video game or a man eating another human being after snorting bath salts. These are incidents caused by influenced humans that we at the Agency had to cover up to avoid mass hysteria. The first incident I mentioned was much easier than the latter but we covered up that zombie incident rather well, I think-”

“Get on with it Chuck.” Evangeline interrupted.

“Right. Sorry. Um, examples of supernatural/mythical beings are what you consider urban legends and what not. Ghosts are the prime example of this since people have known and thought about the existence of spirits for centuries. However, they are not able to maintain a physical form because even though many people know about spirits, there is not one concrete idea or form people imagine. It is only when the same image or form is associated with a world or character can that item or being begin to take on a physical form. Thankfully, this has not happened yet due to our efforts in maintaining Beta Universes from becoming too powerful.”

“How does that work? You said that you send people’s minds into a game?” Mark inquired, a concentrated look on his face as he rested his elbows on his knees. Again, you were quite impressed with his quick acceptance and adaptability to the situation at hand.

“Video games, movie franchises, television shows; the Agency handles them all. We were formed when the rise of technology gave way for people to bring physical forms and images to their imagined visions. In regards to video games, we have Agents complete them like you would if you played it. Every time an Agent completes a chapter or checkpoint, depending on how the game is set, they are basically asserting the dominance of the Alpha Universe. It also adds more Alpha energy masses into that Beta Universe and creates a wall between that universe and ours. There are several different headquarters around the world to prevent bleeds in any region. We also divide sections up based on specialties and genres Here at the Los Angeles Headquarters, we focus on video game universes, predominantly FPSs, platformers, and of course, survival horror.”

“That’s where I come in.” Mark finished, looking as though he had finally put all the pieces together.

“Precisely. We’ve seen your work and your expertise in the survival horror genre. It makes you the perfect candidate to become [Name]’s partner.” Evangeline replied as she stood up. “We wouldn’t make you a full-fledged Agent since that will take up too much of your time away from your day job. However, we would like to hire you on as a part-time consultant. Less hours but with all the perks of being an agent. Which work well with how Agent [Name] operates.” You saw Mark’s eyes lit up in excitement behind his thin-rimmed glasses and you were about to open your mouth to say something but the older woman beat you to it.

“However, before you agree to anything, we need to explain one important detail of your job description.” She said so solemnly that it immediately extinguished the sparkle in Mark’s eyes.

“What is it?” He asked just as seriously but you could tell that he knew what was coming.

“When visiting these universes, you don’t get the infinite amount of lives like you would playing. If you die in a universe, you die here.” No one spoke after that and the silence around your small group was immediately filled by the sounds of games playing and Analysts speaking to one another. All eyes were focused on Mark, his minute facial expressions revealing the internal struggle to come to a decision. After what seemed like hours but were only mere seconds, he finally looked up.

“Can I have a few days to think about this? I don’t think I can decide just yet.” He asked timidly. Evangeline nodded.

“Of course. Take as much time as you need.” She stated. “Let me escort you downstairs. I’ll have a car bring you back home.” She gestured her hand over to the doorway with a warm, almost motherly smile and you saw Mark give a small smile back. Once he stood up, Evangeline went ahead to the door as she pulled out her phone, probably to call on her personal bodyguards to get the car ready. Mark followed soon after, but not without glancing over to you. Your eyes met for a moment and you could see that he was searching your eyes for some kind of answer. If he agreed, he would be your partner. Could he trust his life in your hands?

You sure as hell couldn’t trust your life in his. You didn’t want to work with an inexperienced nobody, even if he was some horror game god. Playing it behind a computer screen and experiencing it in real life were two totally different things. That’s why you returned his glance with a glare and turned away as coldly as you could. You didn’t look back to see his reaction and squashed whatever guilt you were feeling. He seemed like a nice guy but you couldn’t risk your life or his with whatever crazy mission Evangeline had in store. He would be better off going back to whatever he did on YouTube.

You saw a figure loom next to you and looked up at Chuck. He had a disappointed look in his eyes, probably from watching your interaction with his idol. “You should give him a chance.” He said as he rolled over a seat next to you and sat down. “He really is good at playing games.”

“It’s not the same as being an Agent.” You sighed, relaxing your arms in your friend’s presence. If someone had told you a month ago that the jolly, overly-excitable Head Analyst of the Los Angeles Headquarters would become the closest thing you’d have to a best friend, you would have had that person check into a mental health institution. But lo and behold, Chuck wormed his way through your cold exterior with his pun-filled jokes and welcoming attitude that you couldn’t ignore the loveable doofus even if you tried. It was a friendship you had been yearning for a while but previous experiences made it hard for you to move it past co-worker friend status. Luckily, Chuck was a-okay with that and respected your boundaries.

“Well, maybe what we need isn’t an Agent. They’re the ones who keep failing after all.”

“Are you saying I’m gonna fail?”

“Of course not. You’re the freaking best Agent we’ve got.” Your lips twitched and Chuck grinned at your impending smile before he continued. “But maybe you’ll have a better chance with someone who isn’t formally trained.”

“Maybes won’t save lives Chuck.”

“I know, I know. Can’t I just be an optimist and believe in you guys?” You glanced over at him for a moment and saw nothing but honesty shine through his baby blue eyes. You gave another sigh, this one more exaggerated, before shrugging your shoulders.

“If you must.”

“Great! Anyways, don’t let me keep you from the rest of your day off.” Chuck exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. “But before you go, I’m sure you’d like a head start on what Beta Universe Evangeline plans to send you to.” He walked over to his private, rolling terminal and grabbed a folder sitting on top of a set of colorful buttons. He walked over back to you just as you stood up.

“Warning you now, this game is pretty terrifying.”

“How fun. I’ll be sure to look at it when I get home.” Bidding a quick goodbye, you walked out of the room and back towards the elevators, taking your sweet time back down to avoid walking into Evangeline and Mark if they were still downstairs. Luckily, they weren’t there anymore and you were able to leave headquarters without another incident.

One short bus ride later gave you enough time to skim through the folder. The game you would be going into was called Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a survival horror point-and-click game. Even though it was an indie game, it got a lot of exposure during its first game for its vague lore and memorable animatronic animal villains. With the release of the sequel so quickly after the first, it’s exposure skyrocketed and was having some hazardous effects on your universe. The high death rate of the second game had taken at least 2 sets of Agent pairs so far. A part of you wondered if there were too many cooks in the kitchen, which lead to their untimely deaths but you shook your head. Stop it ego; you had to get into the new habit of having a partner. Preferably someone with a few missions under their belt.

As you climbed the stairs up to of your floor, you began making a mental list of all other available Agents at your headquarters. You were unlocking your door and thinking about Agent Xander’s qualifications when you heard someone call out behind you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” You froze, immediately recognizing that smooth baritone voice. You hesitantly looked over your shoulder to see Mark Fischbach stepping out of the apartment door across from yours.

“I… live here?” You slowly replied, frantically praying to whatever god was willing to listen.

Please just be visiting someone. Please just be visiting someone.

“What a coincidence, I live here too!” He announced cheerfully as he closed the door behind him. “Guess we’re neighbors.”

“Yeah… Cool… Um, I gotta go.” Before Mark could say anything else, you scrambled inside and closed the door behind you a little too loudly. Probably a good thing though since you were still sticking to your plan in keeping up an assholey persona to push him away. But that was the furthest thing from your mind right now as you pulled out your phone. You went to your speed dial page and pulled up the first person on top of the list. She answered in two rings.

“Yes [Name]?”

“Why does he live 10 feet away from me?”

“I don’t kn-”

“Cut the bullshit, you’re the one who put me in this apartment.”

“I put you in that apartment because I knew you’d appreciate that spiral staircase.”

“You know I do but that’s beside the point. How long have you been planning to assign him as my partner? Before I got here?”

“What if I did? What if I’m concerned about your social well-being and that you haven’t had a partner or any social interaction outside of work for the past two years?”

“Because it’s none of your business!” You hung up on her before she could say anything else and threw your phone on the couch. Her words hung in the air but you did your best to ignore them and the open wounds they had created.

You were fine.

And you were going to remain fine. You had a good job, a nice home, and a sizeable income. What more could you need?

If Evangeline was so hellbent on making that Marki-whatever guy your partner, then you were going to do everything in your power to make him refuse the job.

Chapter Text

Not to toot your own horn but you had always considered yourself a badass. You’ve dealt with drug dealers, Nazis, zombies, Nazi Zombies, aliens, and even dragons thanks to your line of work so you had quite the resume to back your confidence up. That’s why it was such a blow to your pride when you went to such lengths to avoid one measly guy. It wasn’t out of fear; there was no way you could be scared of Mark Fischbach. No, you avoided him because he made you feel things. Gross things. Like guilt. And a bit of shame.

The first day after you had discovered your terrible luck of being his neighbor, you did all you could to show how horrible of a partner you would be. You gave him dirty looks, cold shoulders, and distanced yourself as much as possible whenever you came across him inside and outside your building (which was surprisingly a lot). But every time you walked by with your most intimidating stare, Mark would always reply with a cheery smile and a wave.

Where was the apprehension? The anger? You were acting like complete dick to him, weren’t you? Dammit, he was making you question the intimidation skills you took so long to perfect. Plus, he was making you feel super guilty for doing all this. You never felt guilty! How dare he!

When your first plan ended up in failure, you decided to go with a different idea: never make contact with him ever again. Maybe if you avoided him long enough, he would forget about alternate realities and secret organizations long enough for you to find a more suitable partner. However, taking this course of action resulted in you staying at your office much longer than most of your co-workers, busying yourself with a variety of work. When not jumping to different universes, you were usually tasked with paperwork. Most of it involved research into what games were trending now and charting them out on fancy graphs or figuring out what Beta Universes had to be maintained in order to stop any negative bleeds from coming in. You also took some time to look into your first big assignment since your relocation by playing through the game. And boy, did Chuck really nail it in the head.

This game was terrifying.

It wasn’t the monsters or the atmosphere of playing inside a haunted children’s restaurant that scared you (they were just creepy at best). What got to you the most was the waiting. The game kept you on the edge of your seat as you waited for the clock to hit 6 AM, the only things protecting you from murderous animatronics were a flashlight and a bunch of cameras. You also kept flinching at those stupid jumpscares, especially when it was that dumb puppet. It almost made playing at your cubicle rather embarrassing but it was a thousand times better playing with a bunch of people around you than at your apartment by yourself.

Tonight, you stayed even longer than expected since you were completely engrossed with defeating the final night. A crowd had gathered around your cubicle to watch you play with many of them shouting or screeching whenever they saw any sign of Freddy or his friends. Eventually, you completed the final night after your 21st try, earning you a round of applause from your co-workers. You coolly brushed off the pride but couldn’t help the blush dusting your face as you waved good-bye to the people that remained at the office. By the time you stepped out of the building, the full moon was already overhead. You caught the next bus home and successfully snuck up to your apartment without any incident, practically giddy with your success-filled evening. Your mood did a complete 180 the moment you opened your refrigerator door to find nothing inside.

When was the last time you went grocery shopping? You thought back to previous dinners from the last few nights and remembered that you’d been ordering take-out. A glance at your garbage confirmed this as your stomach began to growl. It was probably too late to have anything delivered from a decent restaurant so you begrudgingly settled on going to one of those 24-hour fast food places close by. Sighing sadly to yourself, you dragged your feet out your apartment and began to lock the door behind you when a delicious smell drifted under your nose. You quickly spun around to find the source of the smell only to make accidental eye contact with Mark.

Fuck.

“Uh, hey.” You ended up greeting awkwardly despite yourself.

“Hey there.” Mark casually greeted back as he pulled out his keys. “Going out?”

“Yeah, I need to find dinner...” Your eyes drifted to the plastic bag hanging from his hand and your mouth began to water without warning. Mark followed your gaze and soon let out a chuckle when he put two and two together.

“Want some? I always order a lot so I can have leftovers later but you’re welcome to have that share.” He offered. You looked back up at him in surprise. Was he serious? For a few moments, your eyes traveled back and forth between Mark and his plastic bag of goodies as you sorted out the pros and cons of this decision. If you took him up on his offer, you would end up talking to him, something you really didn't want to do for a number of reasons. One of them was because you'd be playing right into Evangeline's hands about socializing with people outside of work. You also didn't want to remind him about the job offer or be bombarded by questions about the position or alternate realities. But on the other hand, you might be able to convince him that the consultant position was not worth his life (or yours). And dammit, you really wanted to eat whatever he bought. It smelled too good to pass up.

"Okay," you finally answered, "I'll join you for dinner. But only because I don't want to wait forever for the bus." Mark perked up and grinned a toothy grin.

"Great! Come on in!" He exclaimed as he unlocked his door and held it open for you. You headed inside, your stomach leading the way and found his apartment almost an exact replica of yours, save for his furniture choices and personal belongings. Mark closed the door and placed the bag on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

“Just take a seat on the couch. Want anything to drink?” He asked as he headed over to the kitchen.

“A water is fine.” You replied back, taking a seat along the edge of the couch. There was no way you could relax here, no matter how hungry you were. You had no idea what his deal was or why he would invite someone he barely knew into his home. No one was that trusting.

Minutes later, Mark came back with two cups in his hands and set them on the table before plopping down beside you. “Now let’s see…” He mumbled as he pulled the plastic towards him and dug inside. “Do you want teriyaki chicken or sweet and sour pork?”

“Whatever you don’t want, I guess?” You answered with a shrug. Giving him first pick was the least you could do. You watched as he looked at both containers before handing one over to you along with a pair of chopsticks. “You know how to use these, right?”

“Of course, it’s not like I’ve never had Chinese food before.” You responded with a light glare as you accepted the food and utensil.

“Hey, how should I know? I don’t know anything about you.”

“Why don’t we keep it that way?” You immediately regretted those words and quickly glanced up to see his reaction. Mark had turned his attention to opening his food but couldn’t hide the hurt look on his face. You bit the inside of your cheek, the familiar feeling of guilt rearing its ugly head.

“Sorry, I’m just not one for personal conversations, ya know? I really do appreciate this so… thanks.” You weren’t sure if you sounded as sincere as you felt but once you saw his lips turn up into a small smile, you let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s fine, I get it. You should hurry up before your food gets cold.”

“Oh, right.” It was a bit hard to eat with the tense, awkward silence surrounding the two of you but you somehow managed. About halfway through your container, Mark finally had the bright idea to drown the silence out with some mindless television as he grabbed the remote and turned on his flat screen.

“What do you wanna watch?” He asked as he flipped through channels. You were going to reply with a ‘whatever’ when you saw a flash of something familiar between channel flips.

“Wait, go back.” Mark complied and flipped back to the previous channel where a red-haired anchorwoman was reading the news.

“-has been missing for about 48 hours. Mackenzie is the second child that has gone missing this past week, the first being Carter Adams.” Two pictures appeared on the screen, one of a little girl in braided pigtails and the other a little boy with a dimpled grin.

“Shit.” You cursed as you placed your dinner on the table, your appetite long gone. Two kids already? The game had only been out for a couple of days.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked but turned his attention back to the news when the woman continued to speak.

“Just like Carter, Mackenzie was last seen leaving a local pizzeria with her friends but never made it home but police have made no connections between the restaurant and the missing children.” You saw the color drain from Mark’s face as he too dropped his food on the table when a picture of the said pizzeria came up.

“No… it can’t be.” He whispered in disbelief.

“It is.” You replied solemnly. “It’s not an exact replica but it’s definitely an effect from a bleed.” Although the name of the restaurant was blurred out, you could still make out the silhouette of a bear hanging above the sign.

“So, there's a bleed coming from the Five Night’s at Freddy’s universe?!” Mark practically screeched, seconds away from a major freak out.

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to that stupid sequel. Or prequel, or whatever it’s supposed to be.” You answered, digging into your pocket to fish out your phone. You had to call Evangeline and see if she knew about this.

“No one’s gone through the game and put up the walls or whatever they're called?”

“Everyone who’s tried is dead. I’m supposed to be the next Agent to give it a go but Evangeline is still screening potential partners for me. Won’t let me go without one.”

“Then I've made my decision. I'll be your partner.” You fingers stopped moving as your body went cold. You spun around and faced a determined-looking Mark.

“Hell no you’re not.”

“Look, I might not have the training but I know this game inside and out. I can hel-”

“No, you can’t!” You snarled, making the dark-haired man flinch but he quickly collected himself and steeled his gaze to match yours.

“What is your deal? What is it that you don't like about me? My face? My attitude?”

“Everything.”

“Yeah? Then why the hell are you here? If you really hated me, you wouldn’t have stepped foot inside my apartment, much less accept my peace offering.”

“I…” Your anger began to subside in the face of Mark’s logic as an embarrassed blush creeped onto your face. Dammit. You let out a long sigh, releasing not only air but a good amount of your rage, leaving you an exhausted lump.

“Fine, I don’t hate you okay?” You admitted, looking down at your hands as the guilt you had locked away took over. “I was just trying to make it harder for you so you wouldn’t accept the job. I don’t need someone dragging me down.”

“I beat the game, I know how it works.” Mark stated, his tone softer than before. Probably backing down now that you weren’t growling at him.

“I’m sure you do, you wouldn’t have been sought after by my boss. But this is a life or death situation and I don’t know if I can trust someone who’s never been out in the field, especially if that said someone just recently learned about all this crazy shit.” Silence followed soon after and you glanced up after a few moments to read Mark’s face. The mixture of emotions made it hard to pinpoint what exactly he was thinking but you could tell that he was torn up about this. Finally, he began to speak.

“I feel responsible for what happened to those kids.” He confessed in a soft voice. You raised an eyebrow, not expecting that to come out of his mouth.

“What are you talking about?”

“I helped spread word about the game through my videos.” He explained as he rubbed the back of his neck, a pained expression on his face. “I uploaded the last one yesterday and I’m pretty sure they’ve all reached about two million views by now. Dammit!” You jumped when his fists suddenly slammed against the coffee table as Mark’s face contorted from guilt to anger.

“There’s nothing I can do here! No one would believe me if I went to the cops so the only way I can stop any more kids from getting kidnapped and possibly killed is if you let me go with you to that universe!” His eyes bore straight into yours, the fury clearly shining through before they slowly turned into desperation after a few moments.

“[Name], I promise I won’t drag you down. I’ll listen to whatever you say and do whatever training I need to do so please, let me help.” You looked at Mark for a good long while, studying every inch of his face with your trained eyes. You were searching for some kind of crack, a lie beneath his anguish but you couldn’t find anything. He was truly shaken up by the fates of those two kids, no, two complete strangers, and seemed determined to make things right. To do so much for someone he didn’t know…

It was fucking inspiring.

You haven't met anyone, in or out of the Agency, who would jump into danger for someone they didn’t know in a long time. Chuck was onto something when picking this guy for the position. Maybe you could trust him, just a little bit.

“7 AM.” You finally announced as you stood up.

“What?”

“We’ll leave here at 7 AM for the office so we could start on your training. You need to at least get used to universe jumping before we go face Freddy and his gang.” You ignored Mark’s bumbling as you started for his door but stopped short when he called out to you.

“Wait! Does that mean…?” You glanced over your shoulder and gave him an even look.

“Yeah, I’ll take you as my partner. But remember, you made me a promise. And I hate people who break their promises.” Mark blinked, probably surprised over your change of heart, before giving you the brightest, sincerest smile you had ever seen.

“I won't let you down.” He replied warmly and you felt your breath hitch just the tiniest bit. You brushed away your strange reaction and gave Mark a simple nod.

“Good. See you tomorrow.” You walked out of his apartment, hearing his good-bye just as you closed the door behind you. As you crossed the hallway to your door, you placed a hand over your chest, feeling it's quickened pace beneath your shirt and skin. You furrowed your brow in confusion as you headed inside.

What the hell was that?

Chapter Text

It was only 7:30 in the morning and you already had a headache. You were propped up by your shoulder against the large window in front of you, one hand pinching the bridge of your nose while the other held your phone up to your ear.

“You have some really crappy timing Evangeline.”

“For once, I did not plan for this. There was no way I could reschedule this meeting.”

“Uh huh.”

“Look [Name], it’s simple. Just read over Mr. Fischbach’s stats and confirm that he’s fit to jump. Then you’ll be on your way for training.”

“But do I have to watch his examination? Isn’t this, like, an invasion of his privacy?” You questioned, glancing through the two-way mirror to see Mark sitting on the exam table while chatting with an Agency doctor. One of the nice perks about working for a secret organization like the Agency were all the amenities it provided. All aspects of insurance from health to home were included and because of the secrecy of it all, most facilities were housed at the headquarters. There was a medic bay one floor, training classes and gyms on another, the list could go on. The only thing they didn’t have were living quarters since most employees still had a life outside this job, as Evangeline always pointed out whenever you went home late.

“It’s procedure.” Said woman stated, returning your attention back to the conversation at hand.

“Of course it is.” You muttered.

“As much as I love listening to you complain, I have to get going. Enjoy the show.”

“Wait, what?” But your only response was a steady dial tone and you angrily hung up while stifling a yawn. If you had been able to sleep last night, you would have put up a better argument. However, every time you closed your eyes, you were bombarded with doubt and second guesses about your decision to make Mark your partner. You wish you didn’t have to gamble your lives like this but time was running out. If you didn’t act soon, not only would more kids go missing, toys and animatronics would begin to feel the effects of the bleed. You weren’t sure how the discretionary department would spin the story of animatronics coming to life.

All you could do now was train Mark as much as you could today and hope you wouldn’t make another mistake like last time. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you did.

You heard a ding from the tablet beside you, indicating that the doctor had finished compiling Mark’s physical information from their interview. You moved to grab it as your eyes flickered to the inside of the exam room for a brief moment, curious to what they would be doing next. What you saw instead made your eyes grow wide.

Oh.

Who knew this dork was hiding such an athletic body underneath all that flannel? Broad shoulders, muscular arms, a toned chest with faint indentations of abs… All in all, he was surprisingly attractive fit. Another ding from the tablet pulled you out of your trance and you quickly scrambled to get it, desperate for some kind of distraction. It proved unhelpful though as you found yourself glancing upwards every five seconds to get another glimpse of Mark as he went through several different tests, his muscles flexing here and there. Dammit, you needed to get a hold of yourself.

Thankfully, it only took about half an hour before the doctor finally cleared Mark for training. As Mark pulled back on his T-shirt and flannel shirt, you frantically turned away from the window to try and get some of the reading done. Moments later, Mark strode into the room with a smile on his face. “I’m all cleared.” He announced.

“I know. I got your report right here.” You replied, casually gesturing to the tablet in your hands but not making any move to look at him. “Let’s get going.” You began to walk out of the room and Mark soon followed, but briefly hesitated when he noticed the window you had been standing by.

“Hey, you can see into the exam room… Were you watchi-?”

“Nope.” You immediately replied, keeping your face as deadpan as possible.

“Are you su-?”

“Yes.” The finality of your voice ended that conversation and you prayed he didn’t bring it up later. A few silent minutes ticked by as the two of you walked down the hall and you soon felt your embarrassment ebb away. Mark must have noticed since he found this the perfect time to ask another question.

“Why did I need to get a physical? Isn’t it my mind that does the universe jumping?”

“Uh, I’m not as good as Chuck is explaining this stuff. But I’ll give it a shot.” You replied before taking a moment to collect your thoughts. You then turned to Mark and began your half-ass explanation.

“When you think about your body, you have a pretty good idea of what it looks like, what it’s limitations are, what it can and can’t do, without having to look at a mirror or go through tests, right?”

“Right.”

“And even if you don’t know for sure about your limitations, your brain still knows it. So when your mind jumps into a universe, this machine takes all the information your brain has on your body and creates a new body for your mind to inhabit in that world. That’s why you need to be fit to perform all the stuff necessary in a universe. If you have weak upper body strength in the Alpha Universe, you’ll have weak upper body strength in another universe as well. Same thing if you’re sick or injured in this universe.”

“Makes sense.” Before Mark could ask anymore questions about the logistics of cross-universal jumping, you had stopped at what seemed to be your destination; an unsuspecting door at the end of the hallway. You opened it and Mark’s eyes widened to see a large, stark-white room with a high ceiling and a heaping ton of empty space. The only furniture in the expansive room were two chairs reminiscent to the ones patients sat in during a dental procedure, only with more wires and electronics at the headrest and a 5 foot tall machine where all the wires connected to. Standing near all this equipment was Chuck who was looking through his own tablet until he noticed the two of you enter.

“Hey there, congrats on passing the physical Mark.” He greeted cheerfully.

“Thanks!” Mark replied with the same level of cheeriness.

“Did they tell you why you needed that exam?”

“[Name] already explained it to me.”

“She did?” Chuck glanced over to your direction with an eyebrow raised.

“What?” You asked.

“Nothing. I’ve just never seen you so... cooperative before.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” But you were flat-out ignored by the blond man as he turned back to Mark, his round face in serious Analyst mode.

“If you hadn’t guessed by now, this is what we use to send Agents to different universes. Since this is your very first jump, we’re going to be sending you and [Name] to the safest universe in our jurisdiction; the Last of Us universe.”

“Wait, what?!” You exclaimed, your eyes wide in shock. “That’s not a universe for a first timer. There’s zombies there, remember?”

“Um, I kinda agree.” Mark added. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

“Have a little confidence in yourself. Your exam scores show that you’re on par with a typical Agent in regards to physical skills, such as strength and endurance. Can’t say for your fighting abilities or your knowledge with weapons but we don’t have the time to leisurely teach you all that. You’ll have to learn through experience.” Chuck explained.

“Yeah, that’s so safe.” You muttered under your breath.

“That is also why we assigned him to you, [Name]. We are confident that you can make up for the things Mark doesn’t know.” In as much as you wanted to argue, you knew there was nothing you could do to change their minds. You were too far into this now and it wouldn’t be fair to Mark at all if you quit. He promised he wouldn’t let you down, not Evangeline or the Agency. And because of that, you felt some obligation to see this through with him. And besides, you two were going to be heading to another assignment much more dangerous than this one so why not jump into the frying pan? You would just have to ignore the sickening feeling of déjà vu welling at the pit of your stomach.

“And I will.” You affirmed, looking over to Mark who also seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“You ready?” Your sudden question made him jump and look back at you.

“Do you think I am?” His gaze locked onto yours for a moment, allowing you to see the clear hesitation in his eyes. Most guys you knew would hide their fear behind a bravado of manliness but not Mark. He was willing to show just how scared he was and ask you your opinion. It was rather refreshing to meet someone like this and gave you more reason to remain his partner.

“Yes.” You replied, giving him a confident nod. His usual smile returned to his face as he responded with his own nod before turning back to Chuck.

“Let’s do this.”

“Alright, get settled on one of the chairs. I’ll help you get your headband ready.” Mark followed his directions and headed for one of the chairs, hesitating only when he noticed something.

“Uh… Why are there buckets here?” He asked, pointing over to a spotless, silver bucket at the foot of each chair. Despite the overwhelming weight of carrying both your fates on your shoulders, you couldn’t help but grin.

“You’ll see when this is over.” Mark had no chance to ask more about it as Chuck ushered him to his chair. Chuck then grabbed the silver headband hanging from behind the headrest and placed it over Mark’s head.

“Once we get this on, try not to move. The band needs to hit an exact part of your brain for it to completely jump your consciousness. Expect some sluggishness when you first arrive at the universe but it should wear off in a few minutes.” Chuck gave a few more pieces of advice to the slightly nervous Mark as you got yourself ready. When both of you were finally situated, Chuck stepped away.

“Good luck you two.” He said before walking out of the room.

“He’s not staying?” Mark asked, trying to look behind him without moving his head.

“Can’t have too many brainwaves in this room. Don’t worry though, we’ll be hearing from him when we get there. Communication is much easier between universes that we’ve completed. We’ll basically have a little Chuck talking inside our heads.” You explained, eyes glued straight ahead.

“Coo-” Mark was interrupted by the sudden loud whirring of the machine in front of you, making him flinch and hold on to the armrests. You let out a laugh and glanced over at him.

“Relax, you’re gonna be fine!” You called out, the whirring getting louder.

“I’ll be more fine if you tell me what the bucket is for!” He shouted back. You made an attempt to reply but your voice was drowned out by the sounds of the machine coming to life. That’s when you felt it—the beginning stages of the jump. Tightness first gripped in the inside of your temples and soon made its way deeper into your head, as if a grip was closing in on your entire brain. The sensation was borderline painful and you focused on your even breathing to ensure you didn’t go over that metaphorical line, only breaking your concentration a couple of times when you heard Mark’s pained grunts. You knew you forgot to tell him something…

All lingering thoughts washed out of your mind when the tight feeling suddenly centered itself in the middle, just behind your forehead. A moment passed as you held your breath, already anticipating what was coming. Like a band-aid, the centerpoint of the pinching tightness painfully tore itself right out of your physical body, taking your mind, your soul, your entire being along with it. The pain was outrageous, but thankfully short and you were soon left in a state of nothingness. You couldn’t feel anything, and not just in sensory terms. You couldn’t feel your limbs or any part of your body. You couldn’t feel the breaths rise and fall in your chest or the beating of your heart.

You were nothing and all you had to focus on was the blinding white light encapsulating your entire field of vision.

But, just like with the pain, the unnatural state of nothingness was also short lived. In what felt like a blink of an eye, bursts of sensation coursed through your entire core. You suddenly felt where your head was, that your hands were tingly and your feet were heavy. You could feel a weight on your shoulders and your eyes blinking way too quickly to get a good view of your new surroundings. However, you didn’t need vision to tell how humid the area was or that water was falling close by. When you finally had control over your limbs again, you slowed your eye movement down as you took the chance to survey your surroundings, or at least what you could make out in the darkness.

The first thing you noticed was the gigantic hole in the side of what used to be an office space, giving a clear view of the night sky high above the Boston cityscape, or at least what used to be Boston in this universe. Overgrown foliage grew along the edges of the wall, on the floor, on the ceiling, and over some of the abandoned desks and furniture scattered nearby, giving the area a more earthy smell. The objects and surfaces not touched by greenery were still fairly old, rusted or worn from time and the elements.

“Holy shit, we made it.” You heard a whisper beside you and looked over at an extremely bewildered Mark dressed in a dark green flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up all the way to his elbows, a black t-shirt underneath, faded dark jeans, and combat boots. A bag was strapped to his back as well while his usual glasses (probably configured by Chuck) were perched on his nose. His eyes were locked on to the high ceiling above you two, littered with holes of various sizes and allowing the full moon to shine through. “We made it.” He repeated, turning his eyes to you.

“Yeah I noticed, Joel.” You replied, a smile creeping up onto your face in reaction to his child-like awe. Mark blinked in confusion before looking down at himself.

“Whoa, did I replace him?!”

“Nah, it’s just easier for the Analysts to give us similar clothing for characters instead of configuring brand new ones unless it’s necessary. Like your glasses.”

“Is that why you’re dressed like Ellie?” You looked down at yourself and saw that you were wearing a faded, red graphic T-shirt over a threadbare, longer-sleeved stain-covered white shirt, faded blue jeans and sneakers. You just shrugged.

“Probably.” Your conversation was cut short when you two heard a familiar voice in your heads.

“So how'd your first jump go?" Chuck asked Mark, having no way to ask him privately at the moment. Mark glanced upwards to respond to the voice in his head.

"Crazy." He replied breathlessly before looking back at you. "You go through that every day?"

"Not every day but often enough. Let's talk more about it after we get through this though, OK? Chuck, what's the objective and our location?"

"You're in the building you'd be in early in the game where Joel and Tess are transporting Ellie to the Capitol building in Boston. You know, where they introduce the Clickers?"

"Ugh, those things." Mark mumbled in disgust.

"Yeah, those things. You'll be dealing with a few of them so watch out. Your objective will be to get out of the building. It's a linear path so you won't have to worry about getting lost."

“Roger. We’ll get right on it.” You focused back on Mark and gestured over to his back. “Let me see what you have in your backpack.” He turned around and you could already see a shotgun strapped to the side of his bag. You rummaged inside his bag for a minute but only found supplies for items you would have to craft later. When you took a step back, you placed your hands on your hips but flinched back when you felt something other than your pants. Glancing down, you noticed that you had a holster on your hip carrying a revolver.

“Do I have any long guns on me?” You asked as you turned around to let Mark check.

“Nope.”

“Damn, well I guess you can keep the shotgun. You know how to use it?”

“Uh…” You rolled your eyes as you grabbed the gun off of his bag before pushing it into his hands. Over the next few minutes, you gave Mark a crash course on how to use a shotgun, emphasizing on holding the butt of the gun close to his shoulder to avoid painful kicks. Once he looked like he got the hang of it, you ventured forth deeper into the dilapidated building. You traveled through the area in silence, ears perked for any groans or worse—clicks. It wasn’t until you had scrambled down an almost crushed staircase and onto the floor below that you finally broke the silence with a statement.

“There aren’t any open paths Chuck.” You announced as you tried to search the blocked stairwell for any opening.

“Wait,” Mark started before Chuck could reply, “I remember this part. We have to go through here.” He pointed to the large, broken window to your left where a rusted scaffold window washers used hung from the building. You peeked your head out of the window to see beyond the scaffold’s railing and saw a big drop to the bottom.

“Of course.” You muttered under your breath before pushing the scaffold a bit to test the chains. It squeaked loudly from the movement and not doing anything to lift your confidence.

“So… ladies first?” Mark joked behind you and you felt your lips tug upwards in spite of yourself.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” You swung your leg over the railing, dropping the foot down as gently as possible before swinging the other one. You took a few steps forward to let Mark on and he soon followed. The two of you said nothing about the loud groan coming from the chains as you headed over the next scaffold. Other than a few strains and squeaks, you made it over the second scaffold and onto a makeshift wooden platform circling the outside corner of the building without any trouble. However, without the railings to give a false sense of security, you could clearly see just how far up you guys were. You kept your back up against the glass as you shuffled over a few steps to give Mark some room.

“Don’t look down.” You commented when he got on the platform, hoping to ease as much of his tension as you could. But of course, it did the opposite to Mark as his eyes flickered to down and his face went pale.

“Why’d you say that? Saying that never helps.” He replied, throwing his back against the wall to get as far away from the edge as possible.

“Sorry, I’m not a good conversationalist during life-or-death situations.” You said as you slowly made your way to the final scaffold just a few inches ahead. You heard a snort next to you.

“That wasn’t too bad.”

“Really? I was just being honest.”

“You should stick with that then.” You felt another smile on your face and it wasn’t just from reaching the end of this god forsaken platform. You stepped onto the last scaffold—this one shorter and holding more stuff than the last two—and carefully walked over the boxes and blankets towards the open window on your left. You climbed inside just as Mark stepped onto the scaffold when you heard something that instantly made your heart drop.

SNAP!

One of the back wires of the scaffold broke into two, causing one of the corners to suddenly drop down. Mark stumbled forward, but held on to the railing to avoid tumbling over with the boxes sitting on that side.

“Mark!” You screamed, throwing your hand out just as Mark jumped forward the moment the second wire snapped. His hand perfectly landed in yours and you held on tight while the scaffolding collapsed below his feet. You quickly began to pull him up with everything you’ve got, ignoring the pain in your arm, the panic in his eyes, and how long way down the drop was. You could do this; you just had to fucking focus….

Once you pulled him high enough, Mark grabbed onto the window’s edge and aided you in pulling him inside. It took one more big pull to get him all the way in but once one of his legs were over the window, you collapsed backwards onto the tiled floor. Mark tumbled in afterwards, landing right on top of you and knocking all the wind out of you.

“Shit, sorry!” He cried, pushing himself up to give you some room.

“It’s fine.” You replied, voice a little strained. “You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He said with a relieved smile. You suddenly felt self-conscious under his gaze and quickly sat up as you pushed him away from you.

“No need to say thanks since you’re my partner and all.” You stated, avoiding his eyes as you stood up. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“Right.” After taking another moment to catch your breath, the two of you stood up and ventured down another flight of stairs towards a room on your right. You found it a bit funny that your first brush with death in such a dangerous universe was not with zombies, but with a stupid scaffold. That thought was quickly snuffed out when you entered the huge, debris-filled area and heard the sound of groans. You immediately halted and brought up an arm to stop Mark from walking any further.

“Did you hear that?” You whispered.

“Yeah, it came from below.” Mark whispered back as his eyes moved towards his left. “There’s a hole in the next room that leads downstairs.” You nodded in understanding and headed towards the direction he stated, finding the large hole in the middle of the debris. You jumped down and landed softly, Mark soon following after but had no time to survey your surroundings when you heard another loud groan. Mark and you didn’t need to exchange any words as you both ran for cover behind a large box on your right before peeking over to see a zombie shuffling around a couple yards down the dark hall.

“Hey,” Mark tapped you on the shoulder, “this way.” He pointed behind you to an opening farther down the hall that seemed to lead to a much brighter area. You followed his lead until you reached the entryway, glancing around the corner to see much more foliage basking in the glow of the moonlight. There were a couple of broken walls and about two more zombies standing around, their heads slumped down.

“Alright, let me take care of the closest one quietly then you can follow after.” You instructed, a plan forming in your head as you said this. “He’s a normal Runner so I should be able to strangle him.”

“Okay.” Mark replied, nodding at you to show he was ready. You nodded back, took in a deep inhale, and snuck your way out into the open. You maintained a crouched position as you inched your way to the zombie, your heart thumping loudly against your chest. However, you kept your breathing soft as you closed the gap. Your eyes were trained solely on the Runner’s back that you didn’t notice the piece of glass underneath your feet before it was too late. The sound of the crack wasn’t all that loud but it was more than enough to alert the Runner as he spun around and roared. Fear gripped your throat when more roars erupted in the area momentarily before your reflexes took over. In one, swift movement you pulled out your revolver from your holster and popped two bullets into the the first Runner’s head. You then straightened up right as the second Runner came at you and you shot another three shots, getting it in the shoulder and head. You noticed your gunfire sounded louder than usual and quickly realized that the other gunshot had come from Mark. You had no chance to worry about him though as a third zombie came running around the corner and headed straight for you.

You cursed under your breath when your last bullet did nothing to slow down the Runner. Thinking fast, you threw your revolver to the side and balled up that same hand, throwing a hook at the zombie when it was close enough. You could feel your knuckles split and burn from the collision but you only felt exhilaration when a few teeth flew out of it’s mouth. You planned to throw another punch when you noticed a plank of wood by your feet. Ducking down, you grabbed the two-by-four and swung upwards, catching the zombie’s chin with your weapon. You swung two more times as hard as you could, breaking the plank against its face before it finally went down for good. You looked down at the fallen Runner, breathing heavily from your exertion when you heard the loud sound of clicking. Turning back up, your eyes widened in fear when you saw a Clicker’s outstretched hands just a few inches away from your face.

“[Name], duck!” Your body moved before your brain could fully process these words as you heard a loud gunshot behind you. Something fast zipped above you and you watched as the Clicker’s face was completely blasted off. It fell back, landing on the zombie you had taken down seconds before. You perked your ears for anymore groans or clicks but all you could hear was the ragged breathing behind you. Turning around, you saw a panting Mark with a shotgun in his hands, his wide eyes focused on the fallen Clicker. After a moment, he looked down at you.

“Are you okay?” You didn’t know how to respond at first, mostly because you were amazed at Mark’s quick response to the situation.

“Yeah, thanks.” You replied as you stood up, your legs shaky from your near death experience. Mark reached out and placed a hand on your lower back, steadying you.

“No problem. Just returning the favor, partner.” He stated with a grin. You returned his smile with one of your own, feeling little resistance in this particular gesture than your previous ones. After a moment, you stepped out of his reach and walked over to your fallen revolver, re-holstering it back into place as you turned back to Mark.

“Let’s see if these guys have any ammo on them.”

“Good idea.” You took a few minutes to search the bodies of the zombies, finding both revolver and shotgun ammo before moving on. The next hour or so felt a lot different than the times you’d spent with Mark before. You weren’t sure how to explain it, but your last encounter had helped to ease whatever tension or wall you had between the two of you. Conversations began much more easily from both ends and you even had a few bantering sessions here and there. Once you reached the underground subway station, you felt more in tune with each other as you wordlessly maneuvered past Runners and Clickers till you reached the gated entrance leading back to the outside. You were able to grab the ladder resting above the gates with a quick, but quiet boost from Mark and clambered over it just before the zombies could react to what happened. You two jogged a few steps from the loud gates before giving each other a high five.

“We did it!” Mark exclaimed, a grin plastered all over his sweaty, dirt-covered face.

“Yeah! Good job!” You replied back just as happily. His enthusiasm was so damn contagious after all.

“Well, I had a good teacher.”

“Aw shucks.”

“I was talking about Chuck.”

“Hey!”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Chuck’s voice suddenly popped into your heads, making you and Mark jump. “But you’re done with the training. Ready to head back?”

“Oh, yeah. We’re ready.” You responded.

“So how does going home work?”

“Just stay put and get ready for another trippy ride. Also, your bucket is gonna be on your right.”

“Wait, what?” You had no chance to reply when you suddenly felt yourself being pulled backwards. You caught a glimpse of your physical body before your vision was engulfed in a blinding white light, the rest of your senses falling away to the familiar sense of nothingness. The ‘trip’ felt shorter this time around when a second later, you felt your senses explode with sensation. Your eyes shot open unconsciously but you quickly shut them, not able to handle the bright light of the room just yet. Your head was pounding from the overload and you could feel some dizziness so you pulled off the band and pressed your fingers against your temples, hoping to ease some of the pain. That’s when you heard someone retching next to you and, despite your pain, let out a small chuckle.

“You okay Mark?” You asked, trying to hide your giggle as you kept your eyes closed.

“Why… didn’t you warn me… about this?!” He replied between retches.

“It would have bothered you the entire time we were there.” The dizziness had subsided and the pounding had turned into a dull ache so you took this chance to open your eyes again. The light didn’t sting your eyes and you confidently opened them wider till you had a clear view of the room. You turned to Mark and saw him leaning over his right armrest and facing the bucket on the floor.

“Don’t worry, this usually only happens during the first jump. You’ll get used to it.” Mark simply responded with a groan before throwing up again. You turned away, not wanting to actually see it happen when the door behind you opened. Chuck stuck his head out and waved at you.

“Good job guys! I recorded your jump and sent it to Evangeline. It’s almost 2pm right now but you can head home for the day [Name]. From the looks of it, Mark needs some help heading home.”

“Probably.” You chuckled.

“You’re a monster.” Mark suddenly groaned but all you did was smile.

“I’d say ‘suck it up’ but you probably can’t.” He threw you the middle finger over his shoulder but you just laughed as you turned back to Chuck.

“What time should we be here tomorrow?”

“Evangeline will be back at 8am so 8:30 would be best.”

“Got it.”

“Cool, see you tomorrow. Feel better Mark!” Chuck gave you two another wave before leaving, keeping the door open as you stood up.

“Ready to go Pukey?” You asked. Mark responded by bringing up his hand behind him as if to pause the conversation. You obliged and silently waited a few moments until he finally took a deep breath and straightened up slowly.

“I think so.” He replied hoarsely as he got up from his chair. You glanced over at his bucket while the two of you started for the door and instantly regretted it.

“Shit, why is that so colorful? What did you eat for breakfast?” You asked, looking away in disgust.

“Cereal.”

“No wonder. It looks like you threw up your entire meal so you wanna grab some lunch on the way home?” Mark gave you a surprised glance.

“You’re offering?”

“Yeah. I owe you for last night.” Despite being extremely nauseated before, he seemed to still be in high spirits as he gave you a grin.

“Sure! I’d be an idiot to turn down free food.”

“You pick where we’re going though. I still don’t know what’s good around here.”

“Maybe if you got out more…”

“Hey! Not you too!” Mark responded with laughter and you soon found yourself giggling as well as you two made your way out of the room.

Maybe this partner thing wasn’t going to be as bad as you thought.

Chapter Text

It was still fairly early when you arrived at Headquarters the following morning, but already the entire office was alive and buzzing with activity. None of this was surprising though seeing as today was the day of the all-important jump. The bleed coming from the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe had been growing at such an alarming rate that the Main Headquarters had already gotten word of its effects. It was why Evangeline went to that hastily arranged meeting yesterday; to explain and ensure that she had everything under control.

However, from what she told you during your conversation over the phone last night, the top dogs over at the Main HQ weren’t entirely convinced. They were almost skeptical to believe that this bleed could even be handled by your branch. They would still allow her to go through with the plan she had already devised but if she could not produce results in the next few days, they would be forced to intervene for the safety of the public.

To an outsider, this might just be a battle of pride but for those who work in the Agency, an intervention from Main HQ results in hefty consequences for the Branch it had to “aid”, especially for the Branch Director. Evangeline would lose her job if you and Mark didn’t accomplish your mission, and this job is her life. You only heard her life story once when Evangeline first visited you after your parents’ deaths but it still stuck with you to this day.

As a young girl, Evangeline lost her family from the effects of an uncontrolled bleed. She didn’t believe the police reports ruling their deaths “accidental” and spent the majority of her teenage years searching for the truth. She eventually discovered the existence of the Agency on her own was recruited for her tenacity. However, her justice-filled drive would become a double-edged sword over the years as she completely devoted herself to the organization and stopping those same bleeds from ever appearing. While her peers were getting married and starting families, Evangeline fought her way to the top and became the youngest Agent to be promoted to Branch Director. It wasn’t until the unexpected deaths of your parents that Evangeline began to rethink the life she made.

You vaguely remembered her telling you about how she saw a glimpse of you upfront in the church that day. Amidst the crowd of mournful people, you silently stood before the memorial pictures alone with rage-filled eyes, clenched fists, and stiffened shoulders. It was then that she knew—she couldn’t allow you to grow up like her. All the opportunities, relationships, and time she lost in her determination to make the world safe made her miss out on so much in her own life.

It was probably why she urged you to explore more opportunities when you were growing up besides training to be an agent. Even when you reunited with her as an adult, Evangeline still expressed concern about how devoted you were to your job with light jabs at your empty social life. You often forgot how much she looked out for you in your single-mindedness to be the best and was grateful to have the older woman for all she had done.

The addition of another life you couldn’t let down weighed heavily on your shoulders, making it extremely hard for you to get a good night’s rest. The anxiety woke you up several times that night, leaving you hyperventilating in a cold sweat. Fortunately, you were used to functioning on only a few hours of sleep so when your alarm rang out at 6 AM. You simply packed up your workout gear and extra clothes, swiping an apple from the kitchen as you headed out of your apartment.

The November morning air was crisp, the world peaceful in spite of the danger that loomed heavily in your mind. A mere fifteen minutes later, you arrived at the Agency office and tuned out your hectic coworkers running about whilst making your way to an empty elevator. The floor you arrived at looked as bleak and plain as the rest, with its slate gray tiled floors, off white walls, and oak doors. You made your way down the hall and eventually stopped at one unassuming door. You opened it to reveal what looked like a workout room, complete heavy gym mats covering the entire floor. The wall on the right was entirely replaced with large, floor-to-ceiling mirrors while the opposite wall held racks of free weights, dumbbells, and other exercise machinery.

Your main focus, however, was the lone punching bag hanging by the corner where the wall met the mirror. You walked over, dropped your duffel bag by the mirrored wall, and began to dig around inside it. After a few quick seconds, you pulled out a roll of wrist wraps, worn-out and frayed from numerous uses. You made a quick mental note to pick up a new pair when you got the chance, as you slipped your thumbs into the individual loops.

Once finished, you flexed your fingers, stepping over to the bag to throw a few light punches. It looked and felt fairly new so you had to gauge how hard you punched. You wanted to release some stress, not wear yourself ragged. After a few more test jabs, you decided that was enough of a warm-up and stepped into a fighting stance. Bouncing on the balls of your feet, you threw your first real punch at the bag and felt an exhilarating rush go through the length of your arm. You threw another, then another, then another, throwing some hooks and crosses to mix things up a bit. Each movement flew seamlessly to the next as countless worries ebbed away with each blow you landed. Well… all except one.

Of all the things that could have bothered you today, your mind remained fixated on the uncomfortable feeling you got when you thought about your sudden comradeship with Mark. Yet, with each thrown punch clearing up your mind, the reason why became clearly obvious. You were never particularly good at the whole friendship thing, both making them or maintaining them. And having some kind of form of it now was throwing you off balance.

Ever since you were young, you found it impossible to have relationships with anyone who didn’t know about the whole ‘multiple universe thing’. You grew up with that knowledge ingrained into your lifestyle thanks to your parents and learned early on that if you told anyone, you’d end up getting ridiculed. The first and only time you tried to explain the concept of different universes to civilians was when you told your classmates why your parents weren’t attending Career Day. They were too busy fighting zombies after all. You were called a ‘liar’ and shunned by your peer groups until you learned to keep your mouth shut. It only got worse when your parents died and you had to live with your relatives.

Nobody in your family knew what your parents really did for a living so they couldn't be told the real cause of their deaths. All they knew was that they died from an ‘undisclosed illness’. Over the years, you were asked about their death several times by aunts, uncles, and cousins but your response was always a cold shoulder. It was just easier on your sanity to keep to yourself while your family dismissed it as you being a broody teenager.

It wasn’t until you turned 18 and entered into Agent training that you realized just how stifling your loneliness had become. You practically jumped at the chance to make some real human connections again with people you didn’t have to lie to. That initial overeagerness became your downfall and taught you that not everyone deserved your trust. That mistake was the main reason why you agreed to move to the Los Angeles Headquarters the moment the opportunity was given.

So long story short, you couldn’t click with people outside the Agency because you could never be honest with them and you tried making friends within the Agency but it ended in disaster that still gave you trust issues till now. Sure, you had a few exceptions now with Chuck and Evangeline, but one was a jolly Analyst who respected the boundaries of your work relationship and the other was... basically your mom? Either way, those were the only relationships that even remotely mattered to you anymore.

Then there was Mark. The anomaly you couldn’t quite wrap your head around. Under normal circumstances, you would have never spoken to a guy like him, much less be...

Friends?

Were you two "friends" now?

Shit, you really were.

It became increasingly apparent when you invited him to lunch yesterday and wound up having dinner too because you two talked the afternoon away. When you were finally away from his sunshine-y personality and bright smile, you couldn't help but feel perplexed. You knew it wasn’t because of Mark or your newfound friendship. No, this confusion came from how sudden this all was. How you already felt so comfortable around him yet had only known the dork for a few days.

You two even had a horrible first impression of each other. Well... you did. You despised him and tried to make him hate you just as much. But now you were goofing around like buddies? What the hell?! It took Chuck a good two weeks before you finally had one decent conversation that didn’t involve you making a snarky remark every five seconds. You don’t make friends that easily, especially with someone like Mark.

“Hey!”

Speak of the devil.

“Hey, how’d you find me?” You panted as you placed a hand on the swinging bag to steady it.

“Chuck told me you’d be here.” Mark replied as he took a few more steps forward from the doorway, eyes widening in amazement behind his thin-rimmed glasses. “Man, what doesn’t this place have?”

“A decent coffee shop.” You muttered back as you pulled one of the wraps off its velcro strap.

“Hey, don’t stop on my account. It’s fun watching you wail on that punching bag.” Mark stated, a lopsided grin gracing his stubble-covered face.

“Oh really? And how long were you watching Mr. Creeper?” You raised an eyebrow at him, continuing to loosen the wrapping.

“Long enough to know that you could kick my ass any day of the week. Honestly, it was pretty damn impressive.” You stopped undoing your wraps for a moment, allowing the compliment to completely sink in before returning to your aforementioned task.

“Thanks,” was your curt reply as you turned away to hide the slight blush on your face.

“Too bad you can’t just punch Freddy in the face. It would make this mission a whole lot easier.” Mark said offhandedly, staring down at a rack of weights, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Wait, what about you? Those guns of yours just for show?” You asked as you pointed to his arms with your newly-bare hand.

“What, these babies? They can totally take on Freddy Fazbear and his gang.” Mark replied with an exaggerated flex of his biceps, making you snort despite yourself. “I just don’t want to take all the credit.”

“Uh-huh," you sarcastically replied. A silence fell upon the two of you as you went back to loosening the other bandage from your hand. You weren’t quite sure what Mark was doing there, but judging from the rising tension in the room, you had a pretty good guess on what he was thinking. Turns out, he was a lot more vocal of his thoughts than you were.

“Are you nervous?” He asked as casually as he could muster but you still picked up the anxiety lining his tone.

“I’m fucking terrified.” You answered without missing a beat.

“Glad I’m not the only one." He chuckled stiffly.

“Of course. Who wouldn’t be afraid of murderous, haunted animatronics who'll kill you the moment they lay their robotic hands on you?” When you didn’t get a response after a few seconds, you glanced over at Mark and saw concern plastered all over his face.

“Crap, sorry. Didn't mean to make you even more nervous.”

“No, it’s fine.” Mark replied, shaking his head as if to shake away the fear and anxiety building up inside him. “We totally got this because you're a badass Agent and I’m the King of Five Nights at Freddy’s!” It was your turn to reply with deadpan silence as you gave him an incredibly confused look. It took Mark a moment to figure out why.

“Right," he pieced together. "You don’t watch my channel.”

“And I’m glad I don’t. You’re such a dork.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that this dork has millions of subscribers!” Mark pointed a thumb to himself proudly, but you just rolled your eyes. You still couldn’t believe that this guy was an ‘internet celebrity’. Honestly, what did society consider fame-worthy nowadays?

“Sure you do.” With your hands now completely free, you quickly rolled up the fabric as you walked over to the mirror where your bag lay. You stuffed the cloth inside one of the open pockets before slinging the bag over your shoulder and turning back to Mark.

“Anyways, I need a shower. Do you know how to get up to Evangeline’s floor? That’s where we’re having the debriefing.” You stated as you walked past him to the door.

"Uh... Not really? I was kinda fearing for my life the last time I visited her office.”

“Oh, right." You almost forgot that the Agency basically kidnapped him. "Well, just wait here. I won’t take long.”

“Aw, I can’t come?" You couldn't help but smile at his puppy dog expression but still managed to roll your eyes at him.

“No, there’s a limit to how much of you I can take. Now stay.” You poked Mark's chest to further emphasize your point, ignoring how firm it felt underneath your fingertips. Shit. How ripped was this guy?

“Yes ma’am.” He replied jokingly, the edges of his eyes crinkling as his smile grew wider. You tried to frown at him but as always, his smile was too contagious.

“Good boy.” You said before walking out the door. It took a couple of minutes to find the female locker room and about another twenty minutes to shower and change to your work clothes. When you returned to the hallway where the training room was, you found Mark hanging outside the door, deeply engrossed in whatever was on his phone.

“Hey.” You called out to him, slightly shocked when he physically jumped. He looked jittery, as if he had way too much coffee this morning. “Whoa, calm down. We’re not even there yet.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just… on edge.” He replied back, glancing back at his phone. You peeked over to see what he was looking at and saw a typed out list on his screen.

“What’s that?”

“They’re plans I made up.”

“Whoa, seriously? Can I see?” Mark’s eyes flickered over to you for a moment and you saw the barest hint of shyness in them.

“Sure…” He hesitantly handed you the phone and you began to skim over the text. “But they’re not completely thought out, so if they seem scattered, sorry-”

“Shut up. These are great.” You cut him off, still scrolling. “And you just might be on to something. We’re showing all of this to Evangeline.” Mark tried to protest but you were already out of earshot, headed straight for the elevator with his phone still firmly in your hand. He quickly followed after you and managed to make it inside before the elevator doors closed.

“You think they’re gonna work?” He asked hesitantly.

“I knowthey’re gonna work. You’re the King of Five Nights at Freddy’s, aren't you?” You asked, a confident smile on your lips. Mark blinked, momentarily taken aback by your response before grinning widely as well.

“Damn right I am.”

Chapter Text

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2's was all about micromanagement. Theoretically, playing through the nights should have been relatively easy. All you had to do was check the vents and halls, wind up a music box, then slip on the mask whenever anything found its way in. However, the increasingly aggressive nature of the animatronics after each successful night made keeping up with these tasks nigh impossible for just one person. With two sets of eyes, the set of tasks would be halved. The plan Mark proposed was simple enough: one person would be in charge of both the camera system and the music box. The other would keep watch of the hallway and vents. Evangeline took only a few minutes to weigh the pros and cons of the idea before approving it. Surprisingly, you were on board as well, even if it did call for the utmost level of trust and teamwork between the two of you. So what if you’ve only worked together once before? You and Mark were the best the agency could muster. Besides, you couldn't turn a blind eye to the bond that was undeniably forming between you and your partner.

After all, any doubt at this point would get the both of you killed in a heartbeat.

The roles you two would play in the game were obvious. Mark would be the ‘eye in the sky’ and manage the music box while you carefully monitored the surroundings. Since he had much more experience with the game than you did, he was more familiar with the area. Secretly, you wanted to be on the front lines because if things took a turn for the worse, you'd be the first to be taken. Maybe it would give enough time for Mark to be pulled out. Maybe he'd be okay. Maybe you were just being overly optimistic. Either way, you didn’t dare express your plan to anyone, but the knowing look you received from Evangeline after volunteering for the position proved that she had an inkling of what you were up to. Fortunately for you, she said nothing. Perhaps she knew she couldn’t stop you.

After everything was said and done, both you and Mark made your way to the assigned jump room and waited by the door for Chuck to do his final sweep over the machinery. You attempted to keep yourself as stoic as possible while watching Chuck work but your body was jittery with anxiety. Every sense was kicked into high gear, ready to react to whatever would be thrown your way. It was almost comical how you jumped a foot off the ground when a hand touched your shoulder.

“Hey now, you gotta relax,” Mark tried to flash a reassuring grin but stress was already filtering into his baritone voice. “Otherwise you’re gonna pop a vein before we even get there.” Though he stood confidently, his eyes betrayed his inner distress.

You tried to calm your heart rate down with a few deep breaths before you responded, but the lead weight of Mark’s hand was messing with your head. You were not a touchy-feely person. At all. Needless to say, you weren’t exactly a big fan of unexpected contact. The fact probably dawned on Mark, as your reaction wasn't quite what he expected. As he realized this, he awkwardly drew his hand back to his side.

“Sorry.” He mumbled apologetically. Stuffing his hand into his pocket, he looked downwards, embarrassed.

“It’s fine.” You replied, as sincerely as you could muster. Your strung-out nerves made it hard to speak. Mark didn’t seem too bothered by your curt response and he continued on.

“We’re gonna be fine. Remember, I've got your back.” It was such a simple sentence which Mark probably didn’t put much thought into saying it. From the look in his eyes, he probably said this to ease his own anxiety as well. However, knowing that you had someone you could rely on while you were in there soothed you more than any hug could.

“… And I got yours.” You answered back after a slight pause, turning to him with a soft smile. Mark returned the gesture with his own trademark grin. Before you two had the chance to rest in the comfortable silence growing between you both, Chuck spoke up from his spot near the console.

“Everything’s set. Ready to go?” He asked, his usually cheerful demeanor replaced with a grim face. He probably wasn’t eager to send his friend and idol into the haunted pizzeria.

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” You replied solemnly. With a frown, you headed over to your chair. Mark followed close behind and the two of you situated yourselves in your seats, making eye contact as you did so. The Youtuber's usually confident smile was now replaced with a face of grim determination. Chuck walked over to you as you both started to put on your headgear.

"Now remember guys, we won't be able to communicate with you because of the high levels of energy coming from the FnaF universe, but we promise to pull you out the moment you guys reach the end of the night, unless-"

"Unless we get attacked." You finished for Chuck, who responded with a bare nod. There was no room for any more explanation and Chuck soon backed away from the platform. In the back of your mind, you knew he didn’t have the stomach to say goodbye, should something happen. However, as Chuck began to walk away, Mark called out to him.

“See you later Chuck," he said as optimistically as he could, his sweaty palms gripping the armrests. At first, there was no response, but after a few moments you heard his reply.

“Yeah, I'll see you guys later.” You heard him echo back, sounding more reassured than when he spoke to you. You couldn’t help but smile as you listened to his footsteps fade away. When the door shut behind him, you let out a small chuckle.

“You’re so cheesy.” You said simply, the barest of grins tingeing your mouth. From the corner of your eye, you could see Mark opening his mouth to form a retort but quickly closed it when the machine jumpstarted to life. Your eyes reflexively snapped shut, what happy feelings you had suddenly replaced with cold, hard dread. The fear was like a frozen steel ball sitting in the pit of your stomach.

This was it.

You held your breath as the familiar tightness clamped around your head, gritting once the pain began to be too much. In an instant, your consciousness was ripped from your body and you flew through the rift before falling back into a new reality. A tingling sensation sparked at the tips of your fingers and toes, making its way up your limbs and over your body as you felt your senses return to you. Your rapid blinking slowed down when you felt more in control of your new body and you immediately recognized the dimly lit room you were in.

The security room. It was smaller than you thought it would be, about 8 ft wide and 10 ft long, and cluttered with stacks of yellowed papers, dusty monitors, and bulky wiring hanging mostly from the wall opposite of where you stood. That same wall had a huge, wide opening where two caution signs hung above. The only thing standing between you and the dark hallway was a simple, wooden table cluttered with miscellaneous garbage. On the furthest left side of the table was a old, off-white computer system complete with the trademark bulky monitor. Next to it was a large, black flashlight resting atop of several pieces of paper. From what you could tell, the aged flashlight would inevitably fail at some point in the night if you weren't careful. At the other end of the table was that godforsaken metal fan, it’s creaky, whirring blades providing one of the only sounds in the small space.

The other was the groan coming from your partner standing next to you, recovering from the jump. You gave Mark a once over, eyeing his security guard uniform. He wore a light blue, short-sleeved button up shirt and what you presumed was dark blue tie. His slacks appeared to be the same shade as his tie, a name tag and silver badge reflecting what little light was available. You looked down at yourself and saw that you were wearing the same exact thing. Matching uniforms. Great. By the time you finished inspecting your own clothes, Mark had gotten his bearings together and was looking around the office with a rather serious expression. You immediately matched with a determined look of your own.

"Ready?" You asked, straightening your shoulders to give some semblance of confidence. Even if you didn’t feel like that on the inside, you could at least fake it on the outside.

"Ready." He replied as he took a seat on the rolling chair behind him, the leather cracking as he eased into the old cushion. You followed suit, only to find nothing behind you. You yelped and fell completely backwards onto the grimy tiled floor. For a moment, you laid motionless as your wide and confused gaze latched onto Mark’s. While you stayed silent, Mark hesitated before he let out a snort. The silly sound made you crack a smile in spite of yourself, which in turn allowed Mark to let out a cheeky grin. Before you knew it, the two of you were laughing up a storm, allowing all the built up tension leave your bodies in heaps of giggles.

Being rigidly serious wasn’t going to do you or Mark any good. You didn’t even notice there wasn’t a chair behind you because you were too preoccupied with the task at hand. A good laugh was just what you needed, yet it was short-lived when the sound of a phone ringing cut through your chuckles. You bolted upright as Mark spun around on his seat to face the back wall. The landline phone sat atop of a short, metal file cabinet closer to Mark’s side on the left corner of the room. You two exchanged dark looks as it rang a second time and came to a silent agreement. He grabbed the receiver and placed it back onto the switchhook a second later, the recording silenced as soon as it began.

“I’ve heard enough of that guy for one lifetime.” You heard him mumble and you simply nodded in agreement as you stood up. Brushing off the dust and dirt and whatever was lying on the floor off the backside of your pants, you inspected the rest of the back wall. In the game, you never got to look at this part of the room so you decided to take some time to investigate your surroundings before the metaphorical shit hit the fan.

A few feet away from the filing cabinet was a much larger storage locker. You walked over to it and grabbed one of the handles, a sense of foreboding tickling the nape of your neck. The cold metal sent shivers down your spine but you gulped down your hesitation and yanked it open. You jumped back, your heart leaping to your throat when you saw a bunch of empty mascot heads lined up on the middle two shelves. It was unsettling seeing the faces of Freddy and his friends staring at you with empty eyes.

“Holy shit!” Mark shouted from behind you. He had stood, peering around your body to see what lay in store.

"You can say that again." You replied, fighting down another shiver as you reached up to grab one of the heads. Your hand drifted to the Freddy head sitting in the middle of the shelf and you gingerly touched the forehead, a part of you fearing it might jump at you at any moment. Surprisingly, the mask was plush, made of lightweight foam. It made sense that they would be so light. Easy to take on and off whenever the situation called for it, yet durable enough to withstand children's ceaseless pokes and prods.

"So," you began as you looked over your shoulder back at Mark, "which one do you want?" You tried to sound as lighthearted as possible to counteract the eeriness of the masks that lay before to you.

“Hmmm, I think I’ll go with the classic Freddy mask.” Mark decided, sounding more genuinely cheerful than you did. Thank god too, since the silliness in his tone made you crack a grin in spite of yourself. You grabbed the Freddy mask from the bottom then tossed it over to him, biting back a snicker as you watched Mark cry out in surprise and fumble to keep the large mask in his hands. You checked the remaining masks and quickly grabbed the Bonnie one before closing the cabinet door with more force than necessary. No need to stare at those masks more than you needed to.

“Hey, do you want my chair?” Mark asked as you walked back over, his mask sitting on the floor beside the left leg of the table.

“Nah, I’ll just sit on one of those.” You pointed to one of the blank television monitors sitting by the hallway. “Just watch my back.”

“I will.” You placed your mask at the opposite end of table and edged around it, feeling vulnerable when you reached the front. The table, both in game and here, was technically the only thing standing between you and the animatronics. Being away from your tiny line of defense was disconcerting to say the least but you hid your emotions well. You grabbed the largest TV that was clear of junk piles and grabbed it by the edges. It was a lot heavier than you anticipated as you struggled to even move it. From the corner of your eye, you saw Mark jump from his seat.

“Let me help-” He began but you quickly cut him off.

“No, just keep your eyes on the screen.” You huffed out as you began to shuffle back behind the table, putting your weight against the black monitor. After a few minutes, you managed to reach Mark and pushed the television into place.

“What’s the status on those fuckers?” You questioned between panting breaths as you glanced over at the screen. Your face immediately scrunched up in distaste when you saw Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica standing on stage. On the top right corner of the screen read 12 AM.

“They haven’t moved yet,” Mark responded as he changed over to the prize counter feed to wind up the music box. “And they probably won’t for a while.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I looked through my previous playthroughs last night and saw that they don’t leave till around 2 to 3 AM.”

“Looks like we got time to kill.” You stated as you plopped down onto your makeshift chair, instantly regretting the dumb pun you made. What was worse, sitting on a hard surface for 6 hours, or the terrible joke? Mark didn’t seem to notice so you continued on. “Um… What do you wanna talk about?”

“Talk? Uh…” Mark’s eyes drifted down and for a moment, you thought he was checking you out. Stupid. At a time like this, he was distracted enough to do that?! You were about to draw back your hand to hit him when he asked a totally different question than you were expecting.

“Why didn’t you get a chair?”

“What?” Blinking owlishly, you quipped a response.

“Why didn’t Chuck make you a chair?” He repeated his question, motioning to his chair before pointing at the monitor you were sitting on. “Like how he gave us two backpacks back in the Last of Us universe?”

“Oh yeah. It’s the same reason why he can’t talk to us in here. There’s a high level of Beta energy waves that causes too much interference between this universe and the Alpha. Analysts can’t give much help when an Agent enters a brand new universe. They can only provide and clothe the Beta body and pull the Agent out. But once the first batch of Alpha waves are released after an Agent completes the requirements of said universe, Analysts can create whatever is needed for that agent when they go in again.”

“Why would you go into a Beta universe again? Besides training a clueless Youtuber like me.” You chuckled at Mark’s jab to himself.

“Bleeds don’t disappear forever. They’ll keep coming as long as people continue to think about a certain world, creature, person, etc. Like zombies. Everyone thinks about those stupid zombies. I probably go to a zombie universe every other week to maintain control over those types of bleeds.”

“And if you didn’t, we’d be up to our ears in zombies?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow, thank you.” Mark seemed pretty sincere, his lips drawn into a grateful smile. How confusing.

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s my job.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t show my gratitude. I- Oh wait, give me a second.” Mark turned back to the computer screen, giving you the chance to stew over the sincerity of his comment. There had been more than one occasion where your actions in a universe had stopped a global catastrophe, whether it be the rise of Nazism, attacks of alien invaders, or various apocalypses. However, you knew long ago that no civilian would ever learn just how close they were from total disaster and never expected to get any recognition for your work. Hearing Mark’s gratitude now was weirding you out more than you expected. As you were trying to figure out how to process such a simple act of gratitude, Mark turned back to you.

“Okay, so yeah. I know a lot of people always say they’d rather live in a zombie apocalypse but I wouldn’t.” He began again, folding his arms across his chest.

“Oh? And why not?” You asked casually, deciding not to dwell on the little things.

“Because I’d hate to lose my family like that. Or worse, find out my mother or brother became zombies. I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Makes sense. But let’s say there was a zombie apocalypse. What’s the first thing you’d do?”

“Well…” And that’s how you spent the next two hours with Mark, chatting away like you didn’t have a care in the world. At least, that’s what you liked to tell yourself. Every time Mark pulled up Freddy and his friends up on the monitor or wound up the music box, it was a constant reminder of what was looming outside your comfy little office space. Still, he'd carry on talking as if nothing was wrong. All in all, you found it surprisingly pleasant, especially considering how easy you found it to talk with him. Conversation just came so naturally with Mark. With so much in common, you felt like you could talk about virtually anything. You couldn’t remember the last time you talked to someone like this without feeling apprehensive to share your real thoughts or opinions. The entirety of it all was a much-needed reprieve.

The good times came to a screeching halt when Mark did his usual rounds of the camera system after winding up the music box for the upteenth time. He pulled up a random camera and you both jerked back when you saw Bonnie’s face plastered over the entire screen.

“Shit, they’re active.” Mark muttered, all positivity snatched from your room. You grabbed the flashlight from the table and flashed it into the hallway. Nothing. Damn, was your hand shaking already? Quit it nerves. This was nothing you weren't prepared for. Grow up.

“Check and see if anyone else is moving.” You replied as you moved the flashlight’s beam into each vent. Still nothing.

“It’s only Bonnie for now.” Mark said after he checked the stage camera. He clicked back to the previous camera and stiffened when he didn’t see Bonnie’s empty stare. You heard him mutter a string of curses under his breath as he checked the cameras once more but you kept your eyes focused on the hallways and vents. That’s when you heard the sound of hollow thumping coming from your right and instantly felt your heart clench in fear.

“Masks on.” Grabbing your mask, you held it at the ready. The shuffling only grew louder, and you swallowed at the lump in your throat.

“Just a sec.” He whispered back, quickly changing to the prize counter camera to wind up the music box just in cass. You took a moment to throw on your mask before grabbing Mark’s wrist.

“Mark, now!” You hissed as the thumping grew louder. Through the eyeholes, you watched Mark let go of the mouse and throw on his own mask just as the footfalls ceased. Several painfully slow seconds passed before you heard a static-like noise fill the room. It was classified as ‘white noise’, if you remembered correctly. Unfortunately all other brain functions ceased momentarily when you saw Bonnie crawl out from the vent on the right wall. You swallowed back a scream and almost threw your hands up to cover your mouth when Bonnie rose to full height, but you kept your arms plastered to your sides. Even if they only had facial scanners, you didn’t want to risk showing any animatronics a human-like appendage. Instead, you balled up your hands into tight fists. Or at least, you tried to. Your left hand was still latched onto Mark’s wrist, his erratic pulse thumping underneath your fingertips. You found this touch of humanity oddly comforting as you stared down the hulking robot.

Bonnie remained motionless, his lifeless eyes fixated on you and Mark. Was he scanning you? Maybe he checking to see if you two were really animatronics? You flinched when he finally moved again, thankfully towards the opposite wall and away from you. His tramping footsteps echoed inside the office as he slowly crawled back in the vents but you and Mark remained motionless for another few seconds. When it felt like the coast was clear, the two of you removed your masks and let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

"That was too fucking close." Mark shakily breathed, turning back to the dim monitor as he ran a free hand through his black hair.

"Yeah," was all you could muster in reply. Most of your concentration was focused on steadying the flashlight as you peered down the hallway. Nothing that you could see, for now.

"Shit." You heard him curse beside you.

"What?" You asked, fear winding its way inside your chest. That cold iron ball sitting in the pit of your stomach only felt heavier.

"Chica's out." Mark answered warily, the glare of the screen reflecting on his glasses. A trickle of sweat dribbled down the side of his neck.

“Great,” you groaned, reaching down for your mask again. “Let’s get ready then.” Chica came inside from the left vent in all her beakless glory minutes after Mark called it but you two were already prepared, at least more so than when Bonnie came in. She eventually left, but was soon replaced with Freddy who was waiting in the hallway just beyond your office. That was basically how the rest of your long, arduous night went; either waiting anxiously for an animatronic to come in or waiting anxiously for them to leave. Eventually, you and Mark decided to just keep your masks on till the end of the night, only taking it off when Mark had to wind up the music box. This was the only time you could do this since Foxy wasn’t roaming the halls tonight so you were going to milk this luxury as much as you could.

When you heard the chimes of the 6 AM alarm go off, a rush of relief washed over you, followed by a heavy wave of exhaustion. As you took your Bonnie mask off, the cold AC air immediately hit you, cooling the dampness of sweat that covered everything from the neck up and leaving you clammy and gross. Your nerves were frayed and your body ached from the tense, stiff positioning you put it through. Holy shit. How the hell were you supposed to survive four more nights of this?

From the corner of your eye, you could see Mark doing the same, although his arms were much more shaky. You turned to face him, ready to make some smart-aleck remark to ease the tension when you felt yourself being pulled backwards. At first, you felt a sense of dread clench your throat, assuming that one of the animatronics was still active and snuck behind you. That fear was quickly squashed when you saw your body still seated on the hefty monitor. You were relieved, ecstatic to go home even for just a few hours, when fear reared its ugly head again, this time staying for good.

It was for just a second, right before you were completely pulled out of the universe, but you saw it. Saw him. Lingering at the wide doorway of the office stood Toy Freddy, illuminated by the now activated lights in the hall. You knew he was deactivated and had no way of getting to you now, but it didn’t stop the terror snaking its way around your soul, choking the very life out of you. All you could see were his empty, onyx eyes, bottomless and infinite. Void of any soul or emotion, except for one.

Hunger.

A driving, inhuman hunger to kill.

And if you weren’t careful, you and Mark would be next on his menu.

Chapter Text

As soon as you felt sensation return to your fingers, you ripped off your metal headband in one violent motion. The plush pleather felt cold and hard to the touch as your heart pounded against your ribcage in a frantic beat. You pressed the palms of your hands against your closed eyelids in an attempt to physically push the mental image of Freddy from your mind. No matter how hard you tried to force it away, all you could see was that damn bear’s expressionless eyes staring deep into your soul. Unblinking. Unnerving. He knew you feared him. All of them knew. And they would relentlessly wait in the shadows for that fear to trip you up.

Shit. You couldn’t go back. Not while you were neck deep in cold, life-sucking terror. How were you supposed to protect Mark when you weren’t sure you could even protect yourself?

You couldn’t deal with this at all.

“[Name]?” Your head shot up, nerves still on overdrive. Standing beside your chair was Mark, concern written all over his stubbled face. He was slightly bent over you with one hand resting on the head of your seat, allowing him to remain as close to you as possible without invading your personal space. Perhaps because he remembered your aversion to physical contact. Damn, how considerate was this guy? And how the hell was he so put together after the nightmare you two were yanked out of?

“[Name]? Are you okay?” He repeated when you didn’t respond. You could feel the cold sweat beginning to trickle down the back of your neck as you drew in a shaky breath. It was all you could do to piece together a broken reply.

“Y-yeah.” You managed to stutter as you began to push yourself out of your chair. Mark backed away immediately but lingered close by just in case. How did he know your legs would wobble the moment you stood up? As you steadied yourself on the armrest, you heard the screech of static above you, and your body froze as soon as the noise registered. The image of Toy Bonnie flashed in your head, your heart dropping into your stomach. God, he was HERE. After what seemed like eternity, you calmed down when you heard the familiar voice of Chuck crackle over the loudspeaker.

“Hey, nice job out there.” He said, sounding much happier than the last time you heard from him. Was it happiness, or was it relief? “I’m sure you guys are super tired, so you can head home now.” Out of reflex, the agent part of you wanted to ask about the paperwork that usually came after a mission, but you bit back that thought. Chuck was right. You were exhausted and all you wanted to do now was curl up back home with a warm drink, preferably filled with alcohol. Actually… all you wanted was alcohol. There was no way you would be able to sleep tonight without help.

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Mark breathed, also unable to hide the fatigue in his light-hearted tone. “I’m pooped."

“Oh really? Even better than my ‘hide-under-the-Freddy-mask-for-the-rest-of-the-night’ plan?” You joked, stepping away from the tangle of wires and machinery.

“Hands down.” He replied with a tired grin.

“Then let’s get going.” You started for the door. “Could you... give me a ride home? I really don’t wanna deal with public transportation right now.”

“Sure,” he nodded, trailing behind you. As the two of you walked out the door, you could see the room’s lights shut off automatically. Like a wave, the darkness followed behind you until you reached the parking lot. That unsettling feeling still remained in the back of your mind. After all, you knew what was lurking in the dark.

The rest of your trip back home was overall quiet, save for the few casual remarks here and there to break the silence. You needed some time to get your head back together and you were grateful for Mark’s consideration. From what you could tell, he needed a chance to get his bearings back after the traumatizing mission too. It was his first, and one could only be so prepared. By the time you reached your shared apartment complex, you felt that you had a good grasp of what was real and what wasn’t and felt confident that you’d be fine. All you had to do was keep your mind away from robots, cartoon animals, and pizza. Easy enough.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” You jumped and looked up, realizing you were already outside your door. Lost in thought, you had somehow made it home without falling flat on your face. You turned to Mark standing in front of his apartment and gave him a slight nod.

“R-right.” You replied, worried over the gap in time. Weren’t you still in his car? What happened? You shook your head to rid yourself of these thoughts and reached out for your doorknob.

“Hey,” said a voice nearby. You glanced over your shoulder to see Mark had not moved an inch. He looked uneasy.

“Yeah?” You asked. He opened his mouth to say something but at the last second, closed it shut. His shoulders were slumped and he simply stared down at his feet.

“Never mind. Have a good night, okay?” He said.

“Yeah... You too.” You responded quietly, giving him a slight nod before you unlocked your door. You walked inside without another word and shut the door behind you. Immediately, you felt something wasn’t right. Home didn’t feel like home. The rays of the setting sun that shone through the small gaps between your plastic drapes created sharp, eerie shadows across your living room floor and walls. In between blinks, you could have sworn something was looming just outside your peripheral vision. You swallowed hard, pushing down a swell of dread as you pressed your back against your door.

They were here. In your house. How did they get here? Where were they?

Calm down, [name]. You’re being irrational. There was no way Freddy or his friends could have followed you back to this universe. It was impossible. But as you closed your eyes to try and calm you erratic heart, your mind immediately flashed to the cold, dead gaze of Freddy. Your eyes snapped open, frantically searching the shadows. Well, there was more than one way for a terrifying entity to follow you…

No.

You could fight this. You weren’t going to let your overactive imagination get the better of you. You were so much stronger than that. To prove your point, you slapped your hand over the wall next to you and felt around, feeling the light switch under your fingers moments later. You flipped on the lights and felt instant gratification in seeing the room now illuminated. Hell yeah you could do this. Nothing was in the shadows, after all. No big deal, right? As if in agreement, your stomach began to growl a moment after your small pep talk. Deciding that you had more important things to worry about, you pushed yourself off the door and headed for your kitchen. Yet, the moment you stepped forward, you felt another eerie feeling creep up your exposed back. This time though, you brushed it away almost immediately. You weren’t going to let your fear win.

However, that was easier said than done as walking to your kitchen felt like a journey itself. Every creak made you flinch, every shadow needed a double-take. By the time you reached your fridge, your heart was racing a mile a minute. You gave yourself a few seconds to pull yourself together before opening the freezer door. Suddenly, the image of an eyeless Freddy flashed in your mind, making you scream and shut the freezer door with a loud slam. You had no chance to catch your breath when you jumped at the sound of a dull thump from above. Spinning around, you pushed your back against the cold fridge door and scanned the kitchen of any mechanical monstrosities. There were no openings for them to come through, especially if they were climbing through the vents...

Wait, you lived in an apartment. That thumping noise was from your upstairs neighbor, doing god knows what. Duh. Once you put two and two together, you groaned to yourself. Well, you felt like a dumbass. A paranoid dumbass who could not handle being alone right now. The moment you thought this, a certain glasses-wearing goofball popped in your head and you let out another groan. Mark was a great partner and all but you were growing conscious of just how much time you’ve been spending with him. You’ve hung out with him nonstop for the past three days already. This was much more than anyone else you’ve worked with both here and at your old headquarters. Was this even normal for people your age?

As you mulled over this question, you heard another thump. You knew deep inside that it was definitely a neighbor and not Bonnie or Chica, but your feet had begun to move before you could even register that you were in motion. The next few moments flew by in a blur and by the time you could piece together what was going on, you were knocking on Mark’s door. Your eyes widened in realization as you looked over at your traitorous fist. Immediately, you made an about face, poised to flee back to your own abode. Maybe if you left now, things wouldn’t be awkward.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?”

Aaaaaaaand, too late.

You stiffly turned around to see Mark leaning against his doorway, a tired smile gracing his features. You swallowed your trepidation as you looked anywhere else besides his expectant eyes. Great, no backing out now or else you were going to look like an idiot. After forcing your composure to get it together, you allowed yourself to meet Mark’s eyes.

“I...,” You began, your words refusing to flow past your lips. “...I’m freaking out.” As soon as you admitted it, a flood of words spewed out from the broken dam of your foolish pride. “Everything I hear or see reminds me of Freddy and his pals. I...,” You stammered, a lump in your throat surfacing. "I know deep, deep inside that they couldn’t have followed us, but that’s not stopping me from jumping at the smallest noise, or feeling their dead gaze on my back. I can’t handle being alone right now, so...,” This was the hard part. “Could I stay over for a bit?” Did you really ask that? You bit your lip, regretting even asking for solace. In the rush of explaining, your gaze drifted downwards, rooted at Mark’s feet as you waited for him to respond. Since there was no immediate response, you looked up to see that Mark had dropped his head against the front door’s frame. Instead of inviting you inside then and there, he let out a long sigh.

“Thank God, I thought I was the only one.” He breathed, his eyes shut in relief. You raised an eyebrow, confused by what he meant. That’s when it clicked. Even though you were a highly trained Agent, you were still jumpy from your trip to the bowels of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. How much more has this experience affected Mark’s mental state? He was just a normal civilian, after all.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” You asked, thinking of the dozens of instances on the trip home where he could have mentioned something. From what you could recall, he seemed just fine. Tired, maybe, but that was to be expected after such a stressful mission.

“I didn’t want to bother you with… this. You have other things to worry about.” Mark responded quietly, eyes darting to the side to avoid your gaze. Upon hearing these words, you felt a rush of anger swell up inside you. Your fists balled up as you took a step forward.

“Mark, you’re my partner. You need to be open to me about things that could affect our physical or mental state in a mission. And... vice versa.” You trailed off, your gaze dropping to the floor once again, hands now hanging loosely by your sides. You had no right to judge when you yourself couldn’t mutter a single thing to him about your demons. Letting out a long, tired sigh, you ran your fingers through your hair. “I’m sorry, I should have said something earlier too.”

“I guess we both gotta work more on this partner thing.” Mark stated and you glanced back at him, seeing his usual warm smile grace his face. The corners of your lips twitched up into a small smile. Damn, his smile was contagious as hell.

“I guess so.”

“Glad we’re in agreement,” Mark stepped to the side and motioned for you to come in. “I already ordered some Korean take-out, is that okay?”

“Yeah that’s fine.” You replied, walking in without a second thought. Was it just you, or did the air seem more more secure already?

“Want a drink?” Mark asked as he closed the door behind him.

“Sure, got any liquor?” You responded after a few moments of consideration. With all the hallucinations you were experiencing now, who knows what you’d see in your nightmares tonight. You definitely needed a heavy drink to lull you into a dreamless sleep.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfy.” Mark stated before heading into his kitchen. You nodded and flopped down on his couch, taking a second to glance around the living room. You remembered the first time you had visited this apartment only a few short days ago. Back then, you were convinced that he was nothing more than a foolish civilian in way over his head. Funny, how quickly opinions can change…

“I only got whiskey, is that okay?” You turned your head around to see Mark take a seat next to you on the couch, one hand wrapped around a glass bottle and the other holding two shot glasses between his fingers.

“I never pegged you for a whiskey guy,” you said as you sat upright.

“I’m not much of a drinker.” He explained as he placed both shot glasses on the coffee table and began to fill them up to the brim with the light brown liquid. “I only drink at parties, or when I’m doing a drunk challenge for my channel. This is the only thing I can keep down without needing a chaser.” Once both glasses were filled, Mark handed one over to you. You accepted the offering and sniffed the contents, almost reeling away from the heavy scent of cinnamon mixed with alcohol. Mark laughed at your reaction.

“Still wanna try it?” He grinned, a twinkle in his eye. You responded with your own competitive smirk.

“Of course, I’m not backing out now.” Mark chuckled at this.

“Then how about we do a toast?”

“To what?” Mark took a moment to think this through as you glanced back down at your drink. You were in the process of convincing yourself that it didn’t have to taste good, as long as it got you drunk when Mark finally suggested something.

“To surviving the first night.” You looked back up in mild surprise, not expecting that answer. Mark had his glass raised up to yours, a confident smile on his face. You weren’t sure yet if he was joking or not but as you locked gazes with his, you saw no hint of humor in his eyes. He was completely serious. And, after giving it some thought, you realized he had made the perfect suggestion. You two had survived; that called for some celebration. Even if that celebration came in the form of booze.

“And to surviving the next four nights.” You added, raising your own glass and returning Mark’s smile with your own. His smile grew into a grin as he clinked his glass against yours.

“I’ll definitely drink to that.”

Chapter Text

It was dark. Too dark. The darkness was tangible, stifling, and laden as you tried to draw a breath. You didn’t need your eyesight to know your location. From the senses you did have, you felt splintered wood beneath your fingertips, smelled the stale scent of decayed old pizza, and heard the slow hum of that damn metal desk fan. You were back at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, but how? You had no recollection of making the jump back in the first place. Plus, why was the atmosphere so much more suffocating than before? Lights should be on. There should be a telephone call by now.

And where was Mark?

Something was wrong. Everything was wrong.

Calm down. You needed to think this through. There was no time to panic. Once your mind latched onto that primitive thought, you willed your hands to search through the darkness. Your left hand immediately bumped into what felt like the computer monitor. So you were facing the hallway? That was good. At least your back wasn’t exposed. You moved your hands down the monitor and towards what you assumed was the middle of the desk, ignoring the cuts and scratches you received from brushing your hands along the worn wood. After what seemed like an eternity, you finally felt something long and metallic brush against your fingers. You grabbed it and sure enough, it felt like the flashlight. Slowly inching your digits around the cold metal cylinder, you soon found the switch and pressed down.

You flinched at the sudden burst of blaring light and shielded your eyes from the reflected beam. Once your eyes adjusted, you scanned the long, looming hallway in front of you. At first glance, all seemed fine. Even... peaceful. No animatronics were notably visible. It was then you saw it. Just along the edges of your periphery was a sheen of red. You followed your line of sight downwards and on the dirty black-and-white tiled floor of your office was a smear of a carmine substance. The brownish red streak, puddled in places where the liquid had pooled together. The markings seemed organic. Immediately, your thoughts went to your missing partner but your mind quickly snuffed that idea with a dozen possible reasons of the red puddle’s existence. It probably wasn’t his blood. For all you knew it was caused by something else. The metallic scent was perhaps rust mixed with motor oil. You hoped that one of those half-baked theories were right as you followed the trail all the way to the corner of the small office. However, to your absolute horror, your gut instinct was correct.

Slumped against the wall of the room was Mark’s body.

Mark’s body, unmoving, with a Freddy Fazbear head perched crookedly over his head. More blood dripped from the eye sockets in macabre tears.

The loud thump of your flashlight falling to the floor sounded far away to your ears, all your senses focused on Mark. No, not Mark. It couldn’t be him. Even if the corpse was dressed in the same exact clothes you first met Mark in, it was not him. You weren’t going to jump to that conclusion until you saw what was under that metal head. But when you finally gathered up enough courage to take that first step, you heard an unnaturally low, dragged out chuckle. The snigger was echoing around you, causing your heart rate to spike.

Shit.

Your entire body went rigid as you waited for the demonic laughter to cease. Where was it coming from? You didn’t know where your Bonnie head was but you weren’t going to risk looking for it. Not when you could see that sickly gold yellow out of the corner of your eye. Maybe if you didn’t move…

That thought was cut off when you felt ice cold metal fingers wrap around your neck. Your hands shot up to stop the animatronic hand but you knew it was too late. Pressure was beginning to build behind your eyes as everything from the neck down was searing with pain.

No. No no no no no.

You couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t feel your fingers.

But you had to fight. Fight for that damn corpse in the corner.

Because it was Mark. It had to be.

You couldn’t leave him with this monster. Whether he was dead or alive.

By some miracle, your numb fingers finally grabbed a hold of the metal hands and you pulled down as hard as you could. You felt the joints budge ever so slightly and some sweet, sweet oxygen rushed back into your lungs. Holy shit, you could do this.

The last tiny remnants of hope were quickly extinguished when the towering owner of the golden arm stepped into view, grinning a broken, toothy grin. Pure, unadulterated horror tightened inside your chest as Golden Freddy’s presence replaced your view of Mark. His empty, bottomless gaze was the last thing your tunnel vision could comprehend before your neck was crushed underneath the animatronic’s fingers.

Everything went black.

—

Your eyes shot open as you awoke, your breath ragged and shallow. You could feel your erratic heartbeat thumping your chest, as if it was trying to break its way out. It took a few moments to calm yourself down but once you did, you felt your strung-out senses return to normal. Ugh, you felt hot. And gross. Your head was pounding too and there was this dull, throbbing pain at the back of your neck. Why did your neck hur-?

Your train of thought halted when you finally took a good look at your surroundings. This... wasn’t your bedroom. Hell, this wasn’t your living room. Were you still at Mark’s...?

MARK!

Visions of your nightmare flooded your mind like bile as you pushed yourself up to a sitting position. You craned your head to search the room, frantically looking for any trace of the male.

“Mark?” You croaked, not even remotely phased by how small and feeble your voice sounded. Your voice, scratchy from sleep, hardly even sounded in your ears. The image of Mark’s corpse was still burned in the forefront of your brain, fogging your thoughts. You had to find him and make sure he was safe. Last night couldn’t have been real. He was safe, right?

“Mark?!” Your voice grew louder in desperation when you received no response after a few, painstakingly long seconds. You were about to go into full panic mode when you suddenly heard a familiar groan over the edge of the couch. Looking down towards the floor, you soon spotted another blanket similar to the one draped over your own form. Lying beneath it was a groggy-looking Mark propped up on one elbow and squinting up at you with bleary, confused eyes.

“Wha?” He blinked slowly, looking as if he was still processing his surroundings. You didn’t respond, instead opting to inspect Mark’s status from your spot on the couch. His hair was disheveled and he had some drool smeared at the corner of his mouth, but all in all, he was fine. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, you let out a huge sigh of relief and felt the weight of the nightmare lift off your shoulders.

“Thank god…” You mumbled mainly to yourself as you pulled a knee up to rest your forehead against it. Now that the adrenaline-fueled panic had subsided, you were left exhausted and notably achey. How the hell were you supposed to survive the rest of the day?

You heard some movement beside you and glanced over to see Mark sitting up and grabbing his glasses off the coffee table still littered with your dinner from last night. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, his voice sounding stronger and more sure as he leaned in close to you. Your knee-jerk reaction was to tell him yes and be done with this nonsense but something inside you stopped you from lying. Instead, you simply shook your head.

“Not really,” you confessed, turning your head towards the couch to avoid Mark’s worried gaze. “I had a…,” you hesitated at this. “a bad dream.”

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked softly and you could feel the warmth emanating from his hand as he reached out for you but at the last second, pulled away to rest his hand at his side. Perhaps this was in consideration of your feelings about physical touch. You hated to admit it but a teeny tiny part of you was disappointed that he remembered. As much as it pained you to say it, you could have used the comfort.

“What’s the point? We’re going to see the source of my nightmares in a few hours anyway.” You replied more bitterly than you had intended.

“Well… Whatever happened in your nightmare isn’t going to happen in real life.” Mark stated matter-of-factly. You turned your head back to Mark and gave him a skeptical look.

“And what makes you so sure about that?” You asked dryly.

“Because I believe in us. We make a great team.” You blinked, completely taken aback by the sheer cheesiness of the line. But Mark’s face didn’t flinch or crack a grin; he simply stared straight up at you with a sincere smile and unfettered confidence twinkling in his dark eyes. He wasn’t being smug or arrogant, just… certain. Certain about what, you weren’t sure. But his confident determination was infectious and you soon felt his positive aura washing away any negativity left in your heart. Before long, a smile tugged at your lips and you felt a warm, calm feeling swell up inside your chest. You reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Mark immediately responded by placing his own, unbelievably warm hand over yours, giving it a comforting squeeze that only made you smile wider.

“Yeah,” you replied tenderly, “I believe in us too.”

Bonus Ending:

A few, touching moments passed between you two before you felt the first hints of awkwardness tinge the air. You were the first to break eye contact and pull away. Your guard had dropped. Again. Dammit, that was really cheesy.

“Sorry about crashing on your couch last night.” You apologized sheepishly, your gaze falling to the coffee table. Among the remnants of a late night takeout sat a half-bottle of whiskey and two empty shot glasses. Most of your memories from last night were hazy at best but you remembered the distinct feeling of silliness and gut-wrenching laughter. It had been a long time since you felt that liberated and you were sad you couldn’t recall most of the events. You really shouldn’t have had that fourth shot of whiskey. Or was it your sixth?

“Don’t worry about it.” Mark replied casually as he stood up and stretched. The hem of his black T-shirt rode up with the movement of his arms, giving you a glimpse of his lower stomach. You allowed yourself only a quick glance before turning away, a light pink flush dusting your cheeks. You forgot he had a nice set of abs.

“Why’d you sleep on the floor though?” You hastily asked, trying to cover up your brief embarrassment with an innocent question. The crimson blush on your face made you feel unnaturally warm. “I know you were drunk too but if you were able to get these blankets, you probably could have made it to your bed.”

“And sleep in a room all by myself? Hell no.” You chuckled at the way he said it but he was completely right. That’s why you came over in the first place. After a traumatic first mission at Freddy’s Pizza, you couldn’t handle being alone, whether you were awake or asleep. Now that you thought about it...

“What about the rest of the week?” You asked slowly, the gears in your mind turning towards realization as you looked up at Mark. He glanced down at you questioningly.

“What do you mean?”

“Are we going to be okay by ourselves the rest of this week?” A few silent seconds passed between the two of you as you watched Mark’s eyes widen in understanding. Any other time, Mark’s expressive facial changes would have been an entertaining sight, but you were too anxious about your mental and emotional stability the upcoming nights. Instead, you kept your gaze steady, trying to read what Mark would do or say next. You were hoping he would invite you over again because there was no way in hell you were gonna ask. It would be too awkward, and rude, and just plain embarrassing.

After a long, tense minute, Mark finally asked the question too awkward for you to ask yourself. “Want to sleep over the next few nights?”

Oh thank god.

“Hell yes.”

Chapter Text

The second night at the pizzeria went surprisingly well, even with the addition of Foxy, Mangle, and Balloon Boy. Perhaps it was because the animatronics still came to your office one by one, making things manageable for you and Mark. Or maybe you were just lucky. Regardless, that all changed on the third night.

Not only did the third night signal the return of the old animatronics, but the ones already present became more active. It wasn’t uncommon to see one lurking at each entryway into your tiny office—which was the exact unfortunate situation you and Mark found yourselves in. Both Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica were in the vents while Mangle hung precariously from the ceiling of the cramped office. Somehow, you knew the two of you would be fine. Just before you threw your masks on, you saw that the clock on the computer monitor read 5am. Only one hour to go, right? You weren’t quite sure how long that 5am had been there but you knew it was only a matter of time before 6am rolled past and you would be home free. All that was left to do now was wait.

That’s when you heard the alarm go off from the computer. Of course. Why did you expect things to end smoothly? Mark needed to wind the music box ASAP, but you could still see Mangle’s metallic, skeletal body hanging around, her two heads twisted towards the office’s entryway. You weren’t sure if Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica were in the vicinity, and you sure as hell didn’t care. The animatronic overhead was enough of a threat. There were no other options; you and Mark had to stay put till 6am.

At least, that was the plan. The movement you sensed on your left implied that Mark had other ideas. You had agreed with him yesterday that you shouldn’t move at all when under your masks since neither of you knew how much the animatronics’ sensors could pick up. That’s why you were really taken aback when you felt Mark’s arm brush up against your own while he did god knows what. Keeping your eyes glued on Mangle, you slowly brought your hands to the bottom of your Bonnie mask. Then, ever so cautiously, you pushed the head up while ducking your head down until it rested over your eyes. You quickly flicked your gaze over to Mark and saw that he had pushed his Freddy mask up with one hand while using his other hand to wind up the music box with the computer mouse.

“Mark. Stop it.” You hissed in a voice you could barely hear, reaching out to nudge him while glancing back over to Mangle. She was still facing away from you and you calculated that you had only a few seconds left before she finally noticed you two. “Get back in your mask.”

“Hold on.” He whispered back, refusing to take his eyes off the screen. You gave it a passing peek, shivering slightly when you saw the Puppet almost completely out of his box. But you pushed the lump in your throat back down to focus back on Mangle only to find her staring back at you with her lifeless, wide-eyed gaze. Your grip instantly clamped around Mark’s wrist, making him look up from his work. You felt him freeze under your grasp as the two of you initiated a staring contest with both of Mangle’s heads.

Time dragged on with leaden feet as every single nerve in your body was wound up like a spring. You couldn’t tell when Mangle would strike since her animatronic face was frozen in a macabre grin. But you refused to turn away, to even blink until you saw her second head twitch ever so slightly. In that instance, you jumped up and pushed off your mask before throwing yourself in front of Mark just as Mangle lept forward, her jaw completely unhinged. You steeled yourself both physically and mentally for her vicious bite when a bell chimed softly. The haunting melody echoed throughout the restaurant as you watched Mangle pause mid-jump, her arms outstretched at you and her mouth gaping wide. However, you didn’t let your guard down until you felt the familiar tugging of your conscience leaving your body. Before you were completely pulled out of the universe, you allowed yourself once last glance of Mangle.

The frozen image of her bony form leaping at you would act as a reminder. A horrible reminder to what could have been.

—

The instant you felt sensation return to your limbs, you ripped the headset from your body and shot up from the chair, your entire body shaking. Sweat pasted your shirt to your skin.

Holy fuck.

You almost died.

That single thought dominated your thoughts as you glanced over at Mark. He was pulling off his own headband with trembling hands.

What was he scared for? He wasn’t the one who looked death in the face.

You did.

The two of you almost lost your lives because of his slip up.

This new thought replaced any lingering fear inside you with unadulterated rage. This was Mark’s fault. All of this was Mark’s fault. He shouldn’t have pulled his mask off in the first place. If only he had listened and followed your commands. Then maybe you wouldn’t have had to stare death square in the eye. Before you registered the next thought, you were on your feet and stomping over to Mark just as he was standing up. He opened his mouth to say something but you quickly cut him off.

“What the hell was that?!” You shouted angrily.

“I-I’m sorry,” Mark stuttered, taken aback by your sudden ferocity. “But I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.”

“What you did almost got us killed!” Confusion washed over your partner’s face, only adding more fuel to your fire. Why wouldn’t he just own up to his mistake?!

“Did you not hear the music? We were seconds away from the Puppet waking up. What was I supposed to do?” He stammered.

“Wait for my orders, that’s what!” You snapped, spittle flying from your lips. Mark was momentarily flabbergasted by your statement before narrowing his eyes in a glare.

“Orders?! I thought I was your partner, not your fucking subordinate!”

“I have seniority and experience! When we’re out there, you listen to me!”

“Since when?!”

“Since-!”

“Enough.” The two of you spun your heads around to see Evangeline standing at the doorway of the jump room. Even from afar, you could feel the aura of authority rippling from her stiff form and you shut your mouth mid-sentence. Your spine tingled as she strode towards the center of the room. For once, you didn’t mind her interruption. If there was anyone who could talk some sense into Mark, it was her. She’ll make him realize the importance of listening to one’s superior officers. Evangeline stopped just a few feet from you and Mark and took a moment to give you both a once over, her face completely unreadable to you. Finally, her gaze landed on Mark.

“Mr. Fischbach,” She began coolly. “Good call. A second longer and the Puppet would have taken both your lives.”

…What?

What was she talking about? Mark made the mistake; he was the one who almost got you killed!

Or… was it the other way around? Did he save you? Yes, you did see the Puppet rising up from the computer monitor but you hadn’t realized how close it was to being released. If Mark had listened to you and retreated back inside his mask, you two would have died.

And it would have been all your fault.

Just like before.

Cold realization swamped you, followed by a hot flush of shame and embarrassment. You looked up just in time to see Evangeline turning towards you.

“Agent [Name],” You quickly raised your hand, interrupting whatever demeaning lecture she probably had in store for you. Something along the lines of being a failure, both to her and your family name. That it was a mistake to transfer you here, to give you such a big assignment when you had been one up-ed by some inexperienced civilian. Your ego could barely handle the idea that Mark had done a better job than you so you had to get out of there before she added more salt in the wound.

“I know, I fucked up.” You spat out bitterly. “No need to tell me what I don’t already know.” Evangeline raised an eyebrow at your abrupt statement but you didn’t get the chance to see Mark’s reaction as you began to walk towards the door.

“[Name], wait!” You heard him plead behind you and the sheer emotion in his voice almost made you turn back around. Almost.

Instead, you steeled your resolve to protect your fragile, idiotic heart and stormed out of the room.

Chapter Text

You took the bus home, making a pit stop at the local grocery store to pick up some items for your all-too-empty fridge. Although the entire trip took much longer than expected, you were secretly hoping that it gave you enough time to avoid running into Mark back at your apartment complex.

As usual, the universe ignored your wishes and you saw your partner leaning against your door. You momentarily thought about making a run before he saw but Mark soon noticed your arrival, extinguishing any chance of a stealthy escape.

"Go away." You snarled, striding confidently towards your home.

"I can't do that." Mark replied as he pushed himself off your door and turned to face you. The steely look in his eyes matched the tone of his voice but you weren't going down without a fight.

"Yes, you can. All you have to do is go to your own apartment, open your door, go inside, and close it behind you." You responded brusquely, too exhausted to muster up any form of civility towards him.

"Yeah? And if I do, what's the chances of you coming back to work tomorrow?" You paused, giving Mark more than enough room to continue.

"[Name], I know you're mad but we don't have the luxury to stay mad at each other. We-"

"I know, I know." You let out a weary sigh. He was right (as usual) and as much as you wanted to shut yourself off from the rest of the world for who knows how long, you had a mission to complete. You didn't have time to act like a child. Woman up, right?

"What do you want from then?" You asked.

"I want to make sure my partner's okay." He responded, his voice a tad softer now. "Besides, didn't we promise each other that we would stay together till our mission was over? I don't know about you, but I'm having a hard time being alone right now."

So he was still feeling the after effects too? Not that you could blame him. Even though you were extremely irritated, you still felt the crawling sensation of someone’s eyes on your exposed back. And whenever you allowed yourself to rest your eyes, all you saw in the darkness was Mangle’s face inches away from your own. And you still had two more nights to go.

“Fine.” You finally announced as you turned to the male. “You can come over.” Mark’s eyes widened, probably in disbelief, but you ignored him as you pushed your groceries into his arms.

“Hold these.” It didn’t take long for you to fish out your keys from your purse and unlock your door but once you did, you immediately regretted your spur-of-the-moment invite.

Your living room was pathetic. Several pieces of clothing littered the hardwood flooring, leading to a pile of opened moving boxes occupying the small space behind your spiral staircase. More clothes and what looked like a wet towel was strewn over the only piece of furniture in your room, your couch. Collected on the floor beside one corner of your couch were a few empty bottles and a dirty bowl of what used to be cereal.

You physically cringed at the sad space you called your home but begrudgingly accepted that there was nothing you could do now. Mark was already here.

"Uh... nice place." He said politely as you rushed over to pick up the bowl.

"Wait till you see the kitchen." You didn't dare to sneak a peek at his reaction as you walked passed him and into the hall to your right. As you entered the kitchen, you let out an internal sigh of relief while you flicked on the lights. It still looked just as terrible as your living room, with the stack of dirty dishes littering the sink and the trash can full piled high with take out boxes, but at least it wasn't stinky.

“It’s not that bad.” You heard Mark comment behind you and you stifled a smile. You didn’t want things to go back to normal, not yet anyway. It wouldn’t feel right to get all chummy with Mark again but he wasn’t making it easy to stay serious.

"Just leave the bags over there." You instructed, pointing to your tiny dining table as you headed in the opposite direction towards the sink. You dropped off your bowl before opening a drawer and pulling out a clean knife and a small cutting board. Once the two items were placed on a clean spot on your counter, you turned back around to unpack your bags, only to find that Mark was already in the process of doing just that.

“What are you making?” He asked as he pulled out a bundle of broccoli out.

“Chicken stir-fry.” You replied, taking the broccoli from his hands as well as some of the other ingredients scattered on the table. Mark took it upon himself to bring over the rest of what you needed as you both headed back to your cutting board.

“Sounds delicious.”

“It will be.” You placed your ingredients down and opened the cabinet closest to your head to grab a couple of plates. “Do you want anything to drink? You can chill out on the couch and watch T.V, if you don’t mind all the laundry.”

“Nah, I’d rather stay here with you.” Mark replied casually as he spun around to lean against the counter on your right. “Plus, empty rooms still—,” he paused, eyes flicking momentarily to the vacant room. “—creep me out.” This time, you didn’t fight the smirk that formed on your lips as you began to wash your veggies. Once that was done, you got to work slicing them up, completely aware of Mark’s eyes studying you and your handiwork. Surprisingly enough, this didn’t bother you. His presence was soothing, almost making you forget about the events that transpired between you two earlier today.

But you couldn’t. Not completely. And you knew Mark couldn’t forget what you had said to him. He’d be a fool to forgive you so quickly. As comforting as it was to stand next to him, in the back of your mind you were waiting for him to strike. To finally unearth the reasons behind your outburst.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?”

There it was.

“What is it?” You asked, keeping your voice as steady as the hand you used to cut up the carrots. You didn’t want to make any eye contact with him while this interrogation went down.

“Where did you move from?” You paused momentarily, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Maybe… it was leading somewhere?

“New York.” You soon replied while pushing off the carrot slices into an empty plate.

“City?”

“Yup.”

“Huh, now it makes sense.” You heard Mark mumble.

“What does?” You asked, turning towards him with a confused look on your face. What could he have possibly figured out from an answer like that?

“Why you don't drive.”

… What?

“Uh, yeah… I never had a reason to, what with subways and all.” You slowly returned to your cutting board, completely bewildered by this line of questioning. Guess he wasn't interrogating you yet.

“Well you're gonna have to change that way of thinking if you wanna survive in L.A.” Mark went on, visibly undeterred by your befuddlement.

“Yeah, I learned that the hard way.” It was your turn to mumble as you started moving plates closer to the stove located on your left side.

“I can teach you, if you want.”

“What? To drive?”

“Yeah, once all this crazy shit is over.” You glanced over at Mark to see if he was joking but the earnest smile on his face proved otherwise. Despite all the negativity weighing down on you, you couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“I don’t know, I’ve seen you drive. It’s… questionable at best.” You began playfully as you turned your attention back to making dinner. From the corner of your eye, you saw Mark’s smile grow into a grin.

“And what exactly is so ‘questionable’ about it?” He responded in an equally playful tone. This began a back and forth banter between you two that lasted until you reached your living room, bowls of hot food in your hands. It took a few seconds for you to throw off some of your laundry but once that was taken care of, you both settled on the couch and renewed your conversation. Topics flowed effortlessly and ranged from your horrible cleaning habits to Mark trying to explain what a Youtuber does.

It truly felt like everything was back to normal and it made you sick to your stomach.

Every time a silent moment arose between you, all you could feel was your guilt rearing it’s ugly head and weighing heavy on your heart. You should apologize. You wanted to apologize. The words were on the very tip of your tongue but your dumb pride made it difficult to say them. Fortunately, you thought of a quick solution and hurried back to your kitchen once you finished your meal, much to the confusion of Mark. You returned seconds later with two somewhat clean glasses and a bottle of white wine.

It took some convincing to get Mark to try it but once he took a sip, he easily downed a glass in one chug. It earned him a giggle from you as you quickly finished your own glass, relishing in the sweet fruity tang of the wine. Now this was what alcohol should taste like.

Two and a half glasses later, your head felt like it was swimming in fuzz but you used all your mental energy to keep yourself focused. This had to be done tonight or you wouldn’t be able to face him tomorrow morning.

“...I’m sorry.” You finally mumbled out as you kept your eyes locked on the glass in your hands. You quickly regretted not putting more oomph in the apology. Hopefully Mark would realize you were being serious.

“It’s okay.” His response was so instantaneous that you almost didn’t catch it in your current state. But you did and it made your blood boil.

“No, it’s not.” You stated in a firmer voice, straightening up and turning to meet his eyes. “I said some terrible things to you that you didn’t deserve. And I only said those things because I was projecting my stupid insecurities onto you.” Mark raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What do you have to be insecure about? You’re the one keeping us alive in there.”

“Yeah, for selfish reasons. I’m only working this hard so that you don’t die and I don’t have another dead body on my conscience!” The moment those words left your mouth, you knew you said too much. You watched as realization dawned in Mark’s eyes, wiping away any chance to backtrack. The truth was out there and there was only one you could do from this point on.

Own up to it.

“Look,” you began but paused to take a long, much needed inhale. Once you had steadied yourself, you turned your gaze back to Mark. “I used to have a partner. A legitimate one.” Mark’s brow furrowed at this. "Her name was Amelia and I was assigned to her about a year after I graduated from training. She was my superior officer and had so much more experience than me, but she didn’t flaunt her successes around like some of the other older Agents. She… was great and I looked up to her.” You unconsciously drifted your eyes down to your lap as you remembered Amelia. Your partner, your mentor, your friend.

“What happened to her?” Mark’s question came out in a husky whisper and you realized you must have completely stopped talking.

“Sorry, uh...” You had to take a few seconds to get your thoughts together since it had been a long time since you recalled this memory. The last time you did was in a stark white room, standing in front of five stone-faced Agency board members. It had been brutal but nothing could compare to confessing it to Mark. Sweet, genuine Mark who deserved so much more in a partner. What he got instead was you.

“We were working in Black Ops 2 when I decided to venture off on my own. It was an incredibly stupid idea and I only did it because I wanted to prove myself to some old classmates of mine. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by maybe 20 guys, I don’t remember. I would have been killed right then and there if Amelia didn’t arrive. I swear, she took down at least half of them. We got out but… Amelia took too much damage. She died before I could help her.” You trailed off into silence after that, signaling the end of your tale. After a moment, you peeked over at Mark and saw pity in his eyes. It was too much to bear so you tore your eyes away from him and stared instead at the hands cradling the glass in your lap.

“That’s why I got so angry today. It was like seeing an alternate version of what could have happened, what I should have done. But I didn’t because I’m not a good person. Not like you.”

“[Name], you made a mistake but that shouldn’t completely define who you are.” Mark said firmly. “For as long as I’ve known you—which isn’t very long, but that’s besides the point—you’ve done a lot of good things. You believed in me, trained me, and had my back through all of this. That doesn’t sound like a bad person to me. And don’t give me too much credit. I did my own thing because I freaked out and completely forgot our original plan. Plus, you made a good point. I’m severely inexperienced and should have been following your lead. I’m sorry.” As he said this, Mark reached out and placed his hand on yours. His touch was warm and comforting, just like his words. As nice as it was to hear him admit it, you couldn’t ignore what you had done to him. You needed to affirm that everything was alright between you two.

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me for yelling at you like that.” You decided, looking up at Mark once more. “I really am sorry.”

“Of course!” Mark responded with a reassuring grin. Hearing this, the weight of your guilt finally lifted from your shoulders and you returned his grin with a smile.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it, the past is the past.” Mark drew back his hand and leaned back against the couch. “You should probably apologize to Evangeline too though.”

“Oh yeah… I was really bitchy towards her.” You covered your face with your hands in shame as you let out an exaggerated groan. “Ugh... I’m the worst.”

“Just call and apologize to her now.” Mark stated while he patted your head a few times.

“I just might. By the way, are you staying over tonight?” You asked as you lifted your head up to face him.

“I was planning on it. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, let me get some blankets and pillows. And before you say anything, you’re getting the couch tonight. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Mark gave you a mock salute which earned him a laugh from you as you stood up. You headed up the spiral staircase, pulling out your phone from your pocket and dialing Evangeline’s number. She answered by the time you reached the top of your staircase.

“Yes?” Her icy cool voice made you physically flinch but you powered through your fear.

“I’m sorry for the way I acted this afternoon. It was very unprofessional and extremely immature.” You said, trying to convey as much sincerity as possible but mostly coming off as panicky. It didn't help that she was silent for a good minute before she finally responded.

“Good, I'm glad you noticed too.” She sounded much warmer than before and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in.

“Honestly [Name], that outburst was really uncalled for.” Evangeline continued in a more casual tone.

“I know, I know.” You sighed. “But I wasn’t emotionally ready to handle a lecture. I am now though so lay it on me.”

“Lecture? You thought I was going to reprimand you?” She asked, sounding perplexed. “[Name], I was going to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“Really?”

“Yes, your reaction time was astounding. For someone who hasn’t worked with a partner in so long, you still made sure to protect Mr. Fischbach, not run away. Admirable reflexes, [Name]. It’s why you’re the top of your field.”

“T-thank you.” You stuttered out as your chest swelled up with pride. Man, now you felt silly getting all worked up about being right or being wrong. Another apology was in order for Mark when you were done with this conversation.

“However, please keep in mind your time-management for the two remaining nights.” Evangeline suddenly advised in a gravely serious tone. “If you hadn’t reached the end of this night, you two would have died.” The happiness you earned for a job well done was instantly snuffed out and replaced with a sense of dread.

“Right, we’ll make sure to do that.” You replied solemnly.

“I’m sorry I had to put a damper on this nice conversation. I just want to make sure both you and Mark get through this mission in tact.” Hearing her use Mark’s first name instead of calling him ‘Mr. Fischbach’ revealed the authenticity of her uncertainty. It was a nice gesture but it only made you uneasy.

“I understand. I’ll see you in the morning.” You replied as informally as possible. You hung up on her before hearing her say goodbye and rapidly scrolled through your screen for another name, ignoring your shaking hands as you searched. Once you found the name, you tapped it and held the phone to your ear. It was a crazy idea and if your call didn’t go through, you’d abandon the plan. But if he answered, you had to go through with it. There was no other way to ensure Mark’s safety during the final two nights. That’s when you heard the dial tone stop, replaced with a familiar light-hearted voice.

“Hey [Name], what’s up?”

You gripped your phone tightly and took in a deep breath. No turning back now.

“Chuck, I need a favor.”

Chapter Text

You looked tired.

Well, more tired than usual. Mark hadn’t known you for very long to be able to make any concrete assumptions (especially since most of your time spent together was under extremely stressful situations.) It didn’t take a genius to deduce that your demeanor was different from the norm.

“You doing okay, buddy?” He asked, an attempt to break the terse silence during the elevator ride up. Mark heard a soft, exhausted sigh leave your lips before you turned to him with a small smile.

“Yeah, I'm okay...” You responded in a light-hearted manner, but even Mark could see that your fragile smile didn't reach your eyes. Before he could bring up the odd behavior, the elevator doors opened and you rushed out. Mark followed after you but jerked to a halt when you spun around to face him.

“Hey, Mark? I need to talk to Chuck real fast. Could you wait for me in the jump room?” The sudden question caught him completely off guard and barely gave him enough time to think the favor over. You were obviously in a hurry though and Mark didn’t want to keep you waiting so he replied with a simple nod. That earned him a genuine smile, the first he’d seen from you all morning.

“Thanks Mark, I won’t be long.” With that, you spun a 180 on your heels and walked off. Mark watched you go for a few moments before turning towards the opposite direction. In his mind’s eye, Mark found himself back in the shadowy office of the haunted pizzeria, Freddy looming over him with that dead-eyed grin on his mechanical face. Fear tightened inside Mark’s chest as his blood ran ice cold, but he used every ounce of his willpower to focus on something else.

Like, y’know. Breathing.

“I can do this,” he mumbled to himself while he mentally monitored the rise and fall of his chest. It seemed to be working (for the most part), as the hallucinations in his mind began to fade back into the office hallway. That’s right, these things weren’t real.

Not yet anyway.

“Stop it.” Mark growled, slapping the palms of his hands against his temples for good measure. “No more getting psyched out.” It took a few more moments before he was mentally and emotionally ready to head down the hall but once he took that first step, Mark was able to get to the jump room without another mental hiccup . He had expected to find you waiting for him but you were still nowhere to be found. Deciding it would be unwise to keep his mind unoccupied, Mark dug into his pocket to pull out his phone. He might as well check on his on social media since he wouldn’t have a chance to till tonight.

Most of his notifications were from his Twitter which was filled with fans either rooting him on or reminding him to take some breaks. This was all in response to the announcement he had made at the beginning of the week about how he would be absent on social media to focus time on filming. As much as he hated to lie to his fans, he didn’t want to cause a panic if he suddenly went “missing”. Besides, videos were still being uploaded, all thanks to Barry.

“Speak of the devil.” Mark chuckled when a text popped up from said Grump, a simple confirmation of which videos were supposed to be put up today. When Mark first came to Barry about this huge favor, he had been worried that he would refuse. He had his own priorities, after all. However, Barry not only agreed to upload Mark’s videos for the week no questions asked, he also agreed to edit a few others in his downtime . Mark owed Barry big time for this. He deserved more than just a thank you.

Before Mark could even brainstorm potential gift ideas, he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up to see you heading his way and was about to greet you when he noticed the tension in your shoulders and your gaze focused on the tiled floor. As you got closer, Mark could see your eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

“[Name]?” He called out hesitantly, not sure if his voice would reach you. It was more than enough as your head shot up and you stared at Mark with wide eyes.

“Huh?! Oh… Hey Mark.” You replied, sounding a little out of it. “Are you ready?”

“I should be asking you that.” Mark had meant to make that comment light-hearted but worry crept into his voice. You casually waved him off with a small smile.

“I’m fine. Let’s get going.” You passed Mark without another glance but he kept his eyes on you, unable to shake the visage of intense concentration you had on moments ago. Something was weighing heavily on your mind, but the fact that you were keeping it all to yourself bothered him much more. It felt like you didn’t trust him, or worse, you were protecting him from something. The last thing he wanted from you was to shield him from the dangers of your mission. The very thought made him feel incredibly inadequate.

Suddenly, you spun back around to face him with determined, calculated eyes. At first, Mark seriously thought you had heard his thoughts (there’s no way you could do that… right?). That theory was quickly debunked when you asked him: “Did you mean what you said last night?”

“About what?” Mark blinked, confused as to where this conversation was going.

“About following my lead.” You didn’t need to clarify anymore than that; Mark knew exactly what you were talking about as he remembered your conversation from the previous night.

“Every word.” He replied in a resolute tone.

A smile flitted at the corners of your lips momentarily before being replaced by your serious expression once more. “Good, because I need you to keep that promise today. No matter what happens, you have to follow my directions to the T, alright ?”

Mark hesitated, unable to ignore the alarm bells ringing inside his head. What were you planning? And why did it fill him with such gut-wrenching dread? He wanted to say no, hell, he should say no but your eyes were demanding and expectant. You needed his trust, his faith. There was no way he could deny you that, no matter what his gut said.

“Okay.” Mark watched you smile at him again before turning to head into the jump room, all the while praying that he hadn’t made a gigantic mistake.

—

It didn’t take long for Mark to see why you had asked such a request from him. The moment you two landed back inside Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, you thrust the flashlight into Mark’s hands and told him to keep watch before rummaging through the file cabinet behind him. As much as he wanted to see what exactly you were looking for, the intense terror of knowing that he was the only one protecting the both of you at this moment kept his eyes constantly rotating between the three openings to the office. Thank god, it didn’t take you long to find what you needed as you appeared in his line of sight minutes later and grabbed the flashlight from his hands.

“Anything near the vents?” You asked as you peered over Mark’s shoulder to check the computer screen.

“Not yet.” Mark replied, switching over to the prize counter camera to wind up the music box.

“Let me know when something gets close. Do not get up from your seat, no matter what.” Before Mark could ask you to clarify what you meant, you stepped away from him and began to walk to the front of the desk.

“Wait, what are you doing?!” He hissed out in a low voice but you said nothing as you flipped on your flashlight and aimed the beam down the long, looming hallway. To Mark’s relief, the hall was empty. That did not calm his frayed nerves, since you were still intentionally in harm’s way. All he wanted to do was keep an eye on you, to give you some kind of back up. However, he had his own job to do so he ripped his gaze away from you and back to the flickering screen.

The Youtuber didn’t look your way again till he heard a loud, scraping sound that made him yelp aloud. “Keep it down,” he heard you hiss from across the room. Mark turned to you to see you dragging a large monitor from one of the piles towards the right vent’s entrance. Once it was completely covered, you hurried over to the pile on the opposite wall, quickly checking the hallway again for any sign of animatronics while you passed. Luckily, there was still nothing there. With the coast clear, you hurriedly repeated the same process on the left vent.

Mark watched you, slightly awed by your resourcefulness. Your plan was so simple yet so effective. It was unbelievable that no had thought of it before but after mulling it over for a quick second, it soon made sense to him. Everyone who had played Five Nights at Freddy’s had been programmed with the concept that they had to stay behind the desk, whether they liked it or not. They were stuck there with only the flashlight and camera as their only defenses. But here, in the universe of this horrid game, you weren’t confined to the desk. In here, you had the freedom to do things your own way and it was obvious in your actions that you weren’t going to play by Freddy Fazbear’s rules any longer.

You didn’t return to Mark’s side until there were two monitors covering each vent, each on stacked up on top of the other. An ingenious move on your part since it not only added more weight to the makeshift barricade but it also created a last minute defense if something pushed too hard on the monitors.

“Great idea.” Mark congratulated you once you were close enough.

“Thanks.” You replied between tired pants, a light sheen of sweat visible on your forehead under the dim, fluorescent lighting. You made the motion to sit back down but suddenly paused as you dug into your back pocket. Mark wasn’t sure what you pulled out until he heard a collection of clicking sounds and saw a glint in your hand.

“A box cutter?” He wondered aloud as you placed it on the desk before taking a seat. “What’s that for?”

“You’ll see.” Mark’s eyebrows furrowed when he heard the foreboding tone in your voice. From what he could gather from your recent actions, he could guess that you were probably going to go on the offensive. A box cutter didn’t seem that useful of a weapon, especially against some haunted animatronics, but maybe in your experienced hands it could be positively deadly. You took the time to look for it so you obviously had some kind of plan. But… if you did, why didn’t you sound confident about it?

Mark wished you would give him something, anything, on this secret plan of yours but he couldn’t find an opening to bring it up again. Your eyes were fixated on the open hallway and he had to turn back to the cameras and music box.

The hours crawled by at an agonizingly slow speed, but miraculously your defenses had prevented any animatronics from crawling into your office. But they tried, they definitely fucking tried. The monitor tower over the right vent almost gave way around 3 AM with Toy Bonnie pounding away at it for a solid minute before finally giving up. With all the vents covered, you were able to put all your focus on the hallway.

Freddy was the 1st one to appear that night but your erratic flipping of the flashlight switch chased him away. You continued this trend as each new animatronic tried to walk down the hall, only to be bombarded by the flickering beam of light. With no need to put on his Freddy mask, Mark was able to keep all his attention on winding the music box to it’s fullest.

“Mark.” He flinched when he heard you call his name. It was the first time you had spoken his name since the jump in. “Time.”

“Uh… 5 AM.” Mark responded as he glanced back at you. You nodded at his answer and aimed your flashlight down the hall for the umpteenth time. Standing at the end of it was Foxy, the mere sight of him causing a cold chill to shoot down Mark’s spine. As terrified as he was, he knew he had nothing to worry. There was still plenty of power left in your flashlight to hold the two of you over till the end so all you had to do was flick that light on a few times and Foxy would be on his merry way.

At least, that’s what he thought you would do. To his horror, you shoved the flashlight into his hands.

“Keep that on and don’t chase him away unless I go down.” You hurriedly instructed, standing up while keeping your eyes focused on Foxy.

“W-what?!” Mark spluttered out, unable to string together a coherent sentence. His mind was racing a mile a minute as he watched you grab the box cutter. He hadn’t truly believed his earlier theory about you fighting one of the animatronics but here you were, bracing yourself for battle. This couldn’t be happening. You wouldn’t survive, not with a puny thing like that as your only weapon. They were robots for fuck’s sake. How would you even-

Mark’s hysterical thoughts silenced all together when, without warning, you jammed the blade straight into your left shoulder.

Time seemed to stand still as every fiber of his being concentrated on you; your face, your shoulder, your blood.

There was so much blood.

Mark felt white-hot panic slowly creep back into his limbs as his mind tried to comprehend what exactly you were doing. Before he could grasp some semblance of an explanation for your actions, you suddenly pulled the blade out of your shoulder. Blood splattered across the tabletop as the clatter of the your discarded box cutter echoed through the room. With your eyes still trained on Foxy’s, you brought your hand back up to your open wound. For a moment, Mark saw your fingers shake as they ghosted over your shoulder. They instantly stilled when the creaking of mechanical joints filled the air. From the corner of his eye, Mark could see Foxy leaning forward like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

This was way too much. Mark had to do something. Anything to protect you guys. God knows what the hell you were trying to accomplish by stabbing yourself. Even though he promised to follow your orders, desperate times called for desperate measures. All worried thought ground to a halt when your raw, painful cry pierced his very soul.

He looked back at you in absolute horror as you dug your fingers into your wound. The sharp taste of bile clambered up his throat as he watched you move your fingers around inside the cut, blood seeping down your fingers and hand in dark ribbon-like designs. You then pulled your hand out, which should have brought some relief to Mark until he noticed that you were pulling something out from your wound. Something obscenely long and curved and he couldn’t quite make it out until it was completely out of you.

A crowbar.

A crowbar dripping in your blood.

What the actual fuck?!

Mark had no time to gather his thoughts when Foxy’s loud thundering footsteps made their way to the office. You must have noticed too because your eyes hardened once more as you stepped on the monitor you had been using as a chair for the past few nights. With your left foot on the monitor, you placed your right foot on the desk as you gripped your crowbar in both your hands. A split second later, you lept forward just as Foxy leaped into the room, his jaw wide open and arms stretched out.

He wasn’t sure if you had planned it or if it was just pure luck but the straight end of your crowbar entered Foxy’s mouth. That action paired with the momentum gained from your higher leap pushed Foxy backwards onto the floor. He landed on his back with a colossal thud. You landed on top of his form but you quickly scrambled to your feet and grabbed the crowbar. The metal was still lodged in Foxy’s mouth. The animatronic clamped down on your hands as you pulled your weapon out and even from his viewpoint behind the desk, Mark could see metal teeth turn the skin of your forearm into ribbons.

You didn’t even flinch. Instead, you pushed the crowbar back inside with all the force you could muster. The bone-chilling sound of metal crunching against metal reverberated in the air as you repeated the process. Again. And again. And again. Nothing would stop you. Even as Foxy swung his hook around you and stabbed you deep in the back, you didn’t bat an eye. You just raised the crowbar above your head and slammed it back into his open mouth once more.

Mark couldn’t tear his eyes away. Not because he found pleasure in your actions, but because he was terrified. It was like watching a train-wreck and he feared that if he turned away for even one second, Foxy might get the upper-hand. And even if he had no weapons on him, he wasn’t going to let him take you away without jumping in on his own. He would have never left his gaze on you if it wasn’t for the panicked alarms coming out of the computer. It took everything in his power to look towards the screen and he immediately realized it was a necessary evil.

The Puppet was rising from his box, it’s hollow grin aimed directly at the camera. The music box was frighteningly low and Mark scrambled for the mouse, praying under his breath that he wasn’t too late.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about it for long as a new sound resounded through the building: the heralding chimes of the night’s end. To Mark’s confusion, you refused to stop your assault on Foxy’s face. Crushing metal mixed with the ghostly bells, creating a dissonant symphony that would ingrain itself in Mark’s brain for months to come. Finally, after the third chime, a dull thud was heard followed by you letting go of the crowbar still lodged deep within Foxy. Mark watched in bated breath as you slowly straightened your form, then abruptly kicked the mangled pile of parts to the side. He flinched as half of Foxy’s head skidded across the tiled floor to the other end of the room, halting just before hitting the left wall. Everything from the top jaw upwards was completely torn apart, wires jutting out from where the hinges, where that part of his mouth used to be.

Mark turned back to you and saw that you were motionless again, your bloody arms hanging at your sides. “[Name]...?” He called out hesitantly, his voice seeming incredibly distant to your ears. . You seemed to jerk up at the sound, but as you were about to turn your head, Mark felt a tugging sensation yank him backwards. He had no chance to meet your gaze as his mind faded to black.

—

Mark gasped aloud when his consciousness was pieced back to his original body. He frantically looked around for a moment while trying to get his bearings together, soon remembering where he was. Then he remembered what had just taken place.

[Name]!

He hurriedly pulled off his headset and began to sit up when a dull thump made him freeze. His thoughts immediately went to haunted animatronics crawling through ventilation shafts but the second thump sounded like something was hitting something soft. There was a third thump, and a fourth thump, all coming from the side your chair was in.

Mark turned towards you and paled at the sight of your body convulsing uncontrollably in your seat. “[Name]!” He screamed, the initial shock instantly wearing off as he leaped out of his own chair and rushed to your side. But before he could even make it over to you, the doors suddenly slammed open and a rush of people stampeded inside. Mark got pulled back but he kept his eyes on you while a few people in scrubs held you down. One of them injected something in your neck and to Mark’s relief, your convulsions stopped.

“We need to get her to the med bay, stat.” He heard someone say and the group around you quickly pulled your seizing body out your chair before placing you on a gurney someone had rolled in. The color drained from Mark’s face when he saw all the blood you left behind on the pristine leather seat and began to struggle against his restraints when he saw you being wheeled out of the room.

“Wait, let me go with her!”

“Mark.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around to see a grave-looking Evangeline beside him. Behind her was a mortified Chuck.

“Evangeline, I have to go to her. Please.” He pleaded, his voice finally cracking under the weight.

“You will, in time. But we need to discuss what just happened.”

—

Mark was brought to an ordinary waiting room area filled with couches and fake plants and bland art everywhere. None of the seats looked that comfortable but once his butt made contact with one of the recliners, exhaustion washed over him. Everything instantly felt leaden, from his toes to his fingertips. His entire body yearned for Mark to pass out right then and there, but he refused. No matter how much he ached for sweet, sweet slumber, he had to stay awake. He needed answers.

Unfortunately, Chuck was providing much of that. He had begun speaking the moment he sat down across from him but all Mark could hear was gobbledegook . Some words stood out like “Alpha wave versus Beta wave bodies” and “Universal Wave Energy” but all in all, it was as if Chuck was speaking an entirely different language. Tiredness continued to tug at the frayed edges of Mark’s brain and he eventually couldn’t take it anymore.

“Stop Chuck, just… stop for a sec.” Mark begged as he held up a hand to pause Chuck. Chuck stumbled over his last few words before quickly closing his mouth, which immediately caught the attention of Evangeline sitting on another recliner on Mark’s left. She had been silent during the entire one-sided conversation, all her focus trained on her phone until now. Once she caught sight of Mark’s exasperated look, she placed her phone on the armrest and straightened her back.

“Do you need time to process all this?” She asked in an even tone.

“No, I need answers I can understand!” Mark spat out, unable to contain the frustration and stress in his voice. “I don’t care about about the science behind this shit. All I want to know is how the hell [Name] did all that and why she’s in the med bay!” Chuck was wide-eyed from surprise at Mark’s sudden outburst but Evangeline remained unperturbed.

“Mark,” Her steady voice exuded a kind of maternal kindness he had never heard from the woman before but he soon felt a tranquil calmness rest over his form. “Why do you think we have Agents pair up for missions?”

“So someone can watch the other person’s back?” He replied hesitantly, his initial outburst fading. He wasn’t sure where exactly she was going with this.

“Precisely. One Agent is more than enough for a regular maintenance mission but for first time visits to new universes, two Agents are highly recommended. [Name], however, was one of the only Agents to go on initial exploration missions on her own due to her participation in a… special experiment.” Mark noticed Evangeline wince as she mentioned the experiment and he furrowed his brows in worry.

“What experiment?”

“No matter how much information and tools we provide an Agent, once they enter a Beta universe they only have their skills to rely on-” Chuck suddenly interjected before his words trailed off. Mark followed the trail of the Analyst’s eyes to his boss but Evangeline simply gave him a small nod.

“Remember to use layman’s terms Chuck.” She instructed and Chuck nodded profusely as he turned back to Mark.

“Analysts can only monitor Agents during the initial exploration mission and then provide some weapons and equipment at the beginning of maintenance missions. We can’t give them much else once they jump into a Beta universe, but what if there was a way an Agent could summon the tools they desperately need at the last second? That’s the question a few scientists answered when the created what the Agency likes to call Last Resort Chips, or LRCs.”

“You… mentioned that before.” Mark stated, realization blooming in his exhausted mind.

“Yes!” Chuck visibly brightened, “LRCs utilize a fascinating blend of chemical and electrical components to-”

“Chuck.” Evangeline interrupted curtly. The Analyst reddened, aware that he was getting off track again and hastily cleared his throat.

“R-right, so when LRCs reached the testing phase, [Name] was one of the first candidates to volunteer. She eventually received the final product and has been using LRCs since. This allowed her to go on exploration missions without a partner thanks to this security blanket. However, LRCs are obviously only meant to be a finality.” Chuck’s explanation suddenly took a grave tone as his eyes cast downwards. “Their average activation rate is about 1-2 times a month. [Name] activated her LRC an average of 4-5 times a month. This is way above the recommended amount and such extensive use has begun to take a toll on her body.”

“That’s why I had her transferred.” Evangeline interrupted, her arms folded across her chest. “Although it was obvious that her health was deteriorating over extensive LRC use, her superiors back in the New York Headquarters ignored it. Instead, they continued to let her go on solo missions, all so they could keep boasting her successes like they were their own.” Mark noticed the older woman’s voice strain at the end of her sentence as she tightly gripped her arms. This was obviously affecting her more than she let on. Evangeline soon noticed Mark’s stare and relaxed her arms on her crossed lap before locking her gaze on his.

“I had hoped that with [Name] stationed here, I could watch over her and ensure she doesn’t activate her LRC again.”

“But she did,” Mark stated softly as the situation became clear to him. “Because she couldn’t trust me to watch her back. I forced her to do this.” Why wasn’t it obvious before? You never let on about your plan because he would only hold you back. He didn’t bring much to the table in the first place and you had to go through such extremes to keep him safe. All he was was useless weight.

“No, you didn’t.” Evangeline firm response cut through his negative thoughts. “I can say for certain that [Name] trusts you deeply. If she didn’t, your partnership wouldn’t have lasted past your training mission.” Mark thought back to his very first jump in the Last of Us universe, to the perilous exploration through that dilapidated skyscraper and his close brush of death battling the hordes of undead. Either of you could have died if it wasn’t for the other.

“And if there’s anyone she doesn’t trust, it’s probably herself.” Before she could elaborate further, Evangeline’s phone began to rang. She sprung out of her seat with little effort and stepped away from the circle of couches to answer the call. Mark strained his ears as she spoke quietly in hopes to hear any news about your status. Instead, someone else spoke up.

“I’m... sorry.” Chuck apologized. “I knew [Name]’s history and the risks but I still helped her equip her LRC. She’s fine now but-”

“There’s no point trying to blame yourself Chuck.” Mark stopped him before he could berate himself any further. “What’s done is done and all that matters now is if [Name] is okay.”

“She is.” Both men jumped at the sudden intrusion and looked over to see Evangeline standing by their seats.

“W-what?” Mark stuttered, uncertain about what he just heard.

“[Name] has recovered, at least enough to make a safe jump in 24 hours time. Although I would rather have her take the day off to fully regain her health, she’s insisting that she finish the mission tomorrow.”

“It definitely sounds like she’s back to normal.” Chuck chortled. Mark wanted to laugh along with the Analyst but all he could feel was exhaustion. His demeanor soon became apparent to the others as Evangeline spoke up again.

“She should be coming out shortly. You can wait for her here.” She then gave Chuck a curt nod and he pushed himself up.

“What about you guys?” Mark questioned as they began to make their way out of the waiting room.

“Chuck and I still have unfinished work regarding today’s jump. Besides, I think [Name] would rather see only you after her ordeal.” With that last statement hanging in the air, Evangeline walked out the room. Chuck followed close behind and gave Mark a small wave before disappearing into the hallway, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Alone to think about what he could have done, what he should have done to prevent this. Dammit, why couldn’t he take his own advice? He told Chuck not to blame himself but here he was, picking apart every second he could have stopped you from sacrificing yourself. And for what, his safety?

Mark groaned as he leaned back against the recliner and smushed his hands against his face. He needed to stop. Hindsight was 20/20 and thinking back accomplished nothing. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking, wondering, wishing things when differently. That he had been hurt instead of you...

Mark wasn’t sure when exactly he fell asleep but the sound of a door closing jolted him out of his slumber. God I feel like shit. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wipe away the crappiness naps always brought him.

“Mark? You're still here?” Mark’s head shot up when he heard a familiar voice across the room. He adjusted his glasses as his vision regained focus and he soon saw you standing in front of a closed door a couple of feet away. There were bandages wrapped around your hands and forearms, stopping below your elbows while more bindings peeked out from underneath the left side of your collar but overall you seemed… okay. A little roughed up, but fine.

His body moved before his mind could register his actions and in that next second, he was hugging you close to his chest. “Holy shit, y-you’re okay.” Mark breathed out shakily against your hair.

“Y-yeah… I am.” You replied uneasily and Mark wondered why you sounded so awkward. A beat passed before he remembered your aversion to physical touch and frantically began to pull away.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to hu-!” Mark shut his mouth when he felt your palms on his back as you gently pulled him back towards you.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind if it’s you.” His breath hitched when he heard those words tumble out of your lips. It suddenly became way too hot in your embrace and Mark would have let you go if he you hadn’t begun trembling in his arms.

“I-I didn’t think I’d make it.” You mumbled against his shoulder.

“But you did, and I’m so fucking relieved.” Mark whispered as he soothingly rubbed your back. There was a beat of silence that passed between you two before you spoke again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about my plan. I… just couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.” His temper flared when he heard this and he immediately grabbed your shoulders and pushed you back. Mark’s heart broke when he saw the hurt look on your face but he needed you to fully understand what he was about to say next.

“And you think I would have done any better if I lost you? You were in the med bay for only a few hours and I’m a goddamn wreck!” Regret flashed in your eyes before you looked down.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” you repeated softly.

“Please, just next time consider me as your partner. Let me share the burden with you.” He was practically begging you at this point and to his relief, you nodded without much argument.

“Thank you.” Mark relaxed his grip on your shoulders which you took as a cue to jump back into his embrace. He didn’t mind one bit as he hugged you close once more. You were a lot smaller than he had realized, especially considering how large of a presence you carried. Confident, bold, resolute in who you were; you had definitely been the dominant one in this partnership. Not that he minded, he always had a thing for strong women.

Wait, what?

Mark pushed that thought down and tried to put his focus back onto you. The quiet, uneasy you still mentally and emotionally recovering from your traumatic experience. He’d never seen you so vulnerable before and as much as it pained him to see you like this, he also felt honored to be one of the only people who have. Mark wondered what other sides of your personality you had yet to show him. No matter what they were, he was sure that they would be a beautiful as the last.

... Shit.

Alarm bells rang inside the Youtuber’s head as his blood ran cold. This was bad. Really bad. Fuck, his heart was going a mile a minute. There was no way you couldn’t miss it. Fortunately, you pulled away before his erratic heartbeat could notify you of any weird changes.

“I think I’m good now.” You announced as you met Mark’s gaze. “Starving, but good. You ready to go get dinner? I’m thinking burgers tonight.” You gave him a heartfelt smile and Mark’s chest instantly tightened.

“S-sure!” He responded far too loudly than he had meant to but you didn’t seem to notice.

“Awesome! There was a shop near the complex that boasted to have the ‘best burgers in the galaxy’. I wanna see if they can live up to that title.” You started to make you way out of the waiting room but Mark couldn’t find it in himself to follow. He was too overwhelmed by the fact that he had fallen for you.

Like, really fallen for you.

And if you ever found out… Mark paled at the thought. How would you react? When you first met, it was like pulling teeth to get you to accept him as a partner, much less open up to the idea of a friendship. It was an emotionally tumultuous week for the both of you and it was far from over. There was no room to add his romantic intentions into the mix. But once the mission was done and everything settled… would you two remain as close as you were now? A new fear suddenly sprouted up inside his heart; the fear of you two drifting apart once this was all over.

“Hey,” Mark jumped and glanced up to see you standing at the doorway of the waiting room, your brows knitted together in worry. “Are you okay?” He took that moment to drift his eyes over your face, your battered body, then back to your face as your anxious gaze watched him. It was then he decided that he wouldn’t tell you. There was no reason to throw romance into your dynamic right now. Not at the cost of your friendship. Besides, there was no way someone as amazing as you would reciprocate his feelings.

Mark swallowed, pushing down not only the lump in his throat but also any other romantic affections he felt towards you. Then, he gave you the cheesiest Youtuber grin he could muster.

“Yeah, I’m great. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

The fifth night easily flew by thanks to your insane plans. Remnants of what you had done the previous night were still littered across the office; the barricades, the crowbar, the blood spatter. The one thing that didn’t remain was Foxy. It took about an hour to confirm this but when he never showed up in the hallway, Mark and you knew that you had succeeded.

You two quickly decided to revert back to your old strategy from the first night so long ago; staying in your respective masks unless it was absolutely necessary to take them off.

When the clock struck 6 AM, a wave of relief washed over your body and soul. You pushed off your Bonnie head and closed your eyes as you welcomed the familiar tug along the edges of your consciousness. The next time you opened them, you were back. Back for good.

No more haunted pizzeria.

No more murderous animatronics.

No more fearing for your life or Mark’s.

It was over.

As you sat up from your seat, your gaze drifted towards Mark. He met your eyes instantly and before you knew it, you were out of your chair and meeting him halfway for a bone-crushing hug.

Past you would have been utterly horrified by your willingness to hug someone, especially someone you’ve only know for little over a week. But Mark was unlike anyone you had ever met. Goofy, compassionate, and too kind for this world, Mark was able to worm his way into your heart. He had become such an important part of your life now and you felt beyond lucky to have a partner like him.

Mark was the first to pull away but he kept his hands on your waist. “We did it.” He announced breathlessly, a giant grin plastered across his face.

“Yeah.” You almost broke into laughter as you said this, unable to contain the flurry of emotions coursing through your veins. Relief, joy, the feeling of being alive. You could barely stand without shaking. However, your excitement faltered when you noticed a pensive look replace Mark’s grin.

“Mark?” The Youtuber jumped at the call of his name as his eyes returned focus.

“S-sorry, I was just thinking…”

“About what?” Mark tightened his lips into a fine line as he looked over you thoughtfully. You tried to read his facial expressions but for the first time since you two met, you couldn’t pinpoint what exactly he was thinking. Finally, he opened his mouth again.

“[Name], I li-”

“Ahem.” You and Mark jumped and quickly let go of each other before turning to the source of the sudden interruption. You weren’t surprised to see your boss standing a few feet away from you two.

“As touching as this is, please keep your PDA to a minimum. This is still a professional setting after all.” She reprimanded lightly, doing nothing to hide the knowing smirk on her face. Your cheeks flushed in embarrassment. You hated being caught with your vulnerable side showing and you could already hear her teasing remarks.

“Yeah, yeah.” You spat out in retort, avoiding her gaze. “Is there anything else you want to tell us besides Agency policies or can we go?”

“Don’t let me stop you, I just wanted to see you two in person before you left and thank you both for a job well done. Really, I am truly grateful for your work on this mission.” You were surprised to hear such sincerity in Evangeline’s voice and turned back to her.

“You’re welcome.” Was all you could think of in reply.

“Will the effects of the bleed stop now?” Mark suddenly asked and you were soon reminded of why Mark took this job in the first place. It was never about the glory or the challenge but for the safety of some kids he didn’t even know. You forgot how noble this guy was and you felt honored to have befriended a man like Mark.

“It should take a day or two for the influence from the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe to disappear completely but we’ve already taken steps to close down anything that was created because of the bleed. That means any restaurants or places that have many similarities to the franchise and aiding police investigations in the disappearances of children tied to these places.” Evangeline explained.

“That’s good to hear.” Mark sighed in relief, a soft smile adorning his face. The sight of it made your heart swell.

“Now, as reward for your efforts I’ll be giving you both bonuses as well as giving you the weekend off, [Name].” Evangeline continued. You opened your mouth to protest the excessiveness of her gift but she raised her hand to stop you.

“That’s an order. You still have to heal from those wounds you got yesterday. I also haven’t forgotten how you obtain them so you either take this paid day off or I suspend you, got it?” You quickly shut your mouth upon hearing this and simply nodded your head. Evangeline’s glare was replaced with a curt smile and a nod before she stepped aside.

“Enjoy your weekend you two. I expect you to be back Monday morning bright and early Agent [Name]. And as for you Mr. Fischbach, we’ll keep in touch.” Her dismissive tone brought an end to the conversation as you and Mark scurried out of the room.

“I don’t know if I should feel appreciated or scared after that conversation.” Mark confessed once you both were out of earshot of the older woman.

“Welcome to my life.” You muttered under your breath.

“Anyway, we should celebrate not dying!” You glanced over to his grinning form and returned it with your own smile.

“What did you have in mind?”

-

Your first bite fills your taste buds with delightful, cheesy goodness. The sauce is seasoned well and even though the crust is a little on the dry side, it’s still a pretty good pizza overall.

“Not bad,” you announce after swallowing it down. “I was honestly expecting a lot worse since I’ve heard so many horror stories about L.A. pizza.” Mark chuckled just before taking a sip of his whiskey.

“Most of them are actually true so I was really lucky to find this gem.” He confessed.

“Well, I feel honored that you shared this treasure with me.” You responded with a tone dripping in sarcasm.

“As you should be.” With that, the two of you ended your conversation momentarily to devour the rest of the pizza pie sitting atop Mark’s coffee table. Mark had the amazing idea to stick one final “fuck you” at the Five Night’s at Freddy’s universe by eating it’s most well-known dish to prove its horrid main cast did not have any more power over you two. You were hesitant at first but once alcohol was introduced to wash the pizza down, you wholeheartedly agreed.

The two of you spent the rest of your dinner trading quips back and forth while the T.V. played some nonsensical late night drama in the background, laughing occasionally whenever one of you said something remotely funny. As time passed, you were eating less and chatting more while the whiskey continued to flow into your shot glasses. You had to admit, this Fireball shit was really starting to grow on you. Mark was pouring you another shot, your mind drifted today's events. It was still so unbelievable that you both made it out of there alive. Yeah, your shoulder still throbbed from your stab wound and there will still be some restless, nightmare-filled nights but in the end you were both alive.

It was then that you remembered Mark mentioning something to you after you had returned to your home universe before being interrupted by Evangeline's arrival.

“Hey, what did you want to say to me earlier before Evangeline interrupted us?” The moment these words came tumbling out of your mouth, Mark began to choke on his whiskey. You quickly reached out to slap him on the back as he coughed out his drink.

“Uh… yeah… about that.” Mark sputtered between coughs. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure? Because you can tell me anything, you know that right?” You stopped hitting him but kept you hand on his back, trying to muster up as much sincerity as you could. You were never the comforting type, so you hoped it was working. Mark looked over and locked his gaze on yours. A second later, he sighed.

“I was thinking… Would it be better for you if I stopped making videos? At least, Let’s Plays?” You gave Mark an incredulous look.

“W-what? Why are you even bringing this up?” You asked, unable to grasp what his thought process.

“The games I play reach millions of people on a daily basis. That means millions of people will think about certain games, which in turn creates the Beta universes you have to travel to. That’s what happened with Five Nights at Freddy’s. What happens when a new horror game comes out? Or a sequel to Five Nights? You’ll have to one of those universes again and if there is a way I can prevent that from happening, I’m going to do it.”

“Even if it means giving up your livelihood? Mark, that’s crazy.”

“No, like I wouldn’t play horror games-"

“Mark-”

“Or games I know might be dangerous for you-”

“Mark, stop!” He shut his mouth immediately as you let out an exasperated sigh.

“Look, it doesn’t matter if you stop. Someone else will only spread the word.” You began and you quickly put your hand up when Mark tried to speak again. “But that’s besides the point. My job isn’t stopping the flow of creativity. If it were, the Agency would have come out to the public a long time ago and put an end to the creation of anything fictional. Which in turn will only make our world really dull. That’s not what I or the Agency stands for. We protect humanity so they can continue to thrive off their imagination, to be able to create fantasy worlds and fictional characters. Don’t feel like you need to stop what you’re doing Mark. I’ll be okay; you do your job and I’ll do mine.”

“Even if you’re risking your life every day?” Mark asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes, I know what I signed up for.” You replied firmly. Mark wilted under your response and you felt the hints of guilt sprout inside your chest. You rubbed his back gently.

“But if it makes you feel better, I’m not going to throw my life around carelessly like I used to. I… wouldn’t want you to get worried.” You felt a blush creep up your cheeks as you said this, feeling much more vulnerable than usual. Man, what was it about him that made you say cheesy shit like this? Fortunately, it got him smiling again.

“Good, ‘cause I’ll never forgive you if you come back here in a stretcher.” He quipped.

“You got it.” You replied, wholly accepting the lighter conversational tone as you pulled back your hand. “Now then, no more serious talk. I’m banning it for the rest of the night.”

“You can’t do that, this is my apartment.” Mark jokingly attested.

“And I’m the guest.” You responded cheekily which earned you an exaggerated eye roll from your partner.

“Alright then m’lady, how else may I serve you this fine evening?” His voice took on a higher octave and a posh tone which you immediately matched.

“Pour us more shots of that spicy liqueur, knave.”

“You sure? This is like, our fifth shot already. And unlike you, I have to work tomorrow.” Mark pointed out in his normal voice. Yet as he was saying this, he was already pulling the top off the bottle and grabbing your shot glass.

“Yeah, recording yourself playing video games all day sounds like ‘hard work’ to me.” You emphasized your skepticism with some perfectly timed air quotes.

“Hey!” This went on for another three shots before one of you finally called it quits. You couldn't remember exactly who put away the half-filled bottle since you memory began to fade in and out by then. What you <i>did</i> remember, however, was being cold, then warm, then something soft underneath you, all the while feeling all bubbly and cheery and just fucking at peace the entire time. It was a feeling that you knew, even in your inebriated state, was all thanks to Mark. Maybe it was the booze or maybe it was the near-death experience but you prayed to whatever gods were above that this feeling never faded.

Bonus Ending: Mark’s POV

At first, Mark thought the thudding sound he was hearing was all in his head. Understandable, since he had about eight shots of Fireball Whiskey last night. When the thudding didn’t stop after a good few minutes, Mark realized it was coming from an outside source.

Cracking open one eye, then the other, it took him a moment to gather up all his thoughts before remembering that he slept on the floor again. He sat up, his joints cracking with each small movement he made as his eyes moved towards the couch directly next to him. Sleeping peacefully underneath a heavy cotton blanket was you, apparently undisturbed even with the incessant knocking come from Mark's front door. Mark took a moment to look you over, smiling at the sight of you snoring lightly with a thin line of drool trailing down the corner of your mouth. It was hilariously adorable.

Mark's eyes soon drifted down to your shirt, or rather, his shirt. Your shirt was in his bathroom drying after you had spilled your final whiskey shot all over it last night. Before he could reminisce any more on your hijinks last night, more knocking erupted from his front door. He let out an irritated huff and scrambled to his feet, pulling on some pants he had underneath his covers as he made his way to his door.

"I'm coming, sheesh!" He called out. Once close enough, Mark pulled open his door without a second thought and came face to face with Arin and Danny.

"Took you long enough, why aren't you dressed?" Arin asked, his eyes glancing down at Mark's pajama-clad body.

"Dressed...? For what?" Mark squinted his eyes in confusion.

"You said you wanted to get breakfast today so here we are." Danny replied, dramatically gesturing to both himself and his best buddy.

"... I did?"

"Yeah, here." Arin pulled out his phone and after a few quick swipes, he showed the screen to Mark who instantly cringed.

Let dId brrak fast 2morrow morni 8 aM. Yu, daNNNNy; m

"Dude, I was drunk when I wrote this." Mark pointed out.

"Yeah we figured," Arin shrugged as he put his cell away. "But we thought it'd still be fun to drag your ass out of bed."

"So hurry up, we're starving!" Danny exclaimed cheerfully.

"Um... yeah, I just..." Mark looked back at the couch, unsure what to do. On one hand, he was a lot hungrier than he first thought and breakfast would do him some good right now. On the other hand, he wanted to make sure you got your rest.

"What?" Danny inquired as he and Arin followed Mark's gaze towards the couch. At that moment, a groan erupted from it, causing the trio jump.

"Mark...? What's going on?" You groggily called out as you attempted to pull yourself over the armrest closest to the front door, only to end up flopping over it tiredly. Your eyes were still closed which was good since Mark wasn't sure how you'd react to the impish grins adorning Danny and Arin's faces.

"It's not what you think." Mark hurriedly stated, his cheeks burning under their sly stares.

"Uh huh, suuuuure." Arin replied, obviously unconvinced as Danny laughed beside him. “Damn, I can’t wait to tell Suzy about this.”

“We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone and reschedule for another day. Later man!” Before Mark could even try to correct them, the duo were already making their way back down the hall.

“Ugh, fuck it.” He ended up mumbling, way too tired to think about the mix up now. He shut the door and shuffled back to the couch to find you curled up in a ball. If his mind wasn’t so weighed down by exhaustion he would have appreciated how cute you looked. Instead, Mark simply flopped on whatever space was left on the couch. You wouldn’t mind sharing, probably. After all, this was his couch in the first place. With that decision settled firmly inside his foggy mind, Mark welcomed sleep and let it overtake him once again.

Chapter Text

The night you got completely wasted was the last night you stayed at Mark’s. You didn’t want to overstay your welcome and, like Mark had mentioned that evening, he had a ton of work to do. He explained over brunch that all the videos he had made for his backlog for the Thanksgiving week had to be used during the time he was on the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 mission. That meant he only had a couple days to make a whole new batch before heading home to Cincinnati for the holiday weekend. You didn’t mind though since it gave you the chance to finally unpack your boxes and organize your apartment.

It was strange at first to not have Mark by your side. He had become an immovable figure in your life recently that the void he left behind was far too large to ignore. Hard to ignore, but not unpleasant.

You missed the solitude. In a way, it was like returning to an old friend. Ever since the death of your parents, you had always been detached from the rest of the people in your life in one way or another, whether it be due to your own self-imposed isolation from the rest of your family or the effects of having double-faced ‘friends’. The timely return of Evangeline and the eventual meetings of Chuck and Mark opened your eyes up to what a healthy social life could be. It was uplifting, but right now you were worn and tired and needed to recharge all by your lonesome.

And that was what you did. The remainder of that Sunday was focused entirely on putting your apartment together. By Monday morning you were back to normal, mentally and emotionally speaking. Your shoulder, however, was still sore but you ignored the dull ache as you went about your work filling out the final reports of your mission and scheduling future maintenance on your assigned universes. Your day passed by without any hitch and you headed straight home.

Not once did you get any contact with Mark.

Even as you were opening your front door, you were expecting him to come out of his own apartment and offer you some dinner. You shook your head before heading inside. This was getting ridiculous; you couldn’t believe how much you relied on him for companionship. Yes, it would have been nice to see him but you didn’t need to see him.

With that notion driving you forward, you went about the rest of your night while pushing away thoughts of your partner far from your mind.

It would be another 12 hours before you finally saw Mark again. You hated to admit it, but by then you were beginning to worry. Where was he? Was the end of the mission the end of your budding friendship? But lo and behold, Mark and his wonderful sense of timing suddenly appeared behind your chair while you were finishing up another report. You spun around to face him and found his usual wide grin across his face. However, upon closer inspection you could see dark circles under his eyes. When he greeted you, there was a tinge of hoarseness at the edges of his voice. When was the last time he actually slept?

“Long time no see.” You greeted back light-heartedly.

“I know you’re joking but it does feel like ages since I last saw you.” Mark responded as he casually leaned against your cubicle wall.

“Well, who’s fault is that?” You asked as you gave him a teasing smirk.

“I know, I know,” he put up his hands defensively. “That’s why I’m here to take you out to lunch.”

“How’d you know I didn’t eat yet?”

“Chuck told me when I called him.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because we’re dumb and haven’t exchanged numbers yet.”

“... What?” You pulled out your phone and checked your contacts list. Sure enough, Mark’s name was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn, we are dumb.” You mumbled under your breath as you put your phone away.

“Probably why Evangeline made us partners.” You let out a chuckle as you stood up.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Now then, what was that about you treating me to lunch?” You started heading out of your cubicle, passing a befuddled Mark.

“Wait… I said ‘take’ not ‘treat’.”

“I don’t see the difference.”

---

You weren’t able to convince Mark to buy you lunch but you were able to convince him to eat at the Greek restaurant across the street from your building. Conversation was light and filled with casual banter in between bites of gyro and lemon potatoes. As you both tried to finish the baklava that you now regretted buying, Mark turned the conversation towards the upcoming holidays and inquired about your Thanksgiving plans.

“I’m just gonna be working.” You simply answered as you stuffed another forkful of syrupy, nutty, crunchiness in your mouth. Yup, this was a mistake. A delicious mistake.

“What?!” Mark practically yelled as he slammed his fork down.

“Don’t worry, I’m only working for, like, half the day.”

“Then you’re going to Thanksgiving dinner, right?”

“Um…” The paintings beside your table suddenly looked a whole lot more appealing as you tried to avoid Mark’s stare down. When all he got was silence from your end, Mark let out an exasperated sigh.

“Look, if you really don’t want to celebrate I understand but I feel horrible knowing that while I’m hanging with my family, you’re going to be alone.” His entire being emanated sincerity that you couldn’t help but be touched by his kindness. You gave him a small smile.

“I get it and I’m happy to know that you’re concerned about me but my well-being is not your responsibility.” You stated, hoping that you had mustered as much feeling into your words as Mark did.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t worry.” Mark replied, only making your smile grow. You reached out across the table and patted the top of his left hand tenderly.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me but really, I’ll be fine.” You tried to convince him. He stared at you silently for a moment before turning over his hand to grip yours tightly. A spark shot through your arm and up your spine as your eyes widened at his simple gesture.

“Okay, but just know I’m only a phone call or text away.” His voice sounded far away and you couldn’t figure out how to move your lips so you ended up responding with a simple nod. Was… was he always so warm to the touch? You didn’t remember it being this hot in the restaurant. Or was that him?

You finally figured out how to move your limbs and quickly pulled away from Mark. “I should be getting back.” You stated as you avoided his gaze by focusing on tucking a stray strand behind your ear. Shit, your cheeks felt flushed. Hopefully it wasn’t noticeable.

“Sure, I’ll walk you back.” Your mind was racing a mile a minute as you two began to stand up. What happened? What was that feeling? That was weird, or was it not? While you tried to figure out how to act normally again, someone suddenly called out Mark’s name. The two of you turned around to see a teenage boy and girl with huge grins and wide eyes gazing at Mark.

“We are so sorry to bother you, but you’re Markiplier right?” The girl asked, visibly shaking with excitement as she uttered those words.

“Yeah, I am.” Mark replied, a charming smile easily gracing his features.

“Oh my god, it’s so nice to meet you! We’re huge fans!”

“Really? That’s awesome to hear!” Your anxiety and panic quickly washed away as you watched Mark interact with his fans so casually. It wasn’t only humbling but an eye-opening reminder of how different your lives were. You had forgotten but he was a celebrity; someone who lived his life in the spotlight. You, on the other hand, lived a life of secrecy and personal isolation. It was a grounding realization that left your heart heavier than you had expected.

It didn’t look like Mark would be finished chatting with those kids any time soon. You turned for the door as you pulled out your phone.

I need to get going. I’ll just see you later.

You sent out the text as you headed out of the restaurant, not once looking back to check if he saw it.

By the time Mark replied to your text 10 minutes later, you were already readying for another jump. Thanks to the idiotic decision making of your co-worker Agent Douglas, you had to take over his assignment in Far Cry 4 for the remainder of the day. When you returned to the Alpha universe, you were exhausted. Whatever brain power you had left was focused on getting your body home. The trip back to your apartment was a blur but somehow you made it. It wasn’t until you were sprawled across your bed, content with your TV dinner and shower that you finally checked your phone.

‘Hey sorry about ignoring you like that. I wish I was able to give you a proper good-bye. I’ll definitely make it up to you when I come back from my trip.

You stared at his words for a moment as you sorted out the weird feelings brewing inside you. Although a part of you still regretted the way your lunch ended, you couldn’t help but feel hopeful at his promise. It got your heart pounding with excitement as a small smile graced your face.

Is that a promise?

You ended up texting before registered the movement of your hands. Once it did, you squinted at your sentence. What the-? That did not sound like you at all. You sounded so… flirty.

You didn’t dwell on it too long as Mark’s response popped up on your screen a second later.

You better believe it.

You grinned as you pushed yourself up to a sitting position and began typing away on your phone. Before long, you and Mark were texting each other back and forth for a full half hour till Mark had to bid you good night so he could return to work. You went to bed that night feeling happier than you had been in days.

---

It was quite empty at the L.A. Agency Headquarters on Thanksgiving Day but that just meant you could get through your work without any interruption. You ended up finishing up a weekend’s worth of work in less than a day, which meant you wouldn’t have to come in tomorrow.

Now what?

You glanced out the window next to your cubicle, eyeing the bright Los Angeles skyline as you mulled over what to do next. There was no point leaving the office since most places were closed for the holidays. And even though there were some people out and about in your building, the only people you really wanted to talk to were busy. Mark had sent you a couple of pictures of his family and it didn’t feel right to bother him. Chuck was MIA since yesterday, something about meeting up with his own family and again you didn’t want to intrude. You could always work out…

Your ringtone cut off your train of thought as you reached over to grab your phone. The caller ID read “Eva” and you were quickly reminded that she was probably by herself this holiday season. Maybe she would want to hang out. You placed the phone to your ear and was immediately greeted by the sound of loud talking and laughter.

“Where are you?!” You heard Evangeline yell over the noise.

“Um… at work?” You asked, trying to piece together where your boss was.

“Seriously? It’s Thanksgiving. Hurry up and get over here.”

“Over where?” You got no response. Instead, all sounds from the other line was silenced and you realized Evangeline had hung up. You looked at your phone with a confused look when a text popped up on screen. Evangeline had sent you an address. Motivated by a mixture of curiosity and loneliness, you packed up your stuff and headed over.

After a short ride, you found yourself standing in front of a cozy, one-story home with an overabundant front yard garden. The house was enough for a small family but right now there were about 30-something people hanging both in and outside the home, many of them sharing similar physical traits as Chuck. Amongst the crowd mingling in the front yard was Evangeline who quickly noticed your arrival and motioned you through the wide-open front gate.

“Took you long enough.” She said light-heartedly as she placed a glass of white wine in your hands. “Good thing you made it before Chuck cut the turkey.”

“Should I even be here?” You asked as you glanced around nervously. “It looks like a family affair.”

“Work family is family in my eyes.” You and Evangeline turned around to see your jolly host dawning a ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron over his wrinkled button-up shirt and slacks.

“Hey! Sorry if I’m intruding.” You hurriedly apologized, still feeling like a fish out of water. Evangeline and Chuck both looked confused at your statement.

“Why would you be intruding? We’ve been waiting for you.” Chuck explained slowly, eyeing your shoulder then your head in an attempt to diagnose you with only his eyes.

“You… have?” Evangeline sighed at your comment.

“[Name] did you check your email at all?” She asked in an exasperated tone. You stared at her for a moment before you scrambled to grab your phone. After a few quick taps and flicks, you found the forgotten e-invite at the bottom of your inbox.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry Chuck!” You cried out. Chuck responded with a hearty laughter.

“I had a feeling you forgot. I would have brought you here myself if I wasn’t busy picking up half my family from LAX.” Before Chuck could continue, someone yelled out to him that the turkey was ready. About half of the outside crowd heard this as well and began to file back into the tiny home. Chuck just chuckled at his hungry guests as he looked back at you and Evangeline.

“No need to head inside, I’ll make sure to bring your plates out here.” He stated as he motioned to a quaint iron-wrought table and matching chairs. You simply nodded as Evangeline gave a smile and a “thanks” before Chuck returned inside.

“An apology is in order.” Evangeline said out of nowhere as she took a seat at the table. You followed suit while giving her a questioning look.

“A part of me thought you would have deliberately chosen not to attend today’s event.” She continued, keeping her eyes focused on her red wine instead of you. Did she feel guilty for assuming? She shouldn’t be.

“I wouldn’t blame you.” You voiced your thoughts, taking a sip of your white wine before you elaborated. “Past me would have definitely skipped out.”

“Yet here you are.” Evangeline said, her facial features relaxing. Probably because you showed no ill-will towards her previous comment. “I think I have your beloved partner to thank for that.” You choked on your wine upon hearing this.

“That's a weird adjective to describe him.” You said hoarsely as you pounded your chest to help clear your throat.

“Is it?” Evangeline asked in a light-hearted tone. You immediately responded with a dead-panned “yes” which made her smile drop a bit.

“Huh… He’s got his work cut out for him.” You heard her mumble.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You questioned but all you got in response was a knowing smile. The conversation would have continued whether or not she liked it if not for the reappearance of Chuck. The delicious smells of Thanksgiving wafted from the plates in his hands made all your other thoughts melt away. You’ll interrogate Evangeline later.

---

You didn’t interrogate Evangeline later. Instead, you ate your way through a pants size with little regret while being introduced to Chuck’s many family members. They were all as nice as he was and you briefly wondered if kindness was a genetic trait. One of his cousins invited you on a group outing to the movies the next day and you eventually found your holiday weekend jam-packed with blockbuster film marathons, lively conversations at coffee shops, and getting reacquainted with somewhat familiar co-workers. Sprinkled throughout your busy socializing were texts from Mark. He mostly sent pictures of his family’s dogs but he also checked up on you now and again to see if you were okay. Once he realized you weren’t going to be as alone as he originally thought, your texts afterwards consisted mostly of funny anecdotes about your day. They were great but even amid the laughter and fun that surrounded you, you often found yourself still missing him.

Monday soon rolled around, marking the return of work. You were greeted more sincerely at your office by your co-workers friends as you went about your day. It wasn’t until you were about to do maintenance that you got your first text from Mark that day.

Hey I’m home. I wanna have dinner with you tonight, you up for it?

A wide grin lit up your face as you immediately texted him back.

Yeah sure!

Once the message was sent, you tossed your phone into your bag and hurried over to the closest jump room to finish your assignment.

The zombie killing breezed by without much problem and you were done with work in record time. Several people watched you leave in confusion, seeing as you were usually the very last person to leave work. You paid no mind; all your focus trained on heading home. The bus ride felt horrendously long and you jumped out the moment it opened its doors. Anticipation bubbled within you as you climbed up the stairs two at a time but it soon turned to anxiety once you reached your floor. You were out of breath rushing over here and way too excited for your own good. Wouldn’t Mark find this weird? You sure as hell did.

You knocked on his apartment door as you mulled over these thoughts. Yet once the door swung open, all the nagging feelings were replaced with relief and joy.

Mark looked… the same. As always. All goofy grins and stubbly faced with his dark hair pushed to one side. You instantly met his grin with your own.

“I missed you. Welcome home.” You said without a second thought. Mark looked awestruck by your words but it was quickly replaced with a sincere smile.

“Thanks, it’s good to be back.”

Chapter Text

It started out as a normal day of work. Mark had finished all his recordings for the day and was chilling in the Grump Office, editing his videos until he had a set amount completed. Every so often, he would hear Arin yelling from inside the supposedly sound-proof recording studio (honestly, there was no material on Earth that could stop that man’s voice when he went full on rage mode) but other than that he was undisturbed. That is, until he received an innocent-sounding question from one Suzy Berhow.

“So, when are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” Mark instantly choked on his water, preventing it from escaping his mouth for fear of ruining his laptop. He swallowed hard before turning to the woman.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” He coughed out, slamming his chest with his fist to get the excess water out.

“Fine, lady friend, however you want to call her.” Suzy corrected herself as she plopped down next to him on the couch.

“Not lady friend either. No labels. Just… friend.” Mark didn’t mean to sound so glum but it was enough for Suzy and even Barry, who was sitting at his desk nearby, to catch on.

“Doesn’t sound like you want to be ‘just friends’.” Barry commented as he rolled over to the couch on his office chair.

“Well, I mean, yeah. I’m definitely interested in her but I don’t know if she likes me back. And if she rejected me, I don’t know if our friendship would survive. And I really, really don’t want that.” Mark explained as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Why would she reject you? You’re Markiplier!” Suzy stated but Mark shook his head.

“That means shit to her, which is good in a way?” Mark asked and after a moment both Suzy and Barry nodded.

“Yeah! You’re a great guy. She’s blind if she can’t see that.” Suzy added while placing a comforting hand on Mark’s shoulder. It made him smile.

“Just keep at it dude. And when you feel like you’re ready, tell her.” Barry advised and Mark’s smile grew.

“Thanks guys, I don’t know if I’m ready yet but this helps.” Before anyone else could say anything, a cell phone began to ring. Mark soon realized it was his ring tone and pulled out the device. When he saw who it was on his caller ID, he shot up from the couch and took a few steps away from his friends.

“Hey Evangeline, is everything okay?” Mark asked, doing everything he could to sound as casual as possible. He hadn’t been asked to come in for a job in weeks and there weren’t any notable horror games out now so why the call? His thoughts immediately went to you and worry quickly set in. Millions of reasons circulated through his head, each much worse than the last, as he waited to hear Evangeline’s response.

“Everything’s fine. I’m sorry to call on such short notice but could you come back to your apartment please?” Evangeline sounded more stressed than solemn so Mark’s uneasiness waned a bit.

“Yeah I can. Why?” Mark inquired, already heading back to the couch to pack up his things under the curious eyes of Barry and Suzy. When Evangeline sighed in response, Mark felt the full force of her exasperation through the phone.

“[Name] decided to come to work with a high fever today and even though I told her several times to go home, she refused. It took three security guards to escort her out of headquarters. I’ve finally brought her home but I need to catch a flight in two hours. Someone has to watch her or else she’s going to try to go to work again. Can you please do it?” Mark hesitated after hearing Evangeline’s entire story to hold back a giggle. You sounded like a dog. He could just imagine you barking shouting and climbing over some big, burly, bald men to get to the jump room as Evangeline screamed at you to stop. What he wouldn’t give to see that mess.

“Mark?”

“Oh, uh, yeah sure.” Mark shook those thoughts away as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’ll head over right now.”

“Thank you.” Evangeline replied, sounding extremely relieved. “See you soon. Good-bye.” Mark bid his farewell and hung up.

“What was that about?” Suzy immediately asked as he put his phone away.

“Um… [Name]’s sick and her boss asked me to watch her for the day.” Mark stated matter-of-factly. This earned him two raised eyebrows from both Suzy and Barry.

“You’re… her emergency contact?” Suzy asked. Mark gave it a thought then nodded.

“Yeah, I guess?” Suzy and Barry each gave him an exasperated look.

“What?!” Mark shouted, his voice rising in volume in reaction to their judging eyes.

“How are you two not dating?!” Barry yelled in an equally loud voice. “I thought you guys were still in the ‘friends’ level but you’re literally the first person her job calls when she’s sick!”

“It’s complicated!”

“What’s complicated and why are you really loud?” Arin’s voice suddenly rang out. The trio turned to him and Danny stepping out of the recording studio, looks of confusing adorning their rugged faces.

“Mark’s being delusional and thinks he has no chance with [Name]. We’re trying to prove him wrong.” Suzy explained with an annoyed huff.

“[Name]? That’s the girl who slept over that one day, right?” Danny asked innocently. Mark blushed as he received more incredulous looks.

“Seriously?! What are you waiting for man?!” Barry asked, sincerely questioning Mark’s sanity at this point as said person scrambled towards the exit.

“Sorry what? I gotta go, bye!” And with that awkward farewell, Mark made his flawless escape from the Grump Office.

---

During the quiet moments when Mark allowed himself to entertain the idea of dating you without feeling guilty about jeopardizing your friendship, he concluded that he was most attracted to your strength. Not physical strength per say (though he did find your toned arms and legs really hot), but the strength of your character. You were one tough cookie and it seemed like no man, woman, or haunted robot could stand in your way. He had always admired that about you, both before and after he developed romantic feelings for you.

Seeing you curled up on your couch, covered in a thick quilt and positively flushed with fever was so far from who you were but also super goddamn adorable. He had to cover his grin to stop himself from giggling outright but probably wasn’t doing a great job about it since he still received a heated, albeit tired glare from you.

“Here are her meds.” Evangeline said as she walked up to him and handed him an orange vial. “We already forced the first two down a couple hours ago. She’ll have to take another two after dinner. She hasn’t complained of stomach problems but soup might still be the best option.”

“Right.”

“And make sure she does not leave. I don’t want her infecting the rest of her floor. Chuck was already sniffling by the time I left.”

“Gotcha.” Evangeline turned to you.

“Be good.” She instructed. You responded by flipping her off. Mark went wide-eyed at your boldness but Evangeline didn’t even flinch.

“Call this number if you need anything. It’s my assistant’s direct line and he’ll get whatever you ask for so you don’t have to leave.” Evangeline explained, handing Mark a slip of paper before she headed out the door. Mark watched the door close behind her before turning back to the bundled you. Upon closer inspection, he saw that you were still wearing a wrinkled, white button up shirt underneath the blanket and your hair was sticking to your sickly face. A shower might do you some good. He remembered his mom saying that bathing washes the sick away.

“When was the last time you had a bath?” He asked.

“When was the last time you got fucked?”

A long beat of silence passed between you as Mark just stared at you, unsure if he should feel taken aback or not. It was just so… out of nowhere. “Um?” He began but was cut off by your sigh.

“Sorry, I just… really hate being sick and becoming someone else’s problem.” You explained as you massaged your temples.

“I get it. You should still take a shower though. It’ll make you feel better.” Mark replied, walking over to you.

“Fine, but after you leave. I don’t need a babysitter and I’m sure you’re busy.” You muttered, pushing the quilt off yourself as you stood up. You must have stood up too fast because once at full height, you immediately stumbled forward into Mark’s chest. He quickly wrapped his arm around you to steady you and discovered your shirt was drenched with sweat.

“Nope, I’m staying. You’re worse than I thought.” He said as he began to lead you to your stairs.

“I don’t need an escort.”

“Shut up and let me help you.” You mumbled something under your breath but remained silent after that as you began your ascent up the spiral stair case. Mark let you walk on your own but stayed a few inches behind you as you climbed, so as to catch you in the worst-case scenario. When you made it to the top, you shuffled towards what he guessed was your room. Your apartment was the same style as his was so he also assumed your bathroom was in your bedroom as well.

A thought passed Mark’s mind as he followed you down the hall. He’d never been up here before. He glanced around the bare walls of your hallway. You weren’t that much of a decorator, huh? Not that he should judge; his upstairs walls were just as empty as yours.

The sound of a cough interrupted his thoughts as he turned back to you. You had opened your door but stopped due to a coughing fit. He rushed to your side but you quickly placed a hand on his chest to push him away.

“Mark I’m fine. I can make it to my shower on my own.”

“Say that after you get in there.” You threw him a weak glare but complied to his demands as you opened your door wider to allow you both to enter.

Your room was pleasantly messy. It felt lived in with the rumpled bedsheets, stack of novels on your bedside table, and the almost over-crowded vanity next to your bathroom door. One of your dresser shelves were open and a jacket hung over the top of your closet door.

“Sorry my room’s a mess.” You coughed.

“No problem. It’s kind of endearing.” You met Mark’s gaze and gave him a confused look.

“I mean that it’s, like, a relaxed mess. It shows your comfortable here and stuff…” Mark didn’t know where he was going with this. Luckily his awkwardness earned him a small smile from you as you shook your head.

“You’re so weird.” You started for your bathroom. “You can wait for me downstairs, I won’t be long.”

“Okay.” Mark responded as he turned for the exit. However, once you went in, Mark did a quick heel turn and surveyed the room once more. He wasn’t sure when he’d come back in here (maybe the next time would be more romant ─ whatthehellbrainSTOP) so he wanted more than just a glimpse now that he had the chance. He wasn’t snooping, just… curious.

He was drawn to your stack of thick books at your bedside table and tilted his head to the side to read off the titles. They were mostly fantasy and paranormal romance novels which brought a smile to his face. He didn’t know you were into those genres. He wondered what else you were interested in. You were always so devoted to your work, Mark got worried that you didn’t allow yourself any hobbies or other interests.

Something reflected the light behind the stack of books and Mark straightened his head. He walked over to the table to get a better look and saw a small picture frame sitting by the edge of the table. He picked it up without a second thought.

The simple frame held a picture of a younger you, probably around 8 or 9 years old. There was a large grin on your face, showing off one of your missing teeth. Standing behind you, each with an arm wrapped around you lovingly, were your parents. They also had bright, happy smiles on their faces. Above all your heads was a paper sign that read “Congratulations!”.

Looking at this picture reminded Mark of your conversation before Thanksgiving. You were quick to avoid answering anything regarding your holiday plans and he initially thought that it was because you weren’t on speaking terms with your family. Probably because your job was so secretive? Or you had a falling out? Staring at the only framed picture he could see in your bedroom, a grimmer guess popped into his mind…

Were they dead?

“Mark what the hell?! I told you to wait outside!” Mark jumped at your voice and quickly slapped the frame back on your table. He spun around to see you in only a towel, your skin still slick with water and your wet hair wrapped in a messy bun. His face turned beet red as he promptly covered his eyes but the image of you fresh out of the shower was now burned into his brain.

“Sorry, I’m leaving sorry!!” He yelled, using his free hand to guide his blind self out of the room. He made it out in one piece and shut the door behind him before letting out an embarrassed groan. What the hell was he thinking? That was such an invasion of privacy! Mark let his hand fall off his face as he leaned back against the wall opposite your door. He was seriously going to get it.

A few minutes later, Mark heard the doorknob turning and urgently straightened up as you exited the room. You were dressed in your pajamas and looking loads better than you did earlier. The neutral look on your face did nothing to calm his nerves though. It also didn’t help that you were now holding the picture of your parents, confirming that you did know what he was doing beforehand.

“[Name] I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop.” He began but you held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” You said, much calmer than he had expected. “Did you want to keep looking at it?” You held out the picture towards him but he shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.” Mark watched you pull your hand back and glance at the picture momentarily. He noticed a melancholic look cross your eyes before you tossed the frame behind your like a frisbee. It landed in the middle of your unkept bed.

“So, that’s-?”

“Yeah, those were my parents.” You said, not meeting his gaze as you turned to walk back to the stairs. Mark caught the past tense you had used. He hated that his guess was right.

“I’m sorry.” He said again, more sincerely this time around.

“It’s okay.” You replied, finally looking back at him with a small, listless smile. “They died a long time ago. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore.” Mark wasn’t sure what to say next. He knew what you were feeling all too well but couldn’t find the words to express it. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it gently. He hoped that would be enough. You stared at his hand, letting out what sounded like a shaky breath before resting your hand on his.

“They actually passed a few days after that picture was taken.” You suddenly stated. “We were celebrating their 100th successful exploration mission together. When they got back to work, they were given the Silent Hill assignment. That was the last time I saw them.” Mark blinked as this information sunk in.

“Your parents were Agents too?” He asked, genuinely surprised. This was the first time he had heard about this.

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” You responded with your own question as you met his gaze. He shook his head and you gave him another smile, this one bubbling with pride. It made Mark relieved to see some life returning to your face.

“Well, now you do. I’m part of a legacy.” You explained, leaning forward a bit to close the distance between the two of you as you tightened your grip on Mark’s hand.

“So, you’ve always known about all these multiple universes then?” Mark asked, too engrossed in the conversation to notice that he was pulling you closer.

“Yup. Also learned the hard way that I shouldn’t share that info with just anybody. Apparently telling your 2nd grade class that you wanna be a ‘Universe-Hopping Secret Agent’ bumps you down to ‘weird kid’ status.” Mark flinched at the thought of younger you getting laughed at by your classmates.

“Did you always want to be that? A ‘Universe-Hopping Secret Agent’?”

“Yeah, for as long as I could remember. I think my parents were against it at first but eventually agreed. Camping trips became survival expeditions and bedtime stories were always about my parents’ adventures.” You spoke about your parents so fondly that Mark couldn’t help but smile. But then your smile suddenly dropped away as you continued.

“It was really jarring after they died because I had to learn how to function in what was basically a different world to me. A world that didn’t know about the beauties and fears that lived just outside their universe. A world that was just too… normal. I quickly realized that I wasn’t cut out for it.”

“Honestly, who is?” Mark’s comment got you to laugh and he gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done.

“The moment I turned 18, I dropped everything to start my Agent training.” You continued. “And that’s what I’ve been ever since. An Agent.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” You met Mark’s tender gaze with a quizzical look. He responded with a warm smile.

“If you weren’t an Agent, we wouldn’t have met.” He explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it was. All the things both you and Mark went through in your lives lead the two of you to this moment. He knew there was nowhere else he wanted to be but here with you.

You blinked, your eyes growing wide in realization of what he had just said. Mark felt his chest swell with pride when he saw a soft blush dust your cheeks. Eventually, you returned his smile before abruptly letting go of his hand and dropping your forehead on his shoulder. The sudden action made his entire body clench and his heat level rise. When did you get this close?

Mark immediately brushed that thought aside when he noticed the heat radiating off your forehead. You were still feverish and from what he could hear, your breath was ragged.

“You wanna go lie down?” He asked softly as he began to gently rub your shoulder.

“After I get food.” You mumbled into his arm.

“What do you want?”

“Your firstborn.”

“My, you are morbid when you’re sick.” He chuckled. All he got from you was a groan and he wasn’t sure if that was in agreement or to get a move on with getting some grub.

“How about egg drop soup from that Chinese place down the street?” He suggested instead. “I don’t think I’ll be having kids any time soon.”

“That’s because you haven’t been fucked in a while.” Mark blushed and turned his head away from you. He didn’t want to think about sex things with you so close to him.

“So how ‘bout that soup?” He asked as casually as he could, flinching when his voice went higher than he expected. You simply rubbed your forehead up and down his shoulder which he took as yes.

“Alright then, let’s get you downstairs.”

---

Mark didn’t remember falling asleep on the couch. Dinner and movies ─ that he remembered. He must have dozed off sometime after the second Fast and the Furious movie because when he awoke, the drivers were in Japan now and that happened in the… third movie? Mark was sure it was the third movie but then again, he didn’t watch the movie franchise enough to remember. Plus, his head was aching. Stupid naps.

Mark motioned to get up but felt something heavy on his legs. He looked down and instantly tensed at the sight of you using his lap as a pillow as you continued to sleep blissfully. Conflicting emotions tumbled inside him as he tried to figure out what to do. Stay? Go? Fall back asleep?

You suddenly let out a soft snore, cutting off Mark’s train of thought. He glanced down at you again and couldn’t fight the smile tugging at his lips. He gently placed his hand on your forehead and was relieved to feel that your fever had finally gone down. Mark began to pull back but hesitated when his fingertips softly brushed against your hair.

This was a bad idea.

Even with the confidence boost he got from his friends, Mark wasn’t ready to woo you. Or entertain the idea of wooing you. It was too soon in his eyes and the fear of losing you as a friend was greater than his want to have you as his girlfriend. He had to stop putting himself in situations that only lead to torment on his end.

However, his body had a different idea as he began to run his hands through your hair. A delighted hum escaped your lips and made Mark’s heart jump to his throat.

Shit.

He really had it bad.

Mark retracted his fingers to stop his further descent into inescapable heartache but was greeted with a displeased groan on your end. You began to turn your head on his lap as if trying to find Mark’s hand with only the sense of touch. There was nothing he could do but comply to your demands and he rested his hand atop your messy hair once more. A smile returned to your lips and you relaxed onto his lap, snoring lightly again after a few minutes. Mark let out a breathless laugh and shook his head. There really was no escaping your charm.

Inescapable heartache didn’t seem so bad if he could remain by your side like this. He prayed to whatever sat out there in the cosmos that you never leave his as well.